Creative histories: Memories of past lives and measures of creativity.

Abstract

Experiencing memories of past lives is anomalous in Western culture. Such experiences may signify an overinclusive cognitive style, associated with creative ability. Accordingly, are reports of past life memory (PLM) associated with creativity? Is PLM associated with measures of overinclusiveness? To investigate these issues, we conducted two studies. In study one, we recruited subjects who reported having recovered memories of previous lives, and compared them to demographically matched comparison subjects on measures of creativity and latent inhibition (LI). Relative to comparison subjects, those reporting PLM had significantly higher scores on a variety of creativity measures, but not significantly higher scores on creative achievement (p ϭ .10). The PLM subjects were significantly more likely to have low LI, an indicator of overinclusive cognition associated with creativity in high-IQ subjects (Carson, Peterson, & Higgins, 2003). Partly replicating Carson et al.'s findings, low LI scores in subjects with high IQ scores predicted high scores on measures of divergent thinking and creativity, but not on a measure of creative achievement. In study two, we investigated the prevalence of past life beliefs and PLM among high-creative versus low-creative students. Relative to low-creative subjects, those high on creative achievement were significantly more likely to endorse both past life beliefs and report PLM. Further, both high-(relative to low-) creative achievers and those with PLM (relative to those with no PLM) scored significantly higher on a schizotypal personality measure of overinclusive thinking.

Creativity and Blocking: No Evidence for an Association

“…After all, several previous studies have indicated relationship between reduced latent inhibition and creativity (e.g., Carson et al, 2003;Kéri, 2011;Meyersburg et al, 2014;Peterson et al, 2002). One reason for the differential results may be differences between blocking and latent inhibition tasks.…”

“…It has been found that individuals scoring high on creativity measures will exhibit greater learning about irrelevant stimuli than individuals scoring low in creativity. This has been evidenced by performance on latent inhibition tasks, involving learning about irrelevant stimuli (e.g., Carson, Peterson, & Higgins, 2003;Kéri, 2011;Meyersburg, Carson, Mathis, & McNally, 2014;Peterson, Smith, & Carson, 2002). In a latent inhibition task, participants experience a repeated presentation of a stimulus (e.g., an image of a food) by itself.…”

Untitled

“…After all, several previous studies have indicated relationship between reduced latent inhibition and creativity (e.g., Carson et al, 2003;Kéri, 2011;Meyersburg et al, 2014;Peterson et al, 2002). One reason for the differential results may be differences between blocking and latent inhibition tasks.…”

“…It has been found that individuals scoring high on creativity measures will exhibit greater learning about irrelevant stimuli than individuals scoring low in creativity. This has been evidenced by performance on latent inhibition tasks, involving learning about irrelevant stimuli (e.g., Carson, Peterson, & Higgins, 2003;Kéri, 2011;Meyersburg, Carson, Mathis, & McNally, 2014;Peterson, Smith, & Carson, 2002). In a latent inhibition task, participants experience a repeated presentation of a stimulus (e.g., an image of a food) by itself.…”

Journeying to the past: time travel and mental time travel, how far apart?

“…However, if memories of past lives are accompanied by a strong sensation of traveling back in time, it could be argued that people, or at least some individuals, can mentally revisit time coordinates preceding their own birth. Nevertheless, these cases would remain exceptional instances of MTT, as memories of past lives are exceptional occurrences not only within Western culture but also in cultures where the belief in reincarnation is prevalent ( Meyersburg et al, 2014 ). Furthermore, even in these exceptional cases, the limits imposed by their personal history would still restrict the potential destinations they can reach.…”