Improving creativity performance by short-term meditation
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RESEARCH
Open Access
Improving creativity performance by short-term meditation Xiaoqian Ding1, Yi-Yuan Tang2,3*, Rongxiang Tang4 and Michael I Posner3
Abstract Background: One form of meditation intervention, the integrative body-mind training (IBMT) has been shown to improve attention, reduce stress and change self-reports of mood. In this paper we examine whether short-term IBMT can improve performance related to creativity and determine the role that mood may play in such improvement. Methods: Forty Chinese undergraduates were randomly assigned to short-term IBMT group or a relaxation training (RT) control group. Mood and creativity performance were assessed by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) questionnaire respectively. Results: As predicted, the results indicated that short-term (30 min per day for 7 days) IBMT improved creativity performance on the divergent thinking task, and yielded better emotional regulation than RT. In addition, cross-lagged analysis indicated that both positive and negative affect may influence creativity in IBMT group (not RT group). Conclusions: Our results suggested that emotion-related creativity-promoting mechanism may be attributed to short-term meditation. Keywords: Creativity, Emotion, Positive affect, Negative affect, Short-term meditation, Integrative body-mind training, Cross-lagged analysis
Background Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something novel (i.e., original and unexpected) and appropriate (i.e., valuable and adaptive concerning task constraints) is created [1], such as an idea, an artistic or literary work, a painting or musical composition, a solution, and an invention. Creativity is essential to the development and advancement of human civilization and plays a crucial role in our cultural life [2]. Hence, researchers among various disciplines have burgeoning interest in the potential for fostering creativity through education and training. Traditionally, creativity is viewed as a relatively stable individual difference, with some people being regarded as consistently more creative than others [3]. More recently, creativity has been studied as a less stable phenomenon that varies as a function of brief states of the person and situation [2,4]. It is possible to measure creativity in a fast way that allows assessment of states induced by training. As one of the most widely used test of creativity, Torrance * Correspondence: [email protected] 2 Department of Psychology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA 3 Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) is easy to administrate in short time [5,6]. It has fewer limitations and cautions to apply, and is more researched and analyzed than any other creativity instrument [6,7]. Many studies examined the predictive validity of the TTCT including elementary education majors, seventh-grade students, and economically di
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