Mind wandering “Ahas” versus mindful reasoning: alternative routes to creative solutions
Claire M. Zedelius, Jonathan W. Schooler
Frontiers in Psychology June 17, 2015 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00834 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Two studies: correlational and experimental Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Creativity Creative problem-solving Mind-wandering Construct python library Trait Cognitive psychology Function biology Psychotherapist Cognition |
| Citations | 124 |
| Key findings | Mindfulness is associated with impaired creative problem-solving when using insight but improved performance when using an analytic strategy. |
Abstract
Based on mixed results linking both mindfulness and its opposing construct mind wandering to enhanced creativity, we predicted that the relationship between mindfulness and creativity might depend on whether creative problems are approached through analytic strategy or through "insight" (i.e., sudden awareness of a solution). Study 1 investigated the relationship between trait mindfulness and compound remote associates problem solving as a function of participants' self-reported approach to each problem. The results revealed a negative relationship between mindfulness and problem-solving overall. However, more detailed analysis revealed that mindfulness was associated with impaired problem solving when approaching problems with insight, but increased problem solving when using analysis. In Study 2, we manipulated participants' problem-solving approach through instructions. We again found a negative relationship between mindfulness and creative performance in general, however, more mindful participants again performed better when instructed to approach problems analytically.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cited by 17
- The neural correlates of ongoing conscious thought iScience February 2, 2021
- Psychedelics as potential catalysts of scientific creativity and insight Drug Science, Policy and Law 2022
- The altered state of consciousness induced by Δ9-THC. Consciousness and Cognition May 28, 2022
- Restructuring insight: An integrative review of insight in problem-solving, meditation, psychotherapy, delusions and psychedelics November 26, 2021
- Dances with dogs: interspecies play and a case for sympoietic enactivism. Animal cognition March 1, 2021
and 12 more in the library
Cites 3
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects Psychological Inquiry October 19, 2007
- Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. Emotion February 6, 2012