When a Dog Has a Pen for a Tail: the Time Course of Creative Object Processing

Creative objects differ from ordinary objects in that they are created by human beings to contain novel, creative information. Previous research has demonstrated that ordinary object processing involves both a perceptual process for analyzing different features of the visual input and a higher-order process for evaluating the relevance of this visual information. However, it is unclear how and when these processes are influenced by the creative information of the object. This study utilized event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate the time course of creative object processing. Behavioral results revealed that participants spent more time processing creative objects than they did ordinary objects. Analysis of scalp ERPs further revealed that creative objects elicited a more negative ERP deflection between 190 and 340 ms (N190–340) with an anterior scalp distribution. Additionally, creative objects elicited more positive ERP deflection than did ordinary objects between 400 and 700 ms (P400–700) with a right centro–parietal scalp distribution and between 700 and 1000 ms (late positive component) with a right anterior–central scalp distribution. Such results suggest that the processing of creative objects is composed of two distinct stages. The early perceptual stage involves the detection of visual differences exhibited by the creative objects, while the late stage involves the right-lateralized processes of understanding and encoding the creative information.