PSYCH 049: Psychology of Creativity Midterm 2 Review

Describe three insight problems we tried to solve in class and explain why each of those problems was difficult to solve (Hint: You should be describing different types of fixation)

- Duncker's Candle Problem/ Two String Problem (Functional Fixedness) * Traditional use of the item prevents us from thinking of other uses for that item - The 9-Dot Problem (Constraint Relaxedness) * We often assume rules/ constraints that aren't really there - Tip-of-the-Tongue * Fixation on related words/ moment of insight

How does interleaving ideas across domains result in even more creative/ original ideas?

- Helps distinguish between similar concepts - Helps facilitate creative insights (When working across different disciplines < producing new idea combinations)

Imagine that you find an article online that says that Picasso was an impostor, and all of his art is fake. Describe at least 3 steps you would take to check on the truthfulness of the internet source.

- Identify the credibility of the article * Identify the author/ background, the context of the article, the date, supported sources

What are the different ways people can acquire information about their problem?

*Mentoring/ Instruction - Useful for gaining the knowledge necessary to find and answer important questions. *Level of knowledge - (Middle of graduate study) to start producing creative ideas in a field. *Staying alert for information related to problem *Working directly toward a solution to a problem by seeking information.

Spreading Activation Hypothesis

- Takes time for your thoughts to spread to appropriate information to produce a solution - Start at one point (the problem), and gradually activate connections that are further and further away in your mental space - Eventually get to the solution

Still Waters Hypothesis

- There is unconscious work happening during a break - Mind thinks about the problem without your conscious awareness

Opportunistic Assimilation Hypothesis

- When you fail to solve a problem, your mind sets up "webs that are ready to trap helpful information you may encounter in the environment - When given the OPPORTUNITY, you find the correct information and ASSIMILATE (connect) it into the problem

What are some guidelines on how to be a critical consumer of information?

1. Consider the source - What evidence do they present? 2. Check the author - Is the credibility of the author reliable? - What information makes you question the credibility of the article? 3. Check the date 4. Check your biases 5. Read beyond the headline 6. Check the supporting sources 7. Identify if it's a joke 8. Ask the experts

What are the rules of power writing as described by Dr. Long in her guest lecture?

1. Don't stop * Creativity is a chain reaction 2. Digressing * Follow where your mind leads 3. Noticing * Notice when digression is useful 4. Questioning * Use the questions to refocus on backbone question when digression isn't useful

What is the 5 highlighted criteria used to determine a good idea?

1. Ease of Understanding 2. Consistency with existing norms 3. Ease/ complexity or implementation 4. Beneficial to many 5. Time & effort required to execute the idea

What is the Gestalists' three-stage theory of insight?

1. Fixation - Being stuck at an impasse - Often results from being exposed to unhelpful information or assuming incorrect information about a problem 2. Reinterpretation of the problem - Apply a new set of rules to the problem 3. Insight! - Sudden & surprising - Not aware of how they overcame the problem

What are the 4 things you need to get good at being an effective writer that power writing can help you achieve?

1. Not stopping 2. Digressing (Following your mind where it leads) 3. Noticing (When a digression might be useful) 4. Questioning (To refocus when digression isn't useful)

What is the two highlighted criteria to determine a bad idea?

1. Riskiness 2. Originality

How does mind wandering relate to problem solving and gathering information?

Mind wandering helps creativity as it: 1. Let's you reach distant ideas that may not first seem connected with your idea. 2. Mulling over the problem, perhaps unconsciously.

How does mindfulness relate to problem solving?

Mindfulness is being focused on the attention of your thoughts, being aware of your thoughts. It is being present in/ conscious of the moment and your thoughts Mindfulness has been shown to be beneficial for problem solving via analysis/ incremental style, but hinders problem solving (via insight).

How does combining across different categories/ domains results in more creative/ original ideas?

More creative combinations result when you combine across different domains compared to similar domains *More emergent attributes arise when combining across different domains

Explain how the process of writing relates to the creative process, as described by Dr. Long in her guest lecture.

The 2 phases of the writing process include Divergent (1st phase: Invention) and Convergent (2nd phase: Revision) thinking

How does imagery play a role in the way we think of new ideas?

We don't always think linguistically, we think spatially (with pictures) as well! - Inverted images are more likely to be novel if they involve unusual parts or parts are combined in unique ways

Which of the following statements is/are true? : a. Functional fixedness results when people have difficulty thinking of creative uses for things because the typical use blocks their creativity b. The Associationists would argue that ideas do NOT involve the use of prior knowledge c. In tip-of-the-tongue states, people typically have some information about the word they are trying to think of d. Both A & C

d. Both A & C

What are the four different theories that attempt to explain how incubation effects work?

1. Still-Waters Hypothesis - There is unconscious work happening during a break - Mind thinks about the problem without your conscious awareness 2. Opportunistic Assimilation Hypothesis - When you fail to solve a problem, your mind sets up "webs that are ready to trap helpful information you may encounter in the environment - When given the OPPORTUNITY, you find the correct information and ASSIMILATE (connect) it into the problem 3. Spreading Activation Hypothesis - Takes time for your thoughts to spread to appropriate information to produce a solution - Start at one point (the problem), and gradually activate connections that are further and further away in your mental space - Eventually get to the solution 4. Forgetting- Fixation Hypothesis - Initial problem-solving attempts result in fixation on incorrect solutions - An Incubation period allows time to step away and forget that fixating information - Leading to increased performance after the break

How is selecting an idea a conscious process based on a number of different factors?

A conscious process that draws on the knowledge of the domain Need to consider... * Is this idea novel? * Is it interesting, but not important? * How can this be integrated with existing ideas? * Does this idea need to be revised based on the above considerations?

ADHD has been found to be... a. Related to increased divergent thinking abilities b. Related to decreased divergent thinking abilities c. Unrelated to divergent thinking d. None of the above

A. Related to increased divergent thinking

True or False: Desirable difficulties help with long-term learning

A. true

How did the incubation activity we did in class most likely help you solve more RAT problems when you returned to solve them a second time compared to if you had just worked on them continuously?

Activity: Follow the Long Arrow The incubation period was designed to be completely different from the RAT problem (Can relate to Still-Waters Hypothesis and Spreading Activation Hypothesis)

What is meant by "Conceptual Combination" and Emergent Properties/ Attributes"?

Conceptual Combination - Combining two (or more) concepts together to produce something new - (e.g. "Pancake Boat" Drawing Activity) Emergent Properties/ Attributes - Elements of an idea that emerge from a combination of two different concepts or ideas that are not present in the original concepts on their own - (e.g. "Skunk Squirrel"/ "Hatchet Squirrel" Drawing Activity)

Provide two examples of pairs of concepts as discussed in the lecture on combining ideas. Which of these pairs would result in more emergent properties. Explain your reasoning.

Conceptual Combination (Different Domains) - More creative combinations result when you combine across different domains compared to similar domains - More emergent attributes arise when combining across different domains Metaphor/ Analogy/ Imagery (Similar Domains) - Analogical Thinking: Mapping knowledge from one domain to another domain; help us solve problems across domains *** Combining across different domains results in more creative combinations compared to combining across similar domains

What are the examples of desirable difficulties for learning? How would you use these to help benefit your own studying?

EXAMPLES: - Test yourself on material - Study in multiple places - Space out studying - Interleaving topics

How do constraints play a role in creative thinking based on the imagery study (discussed in class)?

Evidence: Creating with Images - Participants asked to combine items together; had different categories (e.g. furniture, personal items, transportation, etc.) When the participants were assigned 3 shapes at random and told to make something creative/ useful, category assigned after the creation had been made was proven to be... (54% creative)

What is the evidence in favor of the idea that incubation can be a result of conscious effort?

Evidence: Story Title with Left and Right Side of the Class (Left: Come up with title, Right: Come up with CREATIVE title) - Telling people to "be more creative" affects creativity - Conscious attempts to be creative can help people be more creative *Not always-- sometimes this can backfire if people hold negative beliefs about their ability to be creative

How does each of the insight problems (discussed in class) demonstrate the different types of fixation (functional fixedness, constraint relaxation, etc.)

Functional Fixedness (Two String Problem/ Duncker Candle Problem): - Traditional use of item PREVENTS us from thinking of other uses for that item Constraint Relaxation (9- Dot Problem) - Mental Fixation - The experience of getting stuck on unhelpful information and being unable to produce new ideas/ correct solutions - Knowledge, experience, and examples can all cause mental fixation *Three things that can cause mental fixation are: KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, & EXAMPLES

What is the difference in philosophical argument about the nature of ideas between the Gestaltists and the Associationists?

Gestalists (Similar to Insight Problem Solving): - Ideas appear whole in irreducible form - "All in one piece" - Ideas appear quickly (almost instantly) *Argued for the irreducible nature of thought * To support this idea, generated problems "could not be solved by incremental solutions Associationists (Similar to Incremental/ Strategy Problem Solving): - Ideas come from combining information together in a new way (slow process)

How does convergent and divergent thinking relate to the process of writing?

In the writing process, while the first phase (=invention) is related to DIVERGENT thinking, the second phase (=revision) is related to CONVERGENT thinking

What is the difference between incremental and insight problem solving?

Incremental Problem Solving: - Solving the problem occurs in a series of small steps that accumulate you to get the correct answer (Strategy). Insight Problem Solving: - Solution occurs in a flash of realization ("Eureka moment").

Forgetting Fixation Hypothesis

Incubation allows initial block to be forgotten, resulting in insight - Initial problem-solving attempts result in fixation on incorrect solutions - An Incubation period allows time to step away and forget that fixating information - Leading to increased performance after the break

What is a critique of the incubation studies done in the lab?

Incubation effects observed in lab studies are usually only done over a short span of time - True timeline over which incubation can work is unknown; some creative insights take lifetimes to achieve

What are some examples of incubation breaks you could do in your own life?

Incubation effects: *When taking a break from a problem results in higher likelihood of the problem being solved when you come back to it later, compared to if you spent the same amount of time working continuously ---> taking breaks helps you think more creatively Examples of incubation effects/ breaks include: Writing alone and taking notes while on vacation or break (John Reed, Inventor of the ATM) Daily insights coming while shaving or taking a walk (Freeman Dyson, Physicist) During a 40 minute bath every morning, ideas tend to come often (Kenneth Boulding, Economist)

How does the insight problems (engaged in class) relate to the Gestaltist's argument about the nature of ideas?

Insight Problems in Class (In relation to Gestaltist's argument): - The 9-Dot Problem * Often assume rules/ constraints that aren't really there < able to connect dots with realization of no rules/ constraints - "Add one line to IX to make six" - Tip-of-the-Tongue *Usually know two pieces of info about the word: ** First letter, Number of syllables * Fixation on related words either: ** Phonetically (how it sounds), Semantically (what it means)

How long does it take to acquire knowledge?

It takes about 10 years to produce a creative contribution to a field ("A meaningful breakthrough").

What is Deliberate Practice?

Practicing at the edge of your capability so you are challenged but not overly so. (Practicing with intention, motivation, repetition, and improvement).

What is the evidence in favor of the idea that incubation is NOT the result of conscious effort? (Schooler, Ohlsson, and Brooks, 1993)

Schooler, Ohlsson, Brooks, 1993: Participants "talk aloud" while solving insight vs. non-insight problems - Talking aloud HINDERED people's ability to solve insight problems - Evidence is in favor of the unconscious - The conscious effort of speaking aloud must have interfered with unconscious problem-solving/ incubation processes.

What are two arguments against the Gestalt perspective on ideas and the evidence that supports those arguments?

TWO ARGUMENTS: If insight is NOT incremental, then the following should be true: 1. Eliminating false assumptions/ fixation should result in SUDDEN realization of the solution 2. Insight solutions are independent of prior knowledge (i.e. If you don't link old ideas together to make new ideas-- they occur to you as a whole unrelated to past info) EVIDENCE: 9-Dot Problem Disapproving Point #1: - When given hints about how to solve the 9-dot problem, people do only marginally better * They do NOT solve it INSTANTLY - There is evidence that people work slowly toward the solution, even if they are not aware of it * PLAYING-CREDIT-REPORT; faster to read CARD than an unrelated word like CHEESE Disapproving Point #2: - Training people on the 9-dot problem helps them solve similar problems later on! * Prior knowledge helps solve new problems

How does interleaving when studying help benefit learning?

The idea of cross-fertilization relates to the concept of "interleaving" when studying/ learning: - You learn better when you interleave subjects while studying, rather than block similar subjects all together - Interleaving works especially well for trying to distinguish between similar concepts * (E.g. Two different math formulas that have similar elements < y= mx+b vs. y = bx+a )

How does metaphor and analogy play a role in creativity (especially in combining ideas together)?

We need to map what we already know/ understand onto what we do not yet know * Analogical Thinking: mapping knowledge from one domain onto another domain (e.g. Time as Space) - Talk about time instead as space that we navigate * (E.g. "I can't wait to GET TO Friday") * (E.g. "I can't wait for the weekend to GET HERE") - Incubating Ideas as cooking: * "Bubbling up" * "Putting things on the back burner" * "Providing fuel for the fire" * "Letting ideas 'stew'" ***"Cross-fertilization" - Helps us solve problems across domains

What is Dr. Long's argument regarding how we learn to speak vs. how we learn to write? Why is it easier to speak than to write?

When you speak you are in conversation with other people who want to be in conversation with you-- you are helped along with questions and responses. When you write, you are alone and you have internalized judgments, fears -- you don't have a conversational partner (or an imagined one that is inviting you along).

Which of the following is/ are rules of power writing as described by Dr. Long in her guest lecture? a. Don't ask yourself questions b. Don't stop c. Avoid digressions at all costs d. Convergent thinking is important

b. Don't stop

The theory of incubation that describes a slow reach to far ideas is known as... a. Unconscious Processing b. Forgetting Fixation c. Spreading Activation d. Opportunistic Assimilation

c. Spreading Activation

Understand the evidence in favor of the existence of incubation effects: i. Patrick (1986) ii. Beeftink, et al. (2008) iii. Wells (1996)

i. Patrick (1986): Work on RAT problems under 4 work conditions - 2 minutes on each problem, but a 5 minute mental rotation task in between each 2 minute period provided the best evidence for incubation/ creativity < Participants take mental breaks in between to collect their thoughts and go back to the issue/ problem ii. Beeftink, et al. (2008): Work on crosswork puzzles under different conditions - Participants switching between the three puzzles whenever they want for 18 minutes as long as they spend equal time on each puzzle (6 minutes) provided best evidence for the effects of incubation < Participants can take breaks between each puzzle and switch if they are stuck, they are able to go back to whatever puzzle needed. iii. Wells (1996): Publishing/ Writing Papers - Forced incubation is positively correlated with more productivity * Deliberately not working on a paper for a while * Have ideas about how to make this paper better in the meantime