The effects of approach and avoidance motor actions on the elements of creative insight.

Abstract

The authors propose that the nonaffective bodily feedback produced by arm flexion and extension informs individuals about the processing requirements of the situation, leading to the adoption of differential processing styles and thereby influencing creativity. Specifically, the authors predicted that arm flexion would elicit a heuristic processing strategy and bolster insight processes, whereas arm extension would elicit a systematic processing strategy and impair insight processes. To test these predictions, the authors assessed the effects of these motor actions on 3 central elements of creative insight: contextual set-breaking, restructuring, and mental search. As predicted, in 6 experiments, ann flexion, relative to arm extension, facilitated insight-related processes. In a 7th experiment, arm extension, relative to arm flexion, facilitated analytical reasoning, supporting a cognitive tuning interpretation of the findings.

Temporal Construal Effects on Abstract and Concrete Thinking: Consequences for Insight and Creative Cognition.

“…In this task, participants mentally extract images of familiar objects (e.g., a bird) from intricate patterns of visual noise or "snow" (see Friedman & Förster, 2000, 2002. Like verbal insight problems, SPT problems often produce an impasse during solution in which participants do not know how to proceed.…”

“…This notion was tested in Experiment 6. Here, we administered a portion of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Analytical test, which relies on adherence to concrete algorithms as opposed to abstract heuristics (Amabile, 1996;Friedman & Förster, 2000). As such, we expected to find poorer performance under distant time perspective compared with near time perspective.…”

“…Finally, in Experiment 6, we administered an analytical reasoning task that should not profit from distant time perspective. This was meant to rule out the alternative explanation that distant time perspective simply increases motivation to work on any task (see Friedman & Förster, 2000).…”

“…Participants view these images sequentially, attempting to perceptually disembed and name the obscured objects they contain. This task, which we have previously used to gauge "breaking context induced mental set," a process historically accorded a central role in creative cognition (Friedman & Förster, 2000; Experiment 2; see Schooler & Melcher, 1995), may essentially be seen as a test of visual insight inasmuch as it meets the three formal characteristics of creative insight problems proposed: Each component item is soluble, produces a state of uncertainty regarding how to proceed, and is likely to produce a metacognitive "aha" experience when the impasse is suddenly overcome. Likewise, in Experiment 3, another visual insight task, the Gestalt Completion Test (GCT; Ekstrom et al, 1976;see Friedman & Förster, 2000, Experiments 3 and 4) was used.…”

Fluid movement and creativity.

“…For instance, angular lines convey more threat whereas rounded lines convey more warmth (Aronoff, Woike, & Hyman, 1992). A group of 30 undergraduate participants traced one set of drawings, based on random assignment, and subsequently completed a self-report mood measure (Friedman & Förster, 2000). They first indicated their overall current mood ("How do you feel right now?")…”