Brain signal classification for creative tasks

Abstract

We tried to determine if emotive self-feedback from conscious assessment of artists’ own works generates sufficient impetus for accomplishment of goals. Self-reports from participants of an ‘experimental’ group working independently and without external feedback on their work are examined. The performance of this group is compared to ‘control’ performers in tutored sessions (with external feedback). On the whole a two-fold analysis was carried out. First, verbal reports of the participants’ feelings about their work in both experimental and control settings were analyzed. Second, a brainwave analysis of each participant was conducted while they were engaged in the same tasks so as to examine effects of concentration and energy output. The Hilbert-Huang transform was used to filter data frequency for brainwaves emitted at channels AF4, AF3, F6 and F7, all positioned along the pre-frontal cortex. Results of participants’ brainwave behavior within frequency ranges of 14–16 Hz, as well as for higher ranges (above 60 Hz), do not show significant difference in the two groups. This indicates that brainwave activity is sustained in individuals who depend on self-feedback appraisals, at least within the domain of creativity investigated in this paper.