The effects of age and professional expertise on working memory performance

Differences in professional choice and experience may explain age differences in working memory performance of elderly people. The aim of this study was to examine whether expertise and prolonged practice in verbal and visuo‐spatial abilities reduce age differences in laboratory working memory tasks. The effects of age and expertise on working memory performance were examined in three age groups in two different experiments. Firstly, the role of visuo‐spatial expertise was analysed by examining age differences in architects. Secondly, people with extensive experience in verbal abilities (literary people) were tested in order to evaluate the effect of professional verbal experience. Architects and literary people outperformed a group of unselected age peers on tasks related to professional expertise only, but not on general working memory tests. There was no interaction between age and experience, suggesting that professional experience does not increase differences between experts and non experts and cannot modulate age‐related effects. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parental socioeconomic status and the neural basis of arithmetic: differential relations to verbal and visuo‐spatial representations

We examined the relation of parental socioeconomic status (SES) to the neural bases of subtraction in school‐age children (9‐ to 12‐year‐olds). We independently localized brain regions subserving verbal versus visuo‐spatial representations to determine whether the parental SES‐related differences in children's reliance on these neural representations vary as a function of math skill. At higher SES levels, higher skill was associated with greater recruitment of the left temporal cortex, identified by the verbal localizer. At lower SES levels, higher skill was associated with greater recruitment of right parietal cortex, identified by the visuo‐spatial localizer. This suggests that depending on parental SES, children engage different neural systems to solve subtraction problems. Furthermore, SES was related to the activation in the left temporal and frontal cortex during the independent verbal localizer task, but it was not related to activation during the independent visuo‐spatial localizer task. Differences in activation during the verbal localizer task in turn were related to differences in activation during the subtraction task in right parietal cortex. The relation was stronger at lower SES levels. This result suggests that SES‐related differences in the visuo‐spatial regions during subtraction might be based in SES‐related verbal differences.     

The Effects of a Verbal and a Figural Creativity Training on Different Facets of Creative Potential

This study investigated the effects of different types of creativity interventions on different facets of creative potential, also including more school-related creativity demands. In a sample of 77 fourth-graders in the age between 9 and 12 years, we administered a verbal and a figural creativity training, realized in two school lessons over two consecutive days each. As outcome measures, creative potential in both the verbal and the figural domain by means of two well-established divergent thinking tasks was assessed. As additional measures of creative potential, a story completion task and a picture painting task were administered to examine training effects on more school-related types of creative behavior. The verbal training was found to increase both verbal and figural divergent thinking ability, but not creative potential in the story completion and the picture painting task. The figural training yielded significant training effects only regarding the picture painting task. Findings suggest a specific training effect of the figural creativity training, and moreover indicate that the verbal creativity training, rather than stimulating “verbal” creative abilities per se, was more strongly concerned with domain-general creativity processes including ideational fluency, flexibility, and originality that are characteristics of divergent thinking tasks across different domains.     

Strategy Induction Enhances Creativity in Figural Divergent Thinking

Instructional effects in creative‐thinking tasks are important to understand in order to promote creative performance of individuals. In divergent‐thinking tasks, for example, instructional and strategic enhancement effects have been extensively studied for verbal tasks. However, while studies on instructional enhancement effects on creative drawing tasks exist, it is surprising that strategy enhancement in figural divergent thinking is still underresearched. In this study, we used a strategy manipulation approach to reassess the role of executive strategy implementation and the moderating role of an indicator of fluid intelligence, figural analogical reasoning, in two types of figural divergent‐thinking tasks (abstract vs. concrete). The sample comprised N = 75 high‐school students. Importantly, we found strategic enhancement effects by combining strategy instructions with a prompt to “be creative.” This combined instruction was contrasted with a standard instruction, and main effects were found for overall, concrete, and abstract creativity. Moreover, we found in a regression analysis a main effect for figural analogical reasoning on overall creativity and creativity for only the concrete object tasks. An expected interaction effect of instruction and figural analogical reasoning was not found. As another addition, the role of current motivation in figural divergent thinking was explored.     

Are Individuals with Schizophrenia or Schizotypy More Creative? Evidence from Multiple Tests of Creative Potential

Schizophrenia and schizotypy have been often associated with above average creativity; however, empirical studies on the relationship between schizophrenia spectrum disorders and enhanced creativity generated inconsistent results. This research investigates if the association between schizophrenia spectrum disorders and creative potential levels is dependent upon which cognitive processes are examined during administered tests of creative potential. Our study examined 117 participants stratified into the following three subgroups: (a) 39 psychometrically determined low-schizotypal individuals, (b) 35 psychometrically determined high-schizotypal individuals, and (c) 43 patients with schizophrenia. Each participant completed 2 divergent thinking (DT) tasks, 2 convergent thinking (CT) tasks, and 2 creative tasks that combine both DT and CT processes. The data suggest that Group C had typical abilities in the DT, CT, and the combined creative thinking tasks; however, the group as a whole had intact originality during the Figural Completion (DT task) and the Tangram Construction (combined task). Notably, Group B showed significant advantages in both verbal and figural DT tasks. Group A and Group B demonstrated no significant differences in the creative thinking processes of CT; however, both groups outperformed Group C in these tasks.     

A comparison of working memory skills and learning in children with developmental coordination disorder and moderate learning difficulties

The present study compared 6–11 years old with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) and those with moderate learning difficulties (MLD) on measures of memory (verbal short‐term and working memory, visuo‐spatial short‐term and working memory), literacy and numeracy, and IQ. The findings indicate that children with DCD appear to be impaired in all four areas of memory function; in particular they performed at significantly lower levels than children with MLD in measures of verbal short‐term memory, visuo‐spatial short‐term and working memory. In contrast, performance of children with MLD in the memory measures was within age‐expected levels, with deficits observed only in verbal working memory tasks. There were also differential links between memory and attainment between the two groups, and these were significant even after statistically accounting for the contribution of IQ. Reasons for why working memory contributes to learning in these two developmental groups are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Creativity and involvement in art in different types of synaesthesia

The aim of the present study was to test the relationship between different types of synaesthesia and their involvement in art, creative, and visual abilities. We tested 20 grapheme‐colour, 18 sound‐colour, 19 grapheme‐colour‐and‐sound‐colour, 20 sequence‐space synaesthetes, and the same number of controls matched by age, gender, and education. We assessed the number of artistic professions, involvement in art, and the performance in psychometric tests of divergent and convergent creativity, as well as visual and visuo‐spatial abilities. Results show a higher prevalence of artists among synaesthetes, especially sound‐colour synaesthetes. Sound‐colour synaesthetes also showed a higher involvement in artistic activities overall while sequence‐space synaesthetes showed higher involvement in visual art. Only grapheme‐colour‐and‐sound‐colour synaesthetes showed significantly higher divergent creativity compared to matched controls. Additionally, overall, synaesthetes scored higher in visuo‐spatial abilities (i.e., mental rotation). For synaesthetes and controls, visuo‐spatial abilities correlated with divergent creativity. We discuss that synaesthetes’ higher involvement in art is not necessarily reflected in their basic creative abilities.     

Developmental profiles for multiple object tracking and spatial memory: typically developing preschoolers and people with Williams syndrome

The ability to track moving objects, a crucial skill for mature performance on everyday spatial tasks, has been hypothesized to require a specialized mechanism that may be available in infancy (i.e. indexes). Consistent with the idea of specialization, our previous work showed that object tracking was more impaired than a matched spatial memory task in individuals with Williams syndrome (WS), a genetic disorder characterized by severe visuo‐spatial impairment. We now ask whether this unusual pattern of performance is a reflection of general immaturity or of true abnormality, possibly reflecting the atypical brain development in WS. To examine these two possibilities, we tested typically developing 3‐ and 4‐year‐olds and people with WS on multiple object tracking (MOT) and memory for static spatial location. The maximum number of objects that could be correctly tracked or remembered (estimated from the k‐statistic) showed similar developmental profiles in typically developing 3‐ and 4‐year‐old children, but the WS profile differed from either age group. People with WS could track more objects than 3‐year‐olds, and the same number as 4‐year‐olds, but they could remember the locations of more static objects than both 3‐ and 4‐year‐olds. Combining these data with those from our previous studies, we found that typically developing children show increases in the number of objects they can track or remember between the ages of 3 and 6, and these increases grow in parallel across the two tasks. In contrast, object tracking in older children and adults with WS remains at the level of 4‐year‐olds, whereas the ability to remember multiple locations of static objects develops further. As a whole, the evidence suggests that MOT and memory for static location develop in tandem typically, but not in WS. Atypical development of the parietal lobe in people with WS could play a causal role in the abnormal, uneven pattern of performance in WS. This interpretation is consistent with the idea that multiple object tracking engages different mechanisms from those involved in memory for static object location, and that the former can be particularly disrupted by atypical development.     

Verbalization and problem solving: Insight and spatial factors

Two groups of participants attempted eight examples of each of four different problem types formed by combining insight versus non‐insight and verbal versus spatial factors. The groups were given different verbalization instructions viz., Silent (N = 40) or Direct Concurrent (N = 40). There were significant differences between insight and non‐insight tasks and between spatial and verbal tasks in terms of solution rates and latencies. Significant interactions between the verbal versus spatial factor and verbalization condition on solution rates and latencies reflected a greater (negative) effect of verbalizing on spatial as against verbal problems. However, no significant interactions of the insight versus non‐insight factor with verbalization condition on solution rates or latencies were found. These results favoured the ‘business as usual’ view of insight problem solving as against the ‘special process’ view which predicted larger effects of verbalization for insight problems as against non‐insight problems.     

Don’t wait to incubate: Immediate versus delayed incubation in divergent thinking

Previous evidence for the effectiveness of immediate incubation in divergent creative tasks has been weak, because earlier studies exhibited a range of methodological problems. This issue is theoretically important, as a demonstration of the effects of immediate incubation would strengthen the case for the involvement of unconscious work in incubation effects. For the present experiment, we used a creative divergent-thinking task (alternative uses) in which separate experimental groups had incubation periods that were either delayed or immediate and that consisted of either spatial or verbal tasks. Control groups were tested without incubation periods, and we carried out checks for intermittent conscious work on the target task during the incubation periods. The results showed significant incubation effects that were stronger for immediate than for delayed incubation. Performance was not different between the verbal and spatial incubation conditions, and we found no evidence for intermittent conscious working during the incubation periods. These results support a role for unconscious work in creative divergent thinking, particularly in the case of immediate incubation.     

Exploring the Effect of Perceived Teacher Support on Multiple Creativity Tasks: Based on the Expectancy–Value Model of Achievement Motivation

The present study explores the effect of perceived teacher support on three forms of thinking related to creativity. Tests of convergent thinking (by means of the Remote Associates Test), insight thinking (explored through a brain‐teaser test), and divergent thinking (by means of a verbal creativity test) were given to 512 middle school students in China, along with assessments of their perceived teacher support and creative self‐efficacy. The results of this study indicate that perceived teacher support positively predicts convergent thinking and insight thinking, with creative self‐efficacy playing a partial mediating role between perceived teacher support and convergent thinking. However, no significant relationships were found between perceived teacher support and divergent thinking. The findings partly lend support to the expectancy–value model of achievement motivation that teacher’s behavior influences student performance through self‐belief pathway.     

Developmental changes in the engagement of episodic retrieval processes and their relationship with working memory during the period of middle childhood

We examined the development of children's engagement of the episodic retrieval processes of recollection and familiarity and their relationship with working memory (WM). Ninety‐six children (24 in four groups aged 8, 9, 10, and 11 years) and 24 adults performed an episodic memory (EM) task involving old/new, remember/know (R/K), and source memory judgements and numerous WM tasks that assessed verbal and spatial components of WM and delayed short‐term memory (STM). Developmental changes were observed in EM with younger children (8‐, 9‐, 10‐year‐olds) making fewer remember responses than 11‐year‐olds and adults while 11‐year‐olds did not differ from adults. Only children aged 10 years plus showed a relationship between EM and WM. EM was related to verbal executive WM in 10‐ and 11‐year‐old children suggesting that children at this stage use verbal strategies to aid EM. In contrast, EM was related to spatial executive WM in adults. The engagement of episodic retrieval processes appears to be selectively related to executive components of verbal and spatial WM, the pattern of which differs in children and adults.     

The Effects of Zhongyong Thinking Priming on Creative Problem‐Solving

Zhongyong thinking is a common approach adopted by Chinese people to solve problems encountered in life and work. Based on the four modes of zhongyong thinking proposed by Pang (Social Sciences in China, 1, 1980, 75), this study chooses the “neither A nor B” form, which represents the “mean” (中) characteristics of zhongyong thinking, called eclectic thinking, and the “both A and B” form, which reflects the “harmony” (和) feature, called integrated thinking. This study primed eclectic thinking and integrated thinking, respectively, through self‐compiled problem situations, and 150 college students and postgraduates students were the participants. Experiment 1 explored the role of the priming of zhongyong thinking in three classic creative thinking tasks: a divergent thinking test, remote association test, and insight problem‐solving test. Experiment 2 further examined the effect of priming of zhongyong thinking on “market investment problems” with higher ecological validity. The findings show that priming integrated thinking can improve remote associates test performance and promote creative solutions to market investment problems, but there is no significant impact on the scores of divergent thinking test and insight problem‐solving; priming eclectic thinking has no significant impact on any of the subsequent creative tasks. This study shows that integrated thinking primes cognitive processing related to information association and information integration, promoting subsequent creative tasks.     

Visuo‐spatial play experience: forerunner of visuo‐spatial achievement in preadolescent and adolescent boys and girls?

This cross‐sectional study explored whether participation, from early childhood, in play involving different cognitive abilities predicts visuo‐spatial achievement at ages 9, 12, and 15. Based on parental assessment, prior and present practice of spatial manipulation play was found to be consistently more frequent in boys than in girls; the reverse held true for verbal expression play. Whereas boys did not significantly outperform girls in three visuo‐spatial tasks, girls were superior on a contrastive vocabulary task. In general, with IQ statistically controlled, regression analyses showed that estimated past and present spatial manipulation play predicted both genders' proficiency in the water‐level task and Embedded Figures Test, as did mothers' socioeconomic status for Block Design performance. Contrastingly, a negative relation was established between spatial manipulation play and vocabulary scores. Similar to the activity‐ability association often identified among adults, the relation established here between spatial play experience and visuo‐spatial ability was only modest. Further research should aim at more definitive conclusions through augmenting both diversity in the visuo‐spatial skills measured and sophistication in play behaviour appraisal. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

创造性思维的脑机制

创造性思维是创造性的核心。近年来,脑电和脑成像技术的发展为研究创造性思维的神经基础提供了有力的技术支持,对创造性思维的脑机制研究取得了较大进展。创造性思维的脑机制研究主要包括顿悟的脑机制、发散性思维的脑机制、远距离联想的脑机制、言语创造性和图画创造性的对比的脑机制研究。研究结果显示创造性思维需要多个脑区的参与,因不同的认知任务其关键脑区而有所不同。对创造性思维的脑机制研究进行了总结,对这些研究可能存在创造性思维究竟应该定义为“领域一般的”还是“领域特殊的”的解释进行了讨论,并指出了研究中可能存在的基线任务设置问题和未来研究中需要在研究手段、研究设计、研究领域等方面加以改进的建议     

Domain‐Specificity of Creativity in Young Children: How Quantitative and Qualitative Data Support It

One of the most controversial issues in contemporary research of creativity, whether a person's creativity is domain‐specific or domain‐general, was investigated in the present study. This study is composed of two parts, Study 1 and Study 2. In study 1, the relationships among 109 children's creative performances in three domains, and the relationships between those children's general creative thinking skills and their creative performances in three domains have been examined. Study 2 examines how the domain‐specificity and ‐generality issue is addressed in individual children via case studies of three highly creative children, hoping to provide enriching and qualitative specification to the quantitative data of the present study. In both studies, children's performances in language, art, and math domains were respectively judged by three experts who rated children's creativity on story‐telling, collage making, and math word‐problem creating tasks. Children's general creative thinking skills were assessed by a battery of two divergent thinking tests, including the Wallach‐Kogan Creativity Test (Wallach & Kogan, 1965) and the Real World Divergent Thinking Test adapted from Okuda, Runco, and Berger (1991). The findings of this study support the position that creative ability in young children is rather (but not absolutely) domain‐specific.     

Learning a map of environment: The role of visuo‐spatial abilities in young and older adults

The present study examines age‐related differences between young and older adults in spatial mental representation derived from learning a realistic city map. A sample of 30 young (20–30‐years) and 30 older (60–72 years) adults learned a simplified map of a city; afterwards participants performed map‐drawing and pointing‐aligned and counter‐aligned tasks. Tasks measuring visuo‐spatial abilities were also administered to explore their relationship with map learning. Results showed an age‐related impairment in older adults in both map tasks, as well as in visuo‐spatial ones. Furthermore, performance on counter‐aligned pointing was poorer than on aligned pointing in young and older adults, and its relationship with visuo‐spatial abilities changed as a function of age group: The performance of counter‐aligned pointing in older adults was related to all visuo‐spatial abilities, and in young adults with perspective‐taking measures only. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How do individuals with Williams syndrome learn a route in a real‐world environment?

Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) show a specific deficit in visuo‐spatial abilities. This finding, however, derives mainly from performance on small‐scale laboratory‐based tasks. This study investigated large‐scale route learning in individuals with WS and two matched control groups (moderate learning difficulty group [MLD], typically developing group [TD]). In a non‐labelling and a labelling (verbal information provided along the route) condition, participants were guided along one of two unfamiliar 1‐km routes with 20 junctions, and then retraced the route themselves (two trials). The WS participants performed less well than the other groups, but given verbal information and repeated experience they learnt nearly all of the turns along the route. The extent of improvement in route knowledge (correct turns) in WS was comparable to that of the control groups. Relational knowledge (correctly identifying spatial relationships between landmarks), compared with the TD group, remained poor for both the WS and the MLD group. Assessment of the relationship between performance on the large‐scale route‐learning task and that on three small‐scale tasks (maze learning, perspective taking, map use) showed no relationship for the TD controls, and only a few non‐specific associations in the MLD and WS groups.     

Creativity of university students: What is the impact of field and year of study?

There is a long‐lasting dispute about development of students' creativity in the course of their university education. Both the duration and major field of study may represent the educational effects. To address the issue, the present study collected data (N = 859) from a series of surveys of students in Hong Kong to clarify educational effects by controlling a number of background characteristics and prior scores on creativity. Apart from measuring self‐reported creative traits and creative products, it measured divergent thinking with five tasks to elicit students' creative ideas, which led to scores of fluency, flexibility, novelty, innovativeness, and originality. Results indicate the trend of monotonic decline in creativity with years of study at university and the general superiority of verbal creativity among students of humanities and social sciences, whereas business students had the highest scores on self‐assessed creative traits and products.