Aerobic Exercise and Creative Potential: Immediate and Residual Effects

Blanchette, David; Ramocki, Stephen P.; O'del, John N.; Casey, Michael

doi:10.1207/s15326934crj1702&3_10

Cited by 36 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Steinberg et al (1997) found only small improvements in a group of fit participants, and only in one of the three measures of the Torrance test of creative thinking. Blanchette et al (2005) used the same test and found enhancing effects of exercise over a 2 h period. It is possible that in some or all of these previous studies physical exercise provided the opportunity for mind-wandering or incubation in trained (and, thus, less challenged) people.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Indeed, the philosopher Henry David Thoreau stated: “the moment my legs begin to move my thoughts begin to flow – as if I had given vent to the stream at the lower end and consequently new fountains flowed into it at the upper” (Thoreau, 1851). Several studies have indeed shown that physical exercise in healthy adults may sometimes enhance creative thinking – even though the size of this effect can vary substantially (Gondola and Tuckman, 1985; Gondola, 1986, 1987; Steinberg et al, 1997; Blanchette et al, 2005). Gondola and Tuckman (1985) investigated the effects of long-term physical exercise on creativity performance, showing small but significant improvements in Alternate Uses (spontaneous flexibility) and Remote Consequences (originality) tasks, but not for an Obvious Consequences (different ideas) task.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking

Colzato

Szapora

Pannekoek

et al. 2013

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Anecdotal literature suggests that creative people sometimes use bodily movement to help overcome mental blocks and lack of inspiration. Several studies have shown that physical exercise may sometimes enhance creative thinking, but the evidence is still inconclusive. In this study we investigated whether creativity in convergent- and divergent-thinking tasks is affected by acute moderate and intense physical exercise in athletes (n = 48) and non-athletes (n = 48). Exercise interfered with divergent thinking in both groups. The impact on convergent thinking, the task that presumably required more cognitive control, depended on the training level: while in non-athletes performance was significantly impaired by exercise, athletes showed a benefit that approached significance. The findings suggest that acute exercise may affect both, divergent and convergent thinking. In particular, it seems to affect control-hungry tasks through exercise-induced “ego-depletion,” which however is less pronounced in individuals with higher levels of physical fitness, presumably because of the automatization of movement control, fitness-related neuroenergetic benefits, or both.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking

Colzato

Szapora

Pannekoek

et al. 2013

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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show abstract

“…In order to examine cognitive change as a result of body-based training, most researchers have used tasks that test lower cognitive functions, such as reaction time (for reviews see [23] and [24]); while only a few examined creativity [25], [26]. Although reaction time (RT) is one of the most widely used measures of cognitive performance, it is not sufficiently sensitive to evaluate changes in other cognitive functions, such as creativity [24] that may occur as a result of mental and motor training.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Into the Square and out of the Box: The effects of Quadrato Motor Training on Creativity and Alpha Coherence

et al. 2013

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The objective of the present study was to investigate the body-cognitive relationship through behavioral and electrophysiological measures in an attempt to uncover the underlying mediating neuronal mechanism for movement-induced cognitive change. To this end we examined the effects of Quadrato Motor Training (QMT), a new whole-body training paradigm on cognitive performance, including creativity and reaction time tasks, and electrophysiological change, using a within-subject pre-post design. Creativity was studied by means of the Alternate Uses Task, measuring ideational fluency and ideational flexibility. Electrophysiological effects were measured in terms of alpha power and coherence. In order to determine whether training-induced changes were driven by the cognitive or the motor aspects of the training, we used two control groups: Verbal Training (VT, identical cognitive training with verbal response) and Simple Motor Training (SMT, similar motor training with reduced choice requirements). Twenty-seven participants were randomly assigned to one of the groups. Following QMT, we found enhanced inter-hemispheric and intra-hemispheric alpha coherence, and increased ideational flexibility, which was not the case for either the SMT or VT groups. These findings indicate that it is the combination of the motor and cognitive aspects embedded in the QMT which is important for increasing ideational flexibility and alpha coherence.

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“…Ramocki (2002) studied the effects of aerobic exercise in unfit versus fit groups, on a test for creative thinking, and reported that, when exercise took place prior to taking the test, an increase in creativity was observed. In the study by Blanchette, Ramocki, O'Del, and Casey (2005), participants who took part in an aerobic exercise session showed greater creative potential than when they did not have an exercise session. Individuals participating in nonspecific treatment groups showed an improvement in general creativity, but those who were in groups receiving specific treatment showed an improvement in game-oriented creativity (Memmert & Roth, 2007), and Memmert and Perl (2009) observed high creativity scores in ball games experts, outlining a framework based on neural networks for analyzing creative performance.…”

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confidence: 99%

Morningness-Eveningness Personality and Creative Thinking Among Young People Who Play Recreational Sport

Cavallera¹,

Boari²,

Labbrozzi³

et al. 2011

soc behav pers

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Morningness-eveningness personality and creative thinking were investigated in a sample of young people who play recreational sports. Results showed that male participants were more eveningness-oriented than females; evening types had lower scores in creative thinking, although these were not statistically significant; the elaboration factor of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (Torrance, 1989) was positively correlated with taking part in sport activities in the whole sample; and the elaboration and fluidity factors were negatively correlated with intermediate and morningness dispositions. The relationship between the number of hours per week of sport activity, morningness-eveningness personality, and creative thinking was also explored.Personality psychology researchers have explored two personality typologies: morning types − who go to bed early, wake up early in the morning, are active SOCIAL

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Aerobic Exercise and Creative Potential: Immediate and Residual Effects

Cited by 36 publications

References 18 publications

The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking

The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking

Into the Square and out of the Box: The effects of Quadrato Motor Training on Creativity and Alpha Coherence

Morningness-Eveningness Personality and Creative Thinking Among Young People Who Play Recreational Sport

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