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Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been shown to enhance divergent and convergent creative thinking. Yet, how stimulation impacts creative performance over time, and what cognitive mechanisms underlie any such enhancement, remain largely unanswered questions. In the present research, we aimed to (1) verify the impact of DLPFC tDCS on both convergent and divergent thinking, and further investigated (2) the temporal dynamics of divergent thinking, focusing on the serial order effect (i.e., the tendency for ideas to become more original and less frequent over time), and (3) any role that cognitive inhibition may play in mediating any effect of stimulation on creative thinking (considering the DLPFC’s involvement in driving inhibitory processes that are also relevant for creative thinking). In a within-subjects design, twenty-six participants received three types of cross-hemispheric tDCS stimulation over the DLPFC (left cathodal and right anodal, L-R+; left anodal and right cathodal, L+R-; and sham). Before stimulation, they completed a pre-flanker task measuring cognitive inhibition; during stimulation, they completed the Alternate Uses Task (AUT), Remote Associates Test (RAT), and post-flanker task. Results showed that, compared with the sham stimulation, originality of responses in the AUT was significantly enhanced in the L+R- condition, while no tDCS effect was observed for the RAT. Additionally, compared with the other stimulation conditions, we found a diminished serial order effect in the L+R- condition characterized by an accelerated production of more original ideas. Critically, the L+R- condition was accompanied by better performance on the flanker task. Our findings thus verify that L+R- tDCS over the DLPFC accelerates idea originality also providing tentative clues that inhibition may act as a cognitive mechanism underlying enhancements in divergent thinking resulting from frontal lobe neuromodulation.
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The Instability of Creativity Over Weeks Through the Lens of Distributional Models
Remote work presents a challenge to workers’ creativity, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic and the stay-at-home requirements. Individual differences in creativity, considered through the lens of distributional models, and their stability across different conditions are unknown. We assess the between-person variability in common metrics of creativity, despite sharing similar experiences of virtual reality and mindfulness. The paper also assesses the stability of an individual’s creativity over time. We measured the creativity of 20 remote-workers daily, during a 9-week study. Creativity was measured with respect to divergent thinking and convergent thinking. Distributional models show significant individual differences in variability of creativity. Stability analyses also revealed that individuals’ creativity is relatively unstable over time— both within and across conditions. Although one measure of divergent creativity was relatively stable, the other was not. We suggest more research should assess the extent of variability in creativity relative to individual differences and under different conditions.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1839484
- PAR ID:
- 10581932
- Publisher / Repository:
- Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting
- Volume:
- 66
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 1071-1813
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 2290 to 2294
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1177/1071181322661553
