In the first, I told participants to imagine they worked for an advertising agency and that they’d been asked to invent names for new products in three categories (pasta, nuclear elements, and pain relievers). I compared college students with and without ADHD on two tasks. Given evidence that linked ADHD to higher divergent thinking and ability to overcome the constraining effect of task examples, it seemed intuitive to look more closely at the relationship between ADHD and the third element of creative thinking, conceptual expansion. However, a study of college students found that, compared to non-ADHD peers, ADHD students showed a broader scope of semantic activation-which is the “turning on” of concepts and ideas that are stored in memory-and is correlated with conceptual expansion in other research. In the same study, there were no differences between the ADHD and non-ADHD groups on a conceptual expansion task. The toys invented by the ADHD group included fewer elements of the task examples compared to toys created by the non-ADHD group. Participants were first shown a set of example toys that shared specific features (e.g., a ball), then asked to invent new toys that were very different from any existing toys. In a study of adolescents, a group with ADHD was compared to a group of non-ADHD peers on a toy invention task. Conceptual expansion might allow one to imagine an animal with an asymmetrical form, which differs from a typical Earth animal.Įvidence suggests that ADHD may offer some protection from the constraining effects of knowledge. In creating an alien animal, one might assume that the animal would need to be bilaterally symmetrical, as most Earth animals possess this attribute. By conceptual expansion, one might think beyond this definition and imagine a paperclip as something else-such as a tool to pry open the battery compartment of a wristwatch. For instance, a paperclip is designed to hold papers together. The key to being creative under these conditions is conceptual expansion, or the ability to loosen the boundaries of concepts.
Research suggests that when people invent alien creations based on specific Earth examples, the creations are rated as less original compared to those not inspired by specific examples.
For instance, if asked to invent an animal or fruit that might exist on another planet, most people would start by thinking of a typical animal or fruit on Earth and then modify it somewhat into an “alien” version. Similarly, knowledge of the world can stunt one’s ability to imagine it differently. The ability to overcome recently presented information is therefore essential to creative thinking. When we look to a prior model or example for inspiration, we may actually become stuck: designers refer to this as “ fixation.” In creative generation research, when participants are given examples before a task that requires them to invent something new, such as a new toy, their inventions tend to incorporate aspects of the examples-and thus are less novel. Prior knowledge can be an obstacle to creativity. Together with previous research, these new findings link ADHD to all three elements of the creative cognition trio. In a new study, college students with ADHD scored higher than non-ADHD peers on two tasks that tapped conceptual expansion and the ability to overcome knowledge constraints. Previous research has established that individuals with ADHD are exceptionally good at divergent thinking tasks, such as inventing creative new uses for everyday objects, and brainstorming new features for an innovative cell phone device. Divergent thinking, or the ability to think of many ideas from a single starting point, is a critical part of creative thinking. Three aspects of creative cognition are divergent thinking, conceptual expansion and overcoming knowledge constraints. And, indeed, ADHD may have negative consequences for academic achievement, employment performance and social relationships.īut ADHD may also bring with it an advantage: the ability to think more creatively.
It is known as a neurological disorder, marked by distractibility, impulsivity and hyperactivity, which begins in childhood and persists in adults. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is typically described by the problems it presents.