Neuroscience Letters
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/neulet
Research paper
h i g h l i g h t s
The role of the cognitive style (Visualization/Verbalization) on visual creativity was explored.
The Visualization/Verbalization questionnaire (VVQ) and the creative synthesis task were used.
The VVQ score predicted originality of inventions.
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history:
Received 24 November 2015
Received in revised form 15 January 2016
Accepted 19 January 2016
Available online 22 January 2016
Keywords:
Spatial and Object Imagery
Verbal processing
Neuroimaging
Motor-planning
a b s t r a c t
In the last two decades, interest towards creativity has increased signicantly since it was recognized as
a skill and as a cognitive reserve and is now always more frequently used in ageing training. Here, the
relationships between visual creativity and VisualizationVerbalization cognitive style were investigated.
Fifty college students were administered the Creative Synthesis Task aimed at measuring the ability to
construct creative objects and the VisualizationVerbalization Questionnaire (VVQ) aimed at measuring
the attitude to preferentially use either imagery or verbal strategy while processing information. Analyses
showed that only the originality score of inventions was positively predicted by the VVQ score: higher
VVQ score (indicating the preference to use imagery) predicted originality of inventions. These results
showed that the visualization strategy is involved especially in the originality dimension of creative
objects production. In light of neuroimaging results, the possibility that different strategies, such those
that involve motor processes, affect visual creativity is also discussed.
2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Creativity is a multifaceted phenomenon that operates on stored
knowledge in order to produce original and appropriate ideas [1].
It plays a key role in a wide range of domains [2], from science and
art production to everyday activities. Recently, creativity has also
been suggested as a proxy indicator of the brain reserve [3] and
cognitive reserve hypothesis [4], leading to the idea that it can be
involved in active aging [5,6] as well as in stimulating pathological
aging, such as dementia [7,8], or psychiatric disorders [9]. Coffey
et al. [10] suggested that creativity rather than initial intelligence
or level of education may be the pivotal protective factor in the case
of cognitive decline.
Thus, it is not surprising that the evolution of the human brain
has been shaped by bio-social pressures toward creativity [11].
Corresponding author at: Department of Life, Health, and Environmental Sciences, University of LAquila, Piazzale Salvatore Tommasi 1, 67010, LAquila.
E-mail address: massimiliano.palmiero@univaq.it (M. Palmiero).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2016.01.032
0304-3940/ 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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(3) rhombus, handle, ring (tools); (4) cube, bracket, cone (sport
goods); (5) strip, trapezoid, cylinder (weapons); (6) board, rhomboid, tube (toys). In order to reduce random errors and increase
the inter-rater reliability variation, the same combinations of stimuli and categories were presented across participants [33]. Firstly, a
practical example was presented to participants to let them familiarize themselves with the task. For each triad, names of stimuli
were written in the upper part of a sheet of paper, and stimuli were
drawn below. Participants were given 15 s to memorize the stimuli,
and were then allowed to think for 2 min of their pre-inventive form
(potential useful object) and make a sketch as they generated it. Participants were allowed to apply transformations to components in
position, rotation, and size, but not in their general structure, and
subsequently sketch it on the sheet of paper. Then, participants
were presented with a category name for each of the pre-inventive
forms and were instructed to think of their objects as an invention within the category. Participants were given up to 1 min. They
were also instructed to describe the functioning of the invention
and to write its name. This task was scored using Amabiles [34]
Consensual Assessment Technique. Two independent and anonymous referees, one female and one male (both 23 years old), were
instructed to evaluate the inventions along a 5 points scale. Inventions were evaluated in terms of originality, dened as a form
being new and not derived from something else, and practicality,
dened as an invention involving an actual use in a specic context,
rather than a hypothetical use. The inter-rater correlations (intraclass correlation coefcientabsolute agreement) were signicant
for both criteria: originality ( = .574, p < .005) and practicality
( = .511, p < .05). For each criteria described, only the average of
the ratings was taken as the nal score.
The VerbalizerVisualizer Questionnaire (VVQ; [29]) was aimed
at measuring the participants preference for using imagery (Visualizers) or verbal-logical strategies (Verbalizers) when solving
problems. Participants were instructed to choose a true/false
response to 15 questions describing habitual methods of thinking.
The maximum score was 15. Higher VVQ scores indicated a higher
degree of imagery ability.
3. Results
The regression analysis carried out with the originality score
of inventions as dependent variable (M = 1.8; SD = .41) and the
VVQ score as independent variable (M = 9.06; SD = 2.05) revealed
that the VVQ score signicantly predicted originality of inventions
[F(1;48) = 5.39 p = .02; = .32; t = 2.32] explaining 10% of variance
(R2 = .10; Adjusted R2 = .08). Specically, the higher the VVQ score
is, the higher the score of the inventions is. The regression analysis
carried out with the practicality score of inventions as dependent
variable (M = 2.2; SD = .36) and the VVQ score as independent variable was not signicant [F(1;48) = 2.81 p = .1]. Yet, coefcients
were tested for signicant difference using Steigers [35] formula.1
The result conrmed no difference between the rst and the second
coefcient (z-score = .75; 2-tail p = .45).
4. Discussion
The present study was aimed at clarifying the relationships between the ability to construct creative objects and the
VisualizationVerbalization cognitive style. The Creative Synthesis
Task was used to measure the ability to construct objects in terms of
originality and practicality according to a specic conceptual cat-
1
Normally Steigers formula applies to correlation coefcients. However, given
that regression analysis with one predictor is simply the same as calculating the
correlation ( = r), Steigers formula was opportunely applied to coefcients.
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