Abstract
Background: 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.Methods: Forty 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.Results: As 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).Conclusions: Our results suggested that emotion-related creativity-promoting mechanism may be attributed to short-term meditation.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 9 |
Journal | Behavioral and Brain Functions |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 19 2014 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Creativity
- Cross-lagged analysis
- Emotion
- Integrative body-mind training
- Negative affect
- Positive affect
- Short-term meditation
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Biological Psychiatry
- Behavioral Neuroscience