PSYCH 129 Chapter 3 and 4

Hoppe (1988) (what did he find regarding "affect" and split-brain patients?)

affect - the feeling or experience of emotion split-brain patients' completely lacked affect (compared to controls)- they described their reactions in very unemotional terms- reactions were essentially "episodic" - focused on the details of the event, not the meaning of what was going on (ex: didn't comment on disappearance of child or significance of empty swing)

"dominant" hemisphere (to what does it refer?)

he hemisphere that tends to be more active while performing certain cognitive functions

Burke et al (1989) (what did they find regarding handedness and creativity? any differing performance with right-handers vs left-handers? verbal vs visual divergent thinking? conclusions? any suggestions about why certain differences might occur?)

-Found that left-handers did slightly better than right-handers on 4 visual tests of divergent thinking (only 1 was statistically significant) -No difference between lefties/righties in verbal divergent thinking CONCLUSIONS: -In creative activities where lefties have an advantage, it may be because they've developed a "coping" skill from having to adjust to "right-handed" environments (right-handed "mice", classroom desks, writing without smudging, etc) -This may contribute to their flexibility and creative thinking

Emergenic traits (what are they? run in families?)

-High-order traits that "emerge" from interaction among a cluster of more fundamental traits -They are unlikely to "run in families" because it's unlikely for relatives to share all - or even a large percentage of - the necessary components of the trait cluster. -So, creativity is highly influenced by genes, but tends not to run in families

TenHouten (1994) (What did he find regarding alexithymia, creativity, and expression in split-brain subjects? overall conclusions?)

-Split-brain patients significantly more alexithymic than control subjects -They used few affect-laden words, and relatively few adjectives, suggesting speech that is flat, dull, uninvolved, lacking in expression -Lack of creativity in spoken and written verbal productions -Researcher described split-brain subjects as dull, flat, colorless, unexpressive, passive, indirect, lacking fantasy, unimaginative, unresponsive to symbolism, and describing circumstances surrounding events rather than feelings about the events Creativity appears to involve interaction of both hemispheres - split-brain patients seem to show impairments to creativity

Martindale & Hasenfus (1978, Experiment 2) (what did they change from Experiment 1? What did they find? creative/non-creative subjects? instructed/not-instructed to be creative?)

16 subjects performed similar story-writing task, except that: •creativity measured by Remote Associates Test •Researchers varied whether or not subjects were specifically told to be "creative" and "original" Found same increase in alpha activity during inspiration phase for highly-creativesubjects, but only when they were instructed to be creative and original

psychosis (what is it?)

A mental disorder characterized by a disconnection from reality Psychosis is a general term to describe a set of symptoms of mental illnesses that result in strange or bizarre thinking, perceptions (sight, sound), behaviors, and emotions

alexithymia (what is it? symptoms? relationship with creativity?)

Alexithymia - lack of emotional awareness, emotional relating, social attachment -Difficulty distinguishing, identifying, and appreciating emotions -Difficulty describing feelings to other people -Decreased imaginal processes (e.g. scarcity of fantasies) -Alexithymics have difficulty being creative - they don't get very excited about opportunities/challenges and aren't interested or motivated to think creatively

possible connections between affective disorders and creativity (what are the possible connections proposed by researchers?)

Amount of physical energy experienced • depressed = little energy; manic = lots of energy and high productivity Mood SWING effects • a writer with bipolar disorder might write a LOT of material while in manic phase, but when mood swings to depression, they may be unhappy with what they've written (and throw much of it out!) • It may take a LONG time to finish, though it might also help to make for good product (person acts as their own editor!) Creative efforts may offer relief/catharsis for depression sufferers • keeping busy with creative efforts may offer an "escape" from depressed feelings Immersing oneself in one's work may lead to depression • focusing life on their creative work may lead them to be consumed day-after-day, year-after-year, leaving them little time for anything else in life - this may lead to depression

EEG studies (what does it measure? changes in activity at different frequencies?)

An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test used to find problems related to electrical activity of the brain. Brain waves Many EEG studies suggest that there are particular brain wave patterns and brain structures associated with creative problem solving

connection between creativity and psychosis (according to Eysenck? Evidence for being genetically based?)

Both creative people and psychotics score high on psychoticism - He does NOT claim that psychosis produces creativity, or that creative people are psychotic - Main idea: high psychoticism score is necessary for creativity, and people high in psychoticism MAY develop psychosis during their lives - Research suggests that psychotics have original thinking, but it's so original that it is unrealistic and therefore NOT creative thought - He proposes that there may be a genetic basis for psychoticism, since high levels of creativity have been found in descendants of psychotic parents

Bourassa & Vaugeois (2001) (what did they investigate? effects of marijuana on regular vs. novice users? How does amount of marijuana consumed affect divergent thinking?)

Compared creativity effects of marijuana on regular (3x/week) vs. novice (never) users •RESULTS: marijuana had no effect on divergent thinking of novices, but reduced divergent thinking in regular users. Effects may depend on amount ingested - Weckowitz et al (1975) found that low levels of marijuana associated with enhanced performance on divergent thinking tests, higher does inhibited performance. •Effects likely differ from person-to-person, and from task-to-task

• Dietrich (2004) (difference between "deliberate" creativity and "spontaneous" creativity? Which brain areas seem to support each type?

Deliberate creativity- involves deliberately focusing attention on problem and putting effort into coming up with creative solution Spontaneous creativity - occurs during periods of de-focused attention (i.e. insight) Suggested that dorsolateral PFC likely supports deliberate creativity Suggested spontaneous creativity primarily due to temporal-occipital-parietal (TOP) regions

prefrontal cortex (location? What are its functions? Different areas?)

Enables such high-level cognitive functions as the self-construct, self-reflective consciousness, willed action, planning, theory of mind, and much more. •Three other PFC functions allow these high-level functions: -Working memory -Temporal integration -Sustained and directed attention Front of the brain, V/OD

mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway (what is it? involved in?)

Flaherty also suggests that the high "goal-directness" of creative arousal may be driven by the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway-Known as the "reward pathway" - involved in all kinds of reward seeking activity (e.g. gambling, cocaine addition, appreciation of beauty, etc)

Barron (1963) (connection between creative people and prisoners/criminals?)

Found that creative people often have antisocial (i.e. unconventional tendencies - going against social convention) • This is consistent with the idea of PRISONERS being creative (since they are antisocial) • Similarity: creative people and prisoners are both unlikely to take authority at its word, seek to challenge authority, and look for their own solutions

• Hypergraphia (What is it? What usually causes it? disinhibition? connection to mania? associated with creativity? nature of temporal lobe involvement? connection between creative drive and creative ability? Are they the same? How might they be related?)

Hypergraphia- the compulsive drive to write -decrease in temporal lobe activity (most commonly, a lesion to the right temporal lobe) -The equilibrium between right and left temporal lobes is disrupted, causing disinhibition of left hemisphere language-related activity •Disinhibition- weakening of restraint against performing actions •Disinhibition symptoms similar to mania - most hypergraphics have mania •Mania has been found to be associated with increased creativity Temporal lobes seem to be involved in creative drive (or creative suppression!) Hypergraphics have increased creative drive, but that doesn't mean they are producing a high-quality creative product! subjects who come up with the best ideas will usually be subjects who are most driven - creative "skill" is less important Research suggests that for people who are above the IQ threshold for creativity, creativity is more dependent on the brain's motivational systems than on that person's creative "skill"

Norlander & Gustafson (199601998) (How did they study effects of alcohol on Wallas' creativity stages? findings regarding effect of alcohol on incubation? verification? illumination, from earlier study?

INCUBATION PHASE • Wednesday: subjects asked to plan an experiment to investigate the relative importance of heredity and environment • Subjects immediately gave possible ideas and anything coming to mind about task. • Subject given pocket-sized notebook with pen attached and told to think about this problem for next 2 days, writing down every idea that occurs to them. • Alcohol/Placebo groups: given 2 bottles of liquid (alcohol or placebo) to drink Wednesday night and Thursday night just before bed • Friday: subject describes experiment plan and researchers collect their notebooks • A panel of judges rated the scientific value/creativity of ideas in journal, counting the frequency of times they wrote ideas that were (to some degree) modifications of previous ideas (measure of incubation!) • Alcohol group produced more frequent and original incubations than other groups • In particular, on Thursday and Friday mornings they were more likely to write down incubations that occurred while sleeping or early in the morning (when they were likely still under the influence of alcohol) • CONCLUSION: Alcohol seems to be related to improved incubation RESULTS: alcohol was related to poor verification illumination phase and found: • Alcohol related to high originality and low flexibility • Alcohol UNRELATED to fluency.

Martindale et al (1986) (What did they investigate? What did they find? basal asymmetry vs. during different writing phases?)

Investigated differences in EEG activity when one is involved in primary process thinking compared to secondary process thinking Results showed a basal asymmetry (greater right-hemisphere activation than left-hemisphere activation) in subjects whose narratives contained more primary process content. Authors suggest that people who have a high-level of right hemisphere (as opposed to left-hemisphere) activation tend to think in a more "primary process" way.

Norlander & Gustafson (1998) (what did they investigate? Did alcohol affect divergent thinking scores? originality? flexibility? fluency? effects of moderate alcohol vs. lower levels of alcohol?)

Investigated effects of alcohol on divergent thinking Alcohol group had higher originality scores than other groups -However, alcohol group had lower flexibility scores than other groups -Fluency was not significantly affected -Lower levels of alcohol (.05 blood-alcohol level) showed no effects on creativity

• West et al (1983) (what did they investigate? primary process content when under influence of marijuana?)

Investigated effects of marijuana on creativity Marijuana group wrote stories with higher primary process content than control subjects, and more primary process content when under the influence of marijuana than when not.

Waller et al (1993) (What did they find regarding genetics and creative personality? for identical twins? for fraternal twins? What do they conclude about the nature of the creative personality trait?)

Moderately high (.54) correlation in responses of MZ twins -Very low, non-significant (-.06) for DZ twins Creativity is an EMERGENIC trait

Healey (2005) (what did she investigate? findings for kids with/without ADHD? IQ? Torrance Test? Torrance subscales? insight problem? overall conclusions?)

Investigated kids 10-12 years of age (half with ADHD, half without) • Is there evidence of ADHD being associated with high creativity? Creativity measured using Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) and two-string insight problem IQ also measured No significant difference in IQ between kids with or without ADHD - Overall, no significant difference in creativity between groups on either creativity measure ADHD children are no more creative than those without ADHD

Peterson & Lansky (1977) (what did they investigate? what population? any evidence of differences in handedness?)

Looked at Univ. of Cincinnati architecture program •Results -29% of faculty left-handed (~10% in general population) -Left-handers performed better in program than right-handers- In general, more left-handers apply to architecture schools Looking at handedness is not a DIRECT measure of brain function, it is only inferred based on their dominant hand - the usefulness of this information regarding lateralization is limited.

Carson et al (2003) (findings regarding moderating factor for latent inhibition in differentiating psychosis/creativity? eminent creative achievers? difference in low latent inhibition? overall conclusions regarding creativity, IQ level, and latent inhibition?)

Low latent inhibition scores significantly and highly correlated with: - Creative achievement - Creative personality - "originality" in divergent thinking tasks - those who had made a significant contribution to a creative domain before age of 21 Found a much higher percentage of low latent inhibition scores in the high (eminent) achievement group than in low achievement group Difference between normal and highly-creative cognition seems to be not only the reduced latent inhibition (failure to filter out irrelevant stimuli), but also high IQ In their study, it was the COMBINATION of high IQ and reduced latent inhibition that predicted high creative achievement • For subjects with reduced latent inhibition, people with IQ over 120 had MUCH higher creative achievement scores than those with moderate (under 120) IQ • For high latent inhibition, IQ didn't make much difference • Also, having reduced latent inhibition without particularly high IQ didn't lead to significantly high creative achievement scores

overinclusive thought (what is it? semantic memory? "loosened conceptual boundaries"?)

Positive mood seems to increase overinclusive thought - Excessive activation of semantic memory, activating even weakly-associated ideas - Loosens conceptual boundaries, leading to inclusion of things in categories that other people probably wouldn't - Also includes: original word associations, broader range of options, increase in ideational associations

primary process vs secondary process cognition (what are they? differences? differences regarding creative people vs. non-creative people? in their thinking? in their creative writing?

Primary process cognition - irrational, free associative, uninhibited, analogical Secondary process cognition - logical, realistic Studies suggest that creative people employ more primary process thinking (Kris, 1952) and that there is a higher level of primary process content in the fantasy narratives of more creative subjects (as opposed to less-creative subjects) (Hines & Martindale, 1973).

Flaherty's (2005) theory of creativity (What does it propose? three main brain areas? link between creative drive, hypergraphia, mania?)

Proposed model of creativity focusing on the interaction of: •Frontal lobes, temporal lobes, and limbic system •Proposes link between creative drive and hypergraphia and mania

limbic system (amygdala? relationship to bipolar disorder and increased creativity?)

Psychological disorder most associated with creativity •Bipolar patients typically show increase in creativity when in manic phase Bipolar disorder is associated with enlargement of amygdala (emotional center of brain)

openness to experience (what is it? reduced latent inhibition? relation to creativity?)

Reduced latent inhibition also associated with trait of openness to experience • attention to inner feelings / active imagination • preference for variety / intellectual curiosity • Openness to experienced consistently associated with divergent thinking, creative thinking, and creative achievement

Regressive Imagery Dictionary (what is it? what does it measure?)

Regressive Imagery Dictionary- identifies words and phrases that are indicative of primary process thinking.

creativity and high-stress levels (stress and "interpretation of events"? trait of creative people that may lead to stressful interpretations of life events?)

Research suggests that creative thinkers have more stress than noncreative people Research suggests that it isn't stressful events that affect one's mental and emotional health, it's how one perceives, experiences, and copes with those events This suggests that there are no real "environmental stressors" - only potential stressors. Whether they cause stress depends on the person's interpretation of the event. One of the traits associated with creative individuals in SENSITIVITY, and this sensitivity may lead creative people to be more prone to stressful interpretations of events.

cerebellum (what kinds of functions? How is it organized? connections with PFC? How might it be involved in creativity?)

Research suggests that the cerebellum may make significant contributions to creativity•Research suggests that cerebellum is involved in general timing and sequencing, not just with motor processes, but with cognitive processes as well (including those of working memory) Explained how cerebellum manipulates ideas in similar way to how it manipulates motor control (Ito) -Organized into many parallel circuits allowing powerful processing capabilities -The basic circuitry of these circuits is the same, what differs is the particular incoming information a circuit receives from other parts of the brain, and particular output destination for the information Cerebellum receives input from PFC via the pons -Cerebellum sends its output to PFC via the thalamus Researchers believe that the cerebellum would be useful in processing novel situation requiring creative/innovative solutions

handedness (what is it suggested to indicate?)

Researchers have sometimes used a person's handedness as an indicator of hemispheric dominance (righties being left-hemisphere dominant, lefties being right-hemisphere dominant)• In general, there haven't been many differences found in creativity of left-handers vs. right-handers

differences between creative people and prisoners

The antisocial nature of prisoners are quite possibly different from the "antisocial" nature of a creative artist. • Prisoners show UNCREATIVE tendencies as well • They are seemingly unable to see alternatives to crime and aggression • They are often unable to see how they could achieve their goals by any means other than antisocial means

Martindale & Hasenfus (1978, Experiment 1) (what task did they give subjects? At what points did they measure EEG? "inspiration" period? "elaboration" period? What did they find regarding EEG activity? differences between inspiration and elaboration phases? differences in creative vs non-creative subjects?)

Took EEG readings of 12 creative-writing students as they went through phases of story-writing activity: 1.Waiting for study to begin 2.During a 3-minute "inspiration" period (thinking about what they would write) 3.While actually writing the story •Students had been rated in creativity by their creative writing professor •Asked to make up story about a man who meets a woman and asks her out •Asked to "use their imagination" and make up story of who the man and woman are, how they met, and what will happen •They were specifically asked to be creative and original •RESULTS -Writers rated as "highly creative" had higher alpha activity during the "inspiration" phase than during "elaboration" phase -Less creative writers showed no differences in EEG activity during different phases of process

• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) (what is it? what does it do?)

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a noninvasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve symptoms of depression.

Snyder et al (2003) (what did they investigate? TMS? left frontotemporal lobe? effect on artistic ability? length of effect? effect on proofreading ability?)

Used Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to simulate temporary lesions of left fronto-temporal lobe •The fronto-lemporal lobe implicated in savant syndrome in young artistic savants and savants who emerge late in life due to fronto-temporal lobe dementia 4 of 11 subjects showed stylistic changes in their drawings after TMS -Judges described post-TMS drawings as being more lifelike, flamboyant, and complex than before TMS -Three of these 4 subjects also reported altered states of perception - feeling more alert and conscious of detail -One subject even said he wished he had been asked to write an essay (something he previously disliked) because the TMS led him to be highly aware of detail in his surroundings -These subjects' drawings did not revert back to original pre-TMS style even after 45 minutes, suggesting the effect may persist for longer time frames Subjects looked for grammatical errors in short proverbs •Two subjects (who had also shown drawing improvement) also showed improvement in proofreading after TMS •TMS caused impairment leading to savant-like ability to see details of the PARTS and not be fooled by what they expected to see

Nichols (1978) (What did he find regarding genetics and divergent thinking scores?)

average correlation of divergent thinking scores was .61 for identical twins and .50 for fraternal twins. -All together, about 22% of variation in divergent thinking scores due to influence of genes

commissures (what are they? largest one? corpus callosum?commissurotomy? split-brain patients?)

commissures - large bundles of nerve fibers connecting hemispheres corpus callosum - largest commissure commissurotomy - surgical severing of commissures There is a tendency to oversimplify functions of different hemispheres• Virtually any cognitive function involves both hemispheres to some degree

dorsolateral PFC (location? function? major connections?)

dorsolateral PFC- implements semantic memory retrieval, sustained attention, major connection with temporal, occipital, parietal (TOP) regions Left hemi

latent inhibition (what is it? reduced latent inhibition? relation to schizophrenia? openness?)

latent inhibition - the capacity of the brain to screen from current attentional focus stimuli previously experienced as irrelevant Schizophrenia associated with reduced latent inhibition • Reduced latent inhibition also associated with trait of openness to experience

psychoticism (what is it? who proposed it as basic trait? related characteristics? overinclusive thoughts? relationship to creativity? to psychosis?)

personality dimension related to - Risk-taking / Recklessness / Impulsiveness - Disregard for common sense - Non-conformist behavior - Inappropriate emotional expression Eysenck creative people have higher psychoticism scores • People high in psychoticism will exhibit some qualities commonly found in psychotics and may be more susceptible to becoming psychotic in certain environments. • Related to psychoticism: overinclusive thought - Overinclusive thought can lead to psychosis, but person will often have benefits of overinclusive thoughts without the psychosis - Person high in psychoticism will have tendency toward overinclusive thought, but not necessarily to the degree that they are considered psychotic

savants (what are they? theories of how they might acquire their skills?)

severely brain-impaired •How might they acquire their skills? -Through repetitive practice? -Maybe they have more highly -developed brains in their particular domain? -Probably not - these explanations don't explain all savant skills •Perhaps savant skills are largely INNATE and reside equally in everyone - they just aren't accessible without a rare form of brain impairment!

Nicol & Long (1996) (stress as a coping mechanism? findings for music hobbyists vs music therapists? conclusions about creativity and stress as a coping mechanism for hobbyists vs therapists?)

stress - psychological state of tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances -Hobbyists: significant correlation between high creativity and low levels of stress -Therapists: no difference in stress level between high and low creative thinkers - Creative thinking can reduce people's stress level. But why the difference between hobbyists and therapists? - Perhaps the two groups have different coping resources available • Music therapists have training in psychology and that may expose them to broader range of coping strategies • Music hobbyists may depend more on stress relief of creative endeavors since they have fewer coping resources on which to draw

ventromedial PFC (location? function? major connections? most common deficit associate with damage? Might damage be beneficial to creativity?)

ventromedial PFC - heavily connected to limbic system Most common deficit associated the VMPFC lesions is impaired social function -Inappropriate social behaviors, lack of moral judgment -Lowered social inhibitions, showing little concern for self/others -Showing little regard for social restraints No. -The unconventional tendencies of creative people tend to be intentional and controllable. They know what they're doing when they're being unconventional - they are aware of social convention, they just aren't that concerned with it!

alcoholism & drug abuse (biographical evidence from Ludwig, 1995?)

• 60% of people in theater likely had alcoholism • Fiction writers: 41% • Musicians: 40% • Military, natural sciences, social sciences, social activism: under 10% • 36% of musicians engaged in drug abuse • Theater: 24% • Fiction writers: 19% • Poetry writers: 17% • Explorers, sports, military: very rare and virtually non-existent

Ludwig (1995) (what did find regarding depression among various professions? among various "types" of professions? which had most depression? most mania?)

• Depression highest in poets (77%), fiction writers (59%), artists (50%), non-fiction writers (47%), and composers (46%) •Artistic Types (architecture, theater, art, music, writers/poets) : 50% had depression •Social Types (sports, social activism, social figure, companion): 27% •Investigative Types (natural/social sciences): 24% •Enterprising Types (business, exploration, military, public office): 20% Mania highest in actors (17%), poets (13%), architects (13%), and nonfiction writers (11%) •Artistic types :10% mania •Investigative types: 0% mania

Dykes & McGhie (1976) (findings regarding creative subjects and schizophrenic subjects? dichotic shadowing? conclusions regarding creative people?)

• Found that both creative subjects and schizophrenic subjects performed similarly on dichotic shadowing task • Subject listens to 2 different stereo channels, repeating words heard in one ear • Creative and schizophrenic subjects better than controls at identifying items presented on irrelevant stereo channel • Supports idea of creative people tending not to screen out "irrelevant" details (reduced latent inhibition)

Hirt (1999) (general findings regarding effect of mood on creativity?)

• Found that people in POSITIVE mood states have consistently shown higher creativity than people in other mood states, regardless of researchers' method of inducing positive mood and particular type of creative task

Eisenman (1992) (what did he investigate? conduct disordered vs psychotic prisoners? complexity of polygons? findings/conclusions for all prisoners? for psychotic vs conduct disordered prisoners?)

• Measured prisoners' creativity by testing their preference for polygons that varied in complexity (creative people prefer complexity, and this technique had been used in lots of previous research) Both types of prisoners preferred simple polygons over complex, suggesting low creativity for both groups - However, there was an overwhelming preference for simple polygons in the psychotic prisoners Overall, prisoners rate as being low in creativity - Psychotic prisoners found lower in creativity than conduct-disordered prisoners - Are criminals creative, just in socially-unacceptable ways? No!

• Kaufmann & Vosburg (1997) (What did they find regarding positive mood vs neutral and negative mood in solving insight problems?)

• Positive mood did NOT enhance subjects' ability to solve problems • Positive-mood subjects were outperformed by negative/neutral-mood subjects

Kaufmann & Vosburg (2002) (What kind of tasks did they perform? Performance recorded over 4-minute interval? What did they find regarding positive mood, negative mood, and neutral mood over time? regarding "unconstrained" solution requirements vs "constrained" solution requirements?)

• Subjects induced into positive, negative, or neutral mood • Subjects performed 4 divergent thinking tasks and performance recorded across 4-minute interval • Positive mood led to more ideas early on • However, after having produced a number of ideas, negative and neutral moods seemed to be better Positive mood beneficial under unconstrained solution requirements (early on, where most idea options still available), but detrimental under constrained solution requirements (later, where many idea options have been exhausted)

Andreasen (1997) (what did she find when comparing creative writing faculty to other professions like lawyers, social works, etc? regarding depression? regarding bipolar disorder?)

• strikingly high incidence of affective disorders in sample of writers 43% had any type of bipolar disorder 37% had major depressive disorder