Loosely controlled experimental EEG datasets for higher-order cognitions in design and creativity tasks.

Understanding neural mechanisms in design and creativity processes remains a challenging endeavor. To address this gap, we present two electroencephalography (EEG) datasets recorded in design and creativity experiments. We have discussed the details, similarities, differences, and corresponding cognitive tasks of the two datasets in the following sections. The design dataset (Dataset A) comprises EEG recordings of 27 participants during loosely controlled design creation experiments. Each experiment included six design problems. In each design problem, participants performed five cognitive tasks, including problem understanding, idea generation, rating idea generation, idea evaluation, and rating idea evaluation. The NASA Task Load Index was used in rating tasks. The creativity dataset (Dataset B) includes EEG signals recorded from 28 participants in creativity experiments which were based on a modified variant of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT-F). Participants were presented with three incomplete sketches and were asked to perform three creativity tasks for each sketch: idea generation, idea evolution, and idea evaluation. In both datasets, we structured the experiments into predefined steps, primarily to ensure participants' comfort and task clarity. This was the only control applied to the experiments. All the tasks were loosely controlled: open-ended (up to 3 min) and self-paced. 64-channel EEG signals were recorded at 500 Hz based on the international 10-10 system by the Brain Vision EEG recording system while the participants were performing their assigned tasks. EEG channels were pre-processed and finally referenced to the Cz channel to remove artifacts. EEGs were pre-processed using popular pipelines widely used in previous studies. Preprocessed EEG signals were finally segmented according to the tasks to facilitate future analyses. The EEG signals are stored in the .mat format. While the present paper mainly addresses pre-processed datasets, it also cites raw EEG recordings in the following sections. We aim to promote research and facilitate the development of experimental protocols and methodologies in design and creativity cognition by sharing these resources. There exist important points regarding the datasets which are worth mentioning. These datasets represent a novel contribution to the field, offering insights into design and creativity neurocognition. To our knowledge, publicly accessible datasets of this nature are scarce, and, to the best of our knowledge, our datasets are the first publicly available ones in design and creativity. Researchers can utilize these datasets directly or draw upon the considerations and technical insights provided to inform their studies. Furthermore, we introduce the concept of loosely controlled cognitive experiments in design and creativity cognition. These experiments strike a balance between flexibility and control, allowing participants to incubate creative ideas over extended response times while maintaining structured experimental sections. Such an approach fosters more natural data recording procedures and holds the potential to enhance the accuracy and reliability of future studies. The loosely controlled approach can be employed in future cognitive studies. This paper also conducts a comparative analysis of the two datasets, offering a holistic view of design and creativity tasks. By exploring various aspects of these cognitive processes, we provide an understanding for future researchers.

Investigating the involvement of cognitive control processes in innovative and adaptive creativity and their age-related changes.

Introduction: Based on the two-factor model of creativity, two distinct types of creative problem solving can be differentiated: innovative ("do things differently") and adaptive ("do things better"). Flexible cognitive control is a crucial concept in connection with both general and specific styles of creativity: innovative problem-solving benefits from broader attention and flexible mental set shifting; while adaptive creativity relies on focused attention and persistent goal-oriented processes. We applied an informatively cued task-switching paradigm which is suitable for measuring different cognitive control processes and mechanisms like proactive and reactive control. We hypothesized that adaptive creativity is connected to effective proactive control processes, while innovative creativity is based on reactive task-execution. As we have found no previous evidence how age-related changes in cognitive control affects creative cognition; we also examined the effect of healthy aging on different problem-solving styles in an explorative way. Methods: Our participants, 37 younger (18-30 years) and 37 older (60-75 years) adults, were divided into innovative and adaptive creative groups according to the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking's Figural Subtest (Hungarian version). Results: Our results showed that among younger adults the adaptively creative group had larger cue-locked CNV component (effective preparatory activity connected to proactive control), while the innovatively creative group had a larger target-locked P3b component (effective target evaluation and categorization in line with reactive control) which supports a functional difference in the two creative styles. By contrast, in older adults innovative problem-solving showed larger mixing costs (less effective maintenance and selection of task sets), and the lack of trial type effect on target-locked N2b (target-induced goal reactivation and less effective conflict resolution); while adaptive problem-solving caused them to make fewer errors (accuracy-oriented behavior). Discussion: All in all, innovative and adaptive creativity is based on distinct cognitive control mechanisms in both age-groups, but their processing level is affected by age-related changes.

Analyzing Creativity in the Light of Social Practice Theory.

In this work, starting from the social practice theory, we identified two kinds of creativity: a situational creativity that takes place when, starting from a defined situation, a social practice is played; and a creativity of habit that concerns the agents' capacity for generating new practices from habit when the situation is not defined or is unexpected. To test this hypothesis, the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (Verbal Form A) was analyzed in the light of praxeology, and the results are analyzed in a computational creativity perspective.

Test de pensamiento creativo de torrance (TTCT) - Verbal Forma B: Normas para adolescentes y adultos jóvenes argentinos / Torrance test of creative thinking (TTCT) ­ Verbal Form B: Normative data for argentinian adolescents and young adults

El TTCT Verbal es un instrumento que permite valorar la creatividad en niños y adultos a través de la fluidez, flexibilidad y originalidad, así como mediante una puntuación total. El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo establecer baremos para el TTCT Verbal en adolescentes y adultos jóvenes con el fin de poder utilizar el instrumento con propósitos diagnósticos y en ambientes educativos. La Forma B del TTCT Verbal, fue administrada a 432 sujetos (236 mujeres y 196 varones) de la provincia de Entre Ríos, Argentina, de entre 15 a 24 años de edad, de ambos sexos. Para estudiar el efecto de la edad, el sexo y su interacción se empleó MANOVA bifactorial. Los baremos, que se establecen por primera vez en Argentina, pueden ser de utilidad para la evaluación de la creatividad y la detección de las habilidades creativas en estudiantes.

The Verbal TTCT is an instrument that allows assessing creativity in children and adults through the Fluency, Flexibility and Originality abilities, as well as through a total score. The present work aims to establish normative data for the Verbal TTCT in adolescents and young adults in order to be able to use the instrument for diagnostic purposes and in educational settings. The verbal TTCT, form B was administered to 432 subjects of both sexes (236 women and 196 male) aged 15-24 of Entre Ríos, Argentina. Bifactorial MANOVA was used in order to study the effect of age, sex and their interaction over creativity. The norms, which are established for the first time in Argentina, may be useful for the assessment of creativity and the recognition of creative abilities in students.

Functional role of frontal alpha oscillations in creativity.

Creativity, the ability to produce innovative ideas, is a key higher-order cognitive function that is poorly understood. At the level of macroscopic cortical network dynamics, recent electroencephalography (EEG) data suggests that cortical oscillations in the alpha frequency band (8-12 Hz) are correlated with creative thinking. However, whether alpha oscillations play a functional role in creativity has remained unknown. Here we show that creativity is increased by enhancing alpha power using 10 Hz transcranial alternating current stimulation (10 Hz-tACS) of the frontal cortex. In a study of 20 healthy participants with a randomized, balanced cross-over design, we found a significant improvement of 7.4% in the Creativity Index measured by the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT), a comprehensive and most frequently used assay of creative potential and strengths. In a second similar study with 20 subjects, 40 Hz-tACS was used instead of 10 Hz-tACS to rule out a general "electrical stimulation" effect. No significant change in the Creativity Index was found for such frontal 40 Hz stimulation. Our results suggest that alpha activity in frontal brain areas is selectively involved in creativity; this enhancement represents the first demonstration of specific neuronal dynamics that drive creativity and can be modulated by non-invasive brain stimulation. Our findings agree with the model that alpha recruitment increases with internal processing demands and is involved in inhibitory top-down control, which is an important requirement for creative ideation.

Inteligencia y creatividad: correlatos entre los constructos a través de dos estudios empíricos / Intelligence and Creativity: Correlates among the Constructs through Two Empirical Studies

En el presente trabajo, se examina la relación entre la inteligencia, desde el enfoque de Cattell, y la creatividad, desde la perspectiva del pensamiento divergente, a través de dos estudios empíricos. En el estudio uno (E1), se analizó la relación entre la inteligencia fluida (gf y la creatividad figurativa en una muestra de 359 niños de 8 a 14 años de edad, encontrándose una asociación entre gf y todos los indicadores de la creatividad a excepción de la dimensión elaboración. En el estudio dos (E2), se investigó la relación entre la inteligencia cristalizada (gc) y gf y la creatividad verbal en una muestra de 120 adolescentes de 15 a 18 años, hallándose, por un lado, una asociación positiva entre la inteligencia y la creatividad verbal y, por otro lado, que gc es el aspecto de la inteligencia que predice la creatividad verbal. Los resultados de ambos estudios apoyan la hipótesis que sostiene que la creatividad y la inteligencia son constructos separados que se superponen en algunos aspectos y sugieren que las habilidades intelectuales (gc vs. gf) se asocian selectivamente a los diferentes tipos de creatividad (verbal vs. figurativa) y sus indicadores.

The present study describes the association between Intelligence and Creativity, considered from Cattell's approach and divergent thinking respectively, and by means of two empirical studies. The first study (S1), analyzed the relationship between fluid intelligence (gf) and figural creativity in 359 children from 8 to 14 years old, finding an association between gf and every creativity indicator except for elaboration. The second study (S2), evaluated the correlation between crystallized intelligence (gc) and gf and verbal creativity in a sample consisted of 120 adolescents between ages 15 and 18 years, showing a positive association between intelligence and verbal creativity and asserting gc as the trait of the intelligence which predicts verbal creativity. Results from both studies support the hypothesis that assumes that creativity and intelligence are separated constructs which overlap in some aspects, and suggest that intellectual skills (gc vs. gf) are selectively associated with the different types of creativity (verbal vs. figural) and their indicators.