2021 ANFA
Topic: Spaces for Creative Thinking- Integrating Neuroscience Research Findings in Real-Time & Spaces
Neuroscientists have comprehensively assessed the form of environments that support creative thinking, most often in studies that detail the effects of a single physical factor.
These research projects have determined that aspects of indoor physical environments influence the likelihood of creative thinking taking place in a space. Creativity linked design elements include color (surface and light), visual complexity, plants in view, natural lighting, visible wood grain, aesthetic factors, soundscapes, comfortable levels of environmental control, audio and visual distractions, ceiling height, opportunities for movement, access to needed tools/task support, chance for cognitive restoration, and nonverbal messages sent by a place, for example. In a real-world setting, multiple factors linked by previous research studies to enhanced creative performance were investigated simultaneously. Study participants in sufficient number for robust statistical analyses first completed a task that assessed their individual creativity at a particular moment in time (analogy finding task; Green, Spiegel, Giangrande, Weinberger, Gallagher, and Turkeltaub, 2017). Then the study participants categorized/described the components of the physical environment in which the task was completed in terms of its color (surface and light), visual complexity, plants in view, natural lighting, visible wood grain, aesthetic factors, soundscapes, comfortable levels of environmental control, audio and visual distractions, ceiling height, opportunities for movement, access to needed tools/task support, chance for cognitive restoration, and nonverbal messages sent by it. Findings confirmed the hypothesized consistencies between aspects of the physical environment previously identified as supporting creative thinking and the forms of the physical environments where higher scores were achieved on the analogy finding task. Designers and researchers can use study findings to develop spaces that support their own work and to inform future project work. Designers can apply the information derived by this study to develop environments that support creative thinking/problem solving for clients. Researchers generally can also apply findings to better understand variations in data collected at different study sites.
