MSGID: 1:317/3 64a794ff   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Creative people enjoy idle time more than others    
      
     Date:   
         July 6, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Arizona   
     Summary:   
         For those with creative minds, screen-free downtime can be fruitful   
         and entertaining: Creative people use their idle time by letting   
         one idea lead to another.   
      
      
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   Creative people are more likely to make the most of their downtime   
   during a typical day by exploring their mind, a new study by University   
   of Arizona researchers suggests.   
      
   The study, published in the Creativity Research Journal, finds that   
   creative people are more likely to fruitfully use idle time by letting one   
   idea lead to another. Study participants who were more creative felt less   
   bored when they sat alone in a room, researchers found. And during the   
   COVID-19 pandemic, a time when the world experienced unusually extended   
   periods of unstructured time, creative people were less bored and more   
   engaged with their thoughts.   
      
   "I am particularly interested in creativity because we wanted to know   
   what's going on in the mind of creative individuals, especially in   
   situations where nothing constrains their thoughts," said lead study   
   author Quentin Raffaeli, a graduate student in the UArizona Department   
   of Psychology.   
      
   In psychology and neuroscience, most studies on human thoughts either   
   prompt participants to think in a certain way or ask them to report   
   on thoughts they experienced, but less is known about how thoughts   
   naturally arise and unfold over time in unprompted contexts, said Jessica   
   Andrews-Hanna, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology   
   and senior author of the paper.   
      
   "This is where our study comes in," Andrews-Hanna said.   
      
   History is filled with anecdotes of famous scientists, artists and   
   philosophers who enjoyed being alone with their thoughts, and those   
   people often generated some of their best ideas during idle time,   
   Andrews-Hanna said.   
      
   "In today's busy and digitally connected society, time to be alone with   
   one's thoughts without distraction may be becoming a rare commodity,"   
   she added.   
      
   The researchers divided the study into two parts. For the first   
   experiment, the researchers asked each participant to sit alone in a room   
   for 10 minutes without any access to digital devices. In the absence   
   of any particular prompt, the participants were asked to voice their   
   thoughts aloud in real time. The recorded files from 81 participants   
   were then transcribed and analyzed.   
      
   The researchers assessed the participants' creativity through a   
   "divergent thinking test," a lab-based verbal test that measures a   
   person's ability to think outside of the box. Participants who performed   
   well in the divergent thinking test had thoughts that flowed freely and   
   were associated with one another, often indicated by phrases such as   
   "this reminds me of" or "speaking of which."  "While many participants   
   had a tendency to jump between seemingly unrelated thoughts, creative   
   individuals showed signs of thinking more associatively," Raffaeli said.   
      
   The first experiment also found that creative people were more engaged   
   in their thoughts when they were left alone without distractions, such   
   as cell phone and internet.   
      
   "Creative people rated themselves as being less bored, even over those   
   10 minutes. They also spoke more words overall, which indicated that   
   their thoughts were more likely to move freely," Andrews-Hanna said.   
      
   To complement their initial findings, the researchers extended their   
   study in the context of a much larger span of time -- the COVID-19   
   pandemic -when many people were alone with their thoughts more often.   
      
   For the second experiment, over 2,600 adults answered questions through   
   a smartphone app called Mind Window, developed by Andrews-Hanna and her   
   graduate student Eric Andrews. Participants who self-identified as being   
   creative reported being less bored during the pandemic.   
      
   "As we become more overworked, overscheduled and addicted to our digital   
   devices, I think we need to do a better job in our homes, our workplaces   
   and our schools to cultivate time to simply relax with our thoughts,"   
   Andrews-Hanna said.   
      
   The researchers are continuing this line of work using their Mind   
   Window app.   
      
   They encourage people to download and use the app to help scientists   
   understand how people across the world think in their everyday lives.   
      
   "Understanding why different people think the way they do may lead to   
   promising interventions to improve health and well-being," Andrews-Hanna   
   said.   
      
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   Worthy_of_a_Toast Story Source: Materials provided by   
   University_of_Arizona. Original written by Niranjana Rajalakshmi. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
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   Journal Reference:   
      1. Quentin Raffaelli, Rudy Malusa, Nadia-Anais de Stefano, Eric   
      Andrews,   
         Matthew D. Grilli, Caitlin Mills, Darya L. Zabelina, Jessica   
         R. Andrews- Hanna. Creative Minds at Rest: Creative Individuals are   
         More Associative and Engaged with Their Idle Thoughts. Creativity   
         Research Journal, 2023; 1 DOI: 10.1080/10400419.2023.2227477   
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   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230706124528.htm   
      
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