Search

Creativity incorporates both domain-general and domain-specific ideas. While previous studies have explored the impact of emotional intelligence (EI) on creativity in both domains, a consensus has not been reached, and the mechanism is currently unclear. In the present study, we examined which aspect of creativity EI was most strongly associated with in a group of undergraduates. Moreover, we explored the moderated mediation effect between EI and domain-specific creativity. In Study 1, 532 undergraduates completed questionnaires measuring EI, convergent and divergent creative thinking, and creative achievement. The results revealed that the most reliable positive correlations were between EI and domain-specific creativity. In Study 2, 926 undergraduates completed measurements of EI, resilience, gratitude, and creative achievement. The results revealed that resilience mediates the relationship between EI and creative achievement. Furthermore, gratitude moderated the indirect effect of EI on creative achievement through resilience. The indirect effect of EI on creative achievement was stronger for high-gratitude individuals than for low-gratitude individuals. This orientation and other results are discussed. Overall, our findings add further nuance to the relationship between EI and creativity in different domains. This study serves as a basis for other contributions aligned with these concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis was used to conduct a quantitative investigation of neuroimaging studies on divergent thinking. Based on the ALE results, the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies showed that distributed brain regions were more active under divergent thinking tasks (DTTs) than those under control tasks, but a large portion of the brain regions were deactivated. The ALE results indicated that the brain networks of the creative idea generation in DTTs may be composed of the lateral prefrontal cortex, posterior parietal cortex [such as the inferior parietal lobule (BA 40) and precuneus (BA 7)], anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (BA 32), and several regions in the temporal cortex [such as the left middle temporal gyrus (BA 39), and left fusiform gyrus (BA 37)]. The left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA 46) was related to selecting the loosely and remotely associated concepts and organizing them into creative ideas, whereas the ACC (BA 32) was related to observing and forming distant semantic associations in performing DTTs. The posterior parietal cortex may be involved in the semantic information related to the retrieval and buffering of the formed creative ideas, and several regions in the temporal cortex may be related to the stored long-term memory. In addition, the ALE results of the structural studies showed that divergent thinking was related to the dopaminergic system (e.g., left caudate and claustrum). Based on the ALE results, both fMRI and structural MRI studies could uncover the neural basis of divergent thinking from different aspects (e.g., specific cognitive processing and stable individual difference of cognitive capability). Hum Brain Mapp 36:2703-2718, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on the association between executive functions and creativity has revealed mixed results. Here, we examined which of three components of executive functioning, working memory (WM) updating, inhibition, and shifting ability, is most strongly associated with which aspect of creative thinking in a group of young adolescents. Moreover, we assessed the effects of specifically training that function on various measures of creative thinking. In Study 1, 73 13- to 15-year-old adolescents performed tasks measuring information processing speed, WM maintenance, WM updating, inhibition, shifting ability, and convergent and divergent creative thinking. In Study 2, 68 12- to 14-year-old adolescents were randomly assigned to an adaptive WM updating training or active control condition. Before and after training, all children were assessed using a WM updating transfer task and tests of convergent and divergent thinking. Study 1 identified WM updating as most reliable correlate of most of the creative thinking outcome measures. Study 2 revealed training-induced beneficial effects on the WM transfer task and on most of the creative outcome measures. These results, together with the outcome of previous studies, are promising in suggesting the potential of cognitive training programs that specifically target WM updating to enhance aspects of creative thinking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]