Abstract
BackgroundOne form of meditation intervention, the integrative body-mind training (IBMT) has been shown to improve attention, reduce stress and change self-reports of mood. In this paper we examine whether short-term IBMT can improve performance related to creativity and determine the role that mood may play in such improvement.MethodsForty Chinese undergraduates were randomly assigned to short-term IBMT group or a relaxation training (RT) control group. Mood and creativity performance were assessed by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) questionnaire respectively.ResultsAs predicted, the results indicated that short-term (30 min per day for 7 days) IBMT improved creativity performance on the divergent thinking task, and yielded better emotional regulation than RT. In addition, cross-lagged analysis indicated that both positive and negative affect may influence creativity in IBMT group (not RT group).ConclusionsOur results suggested that emotion-related creativity-promoting mechanism may be attributed to short-term meditation.
Highlights
One form of meditation intervention, the integrative body-mind training (IBMT) has been shown to improve attention, reduce stress and change self-reports of mood
Creativity scores Before training, the independent t-test showed no significant difference in Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) (p > .05) between the two groups (IBMT:M = 588.950, Standard error mean (SE) = 7.486; relaxation training (RT):M = 587.32, SE = 11.685)
The follow-up t-test indicated the IBMT group obtained significantly better scores in TTCT percent change from pre to post (t(37), = 3.755; p < .01) in comparison with the RT group (Figure 2). These results indicated that short-term IBMT can yield a better creative performance than short-term RT
Summary
One form of meditation intervention, the integrative body-mind training (IBMT) has been shown to improve attention, reduce stress and change self-reports of mood. In this paper we examine whether short-term IBMT can improve performance related to creativity and determine the role that mood may play in such improvement. Creativity is essential to the development and advancement of human civilization and plays a crucial role in our cultural life [2]. Researchers among various disciplines have burgeoning interest in the potential for fostering creativity through education and training. Creativity has been studied as a less stable phenomenon that varies as a function of brief states of the person and situation [2,4]. It is possible to measure creativity in a fast way that allows assessment of states induced by training. As one of the most widely used test of creativity, Torrance
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