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APRIL 2009 Welcome to Creativity Immersion, a monthly newsletter dedicated to the development of creative thinking. For more information, please visit www.synchlora.com Creativity, Elephants and Ideas Spreading Activation in Memory A Conversation With Economist Dr. Bruce Yandle
What we know about it and how we can use it to boost creative thinking.
How can a seemingly unrelated concept such as a starfish be related to your challenge, and why should you even spend time thinking about it? Understanding a bit about how scientists believe spreading activation works in our brains may help boost receptivity to idea generation techniques. Concepts in our brains are believed to be connected in a neural network based on semantic associations. When a word is triggered by hearing it or reading it, it is thought that this activation is unconsciously spread to its neighbors in the semantic network, with activation decreasing over time or with interference from other words. Scientists study this phenomenon by using "priming" experiments and studying the results. For example, a word (called the "prime") such as "book" may be shown to a participant for a very short period of time. If related concepts (called "targets") such as "read" are activated as predicted by the theory, they will be correctly recognized more quickly and more accurately than in a situation where no prime was given. By selectively presenting the prime and the target to either the left field of view (processed by the right hemisphere) or the right field of view (processed by the left hemisphere), much knowledge has been gathered about how the hemispheres process information in markedly different ways. In summary, studies such as these suggest that activation for more distantly related concepts occurs more strongly in the right hemisphere than the left. The results support the hypotheses that the left hemisphere operates in a focused manner with a strong preference for relevant material and suppression of irrelevant material. The right hemisphere is hypothesized to process information in a defocused fashion with comparatively little suppression of irrelevant material. How does this understanding of differences in hemispheric processing relate to creative thinking? First, it gives a scientific basis for considering the use of surprising stimuli as often suggested by creativity techniques. Two concepts that are partially activated have a better chance of forming a connection than a strongly activated concept and a deactivated concept. These random stimuli are unconsciously triggering semantic networks unrelated to the challenge at hand, and may set the stage for finding a new connection between concepts previously thought to be unrelated and an "aha" discovery of a new idea. These findings also suggest that the tendency of the left hemisphere to focus on relevant concepts and actually suppress unrelated concepts may need to be managed during idea generation sessions. In brainstorming sessions, a frequent instruction is to "suspend judgment" while searching for new ideas, but these instructions are all to often taken in the context of what is verbalized ("Don't criticize other's ideas!) instead of what is actually thought ("Maybe there is a connection between our challenge and a starfish - let's explore for a while and see where this goes.")
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Creativity, Elephants and Ideas Much like the fable about the blind men and the elephant where each man confidently (yet incorrectly) interpreted the animal based on one aspect alone (e.g., the trunk, the tail, a leg), creativity is a matter of perspective that requires a holistic view. Creativity may appear as different creatures to people in various professions, yet all views offer insights into the bigger picture. In the midst of differences about creativity, one thread appears to be consistent. In a recent study, a large group of people in creative occupations such as art, graphic design, sculpting, etc. and a control group of students representing various majors were asked for their definition of creativity. The results were highly mixed, including terms such as unusual, radical, surprising, original and funny. Somewhat surprisingly, the only aspect that all participants agreed on was that a creative person is capable of having a lot of ideas. Having ideas is a product of creative thinking, and creative thinking is a basic mental operation that anyone can apply if they choose. So while there are variations across disciplines, the essence of creativity might be best captured as having the ability to generate many ideas. This simple yet unifying element returns the often elusive and mystical concept of creativity to everyone, regardless of artistic ability or profession. In addition to the innate abilities we all possess, there are many methods and techniques for improving creative thinking. Numerous studies support the notion that creative thinking can be enhanced with training. In essence, creativity is really just a matter of choice about how we direct our mental resources. A Conversation With Economist Dr. Bruce Yandle This index, described in Richard Florida's book The Rise of the Creative Class, takes into consideration a community's degree of tolerance to new ideas and different ways of thinking. Understanding a climate for creativity is important, because unlike natural resources that more or less stay put, creative talent is typically free to move about to seek a supportive and nurturing environment. The Creativity Index, which also includes measures of talent and technology, provides some insight into what it takes to build such a climate. Perhaps the most valuable insight I gained from my conversation with Dr. Yandle was during an exchange after we left the recording studio. I was expressing my gratitude to him for making it easy to stay in the conversation since economics is not my area of expertise. Dr. Yandle commented that it was very important for us to be willing and able to communicate across our areas of expertise and remain open to ideas from many different sources. This simple yet profound viewpoint touches the core of creativity in several ways. It is generally accepted that new ideas often occur at the intersection of different disciplines, yet many barriers discourage deliberate attempts to communicate across disciplines (e.g., time pressures, reward systems, competitive egos). Another danger that often accompanies expertise is a narrower viewpoint of possibilities in a given situation. Dr. Yandle's comment about remaining open to ideas regardless of their source or the person's area of expertise By making a deliberate attempt to exchange ideas with someone outside your area of expertise and remaining open to the value of their ideas, your own creativity is nurtured with a feast of new possibilities. Dr. Bruce Yandle is author of the quarterly newsletter The Economic Situation Report. This conversation aired on Your Day Public Radio on Thursday April 9. Back to top
Ideas at the IntersectionWater ripples spreading from a point of disturbance (or "activation") are a good visual metaphor for the way spreading activation of concepts is believed to occur in our brains. When a concept is activated, much like a still pool of water receiving a pebble, waves of activation are sent outward to neurons encoding neighboring associated concepts. The waves are stronger near the point of disturbance (or activation) and become weaker as the energy dissipates. In some ways, the pattern of ripples created by activation of a single concept can be related to the proverbial "box" of our thinking. Activating the concept "paper clip" may activate associated concepts like paper, office, organization and such, but it is unlikely to activate a distant concept such as "starfish". This is our brain's normal way of efficient concept organization and structured thinking which has evolved as an essential survival mechanism. When we want to find new ideas, we need ways to suspend this usual way of thinking to allow for a different, more open type of thinking. Since finding a new idea is finding a new connection between existing concepts previously thought to be unrelated, we need to purposely activate concepts that are seemingly unrelated and explore the areas of intersection where the ripples meet and join new patterns. The next time you need "out of the box" thinking, give it a try. Find unrelated stimuli and encourage your brain's natural inclination to spread activation outward from your challenge and the unrelated concept to form new connections. One approach is to jot down some ideas about your challenge, then shift attention to the unrelated concept and jot down some thoughts about this concept - whatever comes to mind. Glancing over each of the lists will help spawn new ripples of activation to encourage new connections between concepts that were previously thought to be related. While it may seem unlikely that you will find an incredible idea with the first attempt to relate a challenge to an unrelated stimulus, it is important to realize the benefit of the shift in thinking style that occurs with this kind of technique. Just by being open to the possibility of a connection with an unlikely concept, your brain enters "explore" mode and many ideas that might have been stifled in critical thinking mode now have an opportunity to surface. This photograph is from the Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in Singapore. For more information about metaphors, see the short paper Fresh Thinking with Visual Metaphors and the blog Inspiration From Nature. back to top Spreading Activation in Memory (continued) While a person may outwardly comply with these instructions of "suspended judgment", the left hemisphere may dutifully continue to censor thinking according to its own preference. Hopefully, an understanding of how the brain appears to process information will offer a sense of internal permission that allows the right hemisphere to actively explore distant relationships between concepts that the left hemisphere might immediately shut down as "irrelevant". |
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