Bashmakova Iana, Shcherbakova Olga
Department of General Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Front Psychol. 2021 Jun 11;12:663881. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.663881. eCollection 2021.
Creativity is a crucial prerequisite for innovation, successful problem solving, and self-expression, but how do we affect creative thinking in a positive way? The present study investigated the effects of open monitoring meditation (OMM) on creativity. We proposed that OMM will benefit creativity in metaphor production by cognitive flexibility (CF) enhancement. In the main study, participants were randomly assigned to one of the three groups: meditation, active, and passive controls. The first two groups performed an audio-guided task (real meditation or a narrative on house plants) for 2 weeks, and the third one had no task. Pre- and post-tests included measures of metaphor production, CF, state, sustained attention, attention shifting, and intelligence. We found no significant intra- or intergroup differences that would suggest OMM effects on creativity. Further, no links were found between measures of metaphor creativity and CF. Findings reveal potential challenges of using meditation as a cognitive enhancement tool. Methodological issues concerning meditation research, as well as creativity and CF measures, are discussed.
创造力是创新、成功解决问题和自我表达的关键先决条件，但我们如何以积极的方式影响创造性思维呢？本研究调查了开放式监测冥想（OMM）对创造力的影响。我们提出，开放式监测冥想将通过增强认知灵活性（CF）来促进隐喻生成中的创造力。在主要研究中，参与者被随机分配到三组中的一组：冥想组、主动对照组和被动对照组。前两组进行了为期两周的音频引导任务（真正的冥想或关于室内植物的叙述），第三组没有任务。测试前和测试后包括隐喻生成、认知灵活性、状态、持续注意力、注意力转移和智力的测量。我们没有发现表明开放式监测冥想对创造力有影响的显著组内或组间差异。此外，在隐喻创造力和认知灵活性的测量之间没有发现联系。研究结果揭示了将冥想用作认知增强工具的潜在挑战。讨论了有关冥想研究以及创造力和认知灵活性测量的方法学问题。
