The Effect of the Bodily State on Creative Thinking and the Mechanism

Abstract

Most of us are sitting down to think and solve complex or challenging problems. However, some eminent people often preferred other bodily states (bodily postures or physical activities) for getting original thoughts or solutions. Can bodily postures or physical activities of an individual really affect the generation of creative ideas? If so, which is the best way for creativity? Why and how can they enhance creativity? There is an increasing interest in embodied cognition and the role of bodily state in human cognitive processes. However, very little research has focused on higherlevel processes like human creativity from this viewpoint. This paper reviews the literature on the effect of the bodily states on human cognition, especially creativity, thus providing insight into the theory of embodied cognition, the recent findings of the relevant study and the possible mechanisms underlying this effect. Future studies should systematically compare the effect of different bodily states on creative thinking and study on the mechanisms by empirical studies.