The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking

Anecdotal literature suggests that creative people sometimes use bodily movement to help overcome mental blocks and lack of inspiration. Several studies have shown that physical exercise may sometimes enhance creative thinking, but the evidence is still inconclusive. In this study we investigated wh...

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Main Authors: Lorenza S Colzato, Ayca eSzapora Ozturk, Justine Nienke Pannekoek, Bernhard eHommel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2013-12-01
Series:Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00824/full
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author Lorenza S Colzato
Ayca eSzapora Ozturk
Justine Nienke Pannekoek
Bernhard eHommel
author_facet Lorenza S Colzato
Ayca eSzapora Ozturk
Justine Nienke Pannekoek
Bernhard eHommel
author_sort Lorenza S Colzato
collection DOAJ
description Anecdotal literature suggests that creative people sometimes use bodily movement to help overcome mental blocks and lack of inspiration. Several studies have shown that physical exercise may sometimes enhance creative thinking, but the evidence is still inconclusive. In this study we investigated whether creativity in convergent- and divergent-thinking tasks is affected by acute moderate and intense physical exercise in athletes (n=48) and non-athletes (n=48). Exercise interfered with divergent thinking in both groups. The impact on convergent thinking, the task that presumably required more cognitive control, depended on the training level: while in non-athletes performance was significantly impaired by exercise, athletes showed a benefit that approached significance. The findings suggest that acute exercise may affect both, divergent and convergent thinking. In particular, it seems to affect control-hungry tasks through exercise-induced ego-depletion, which however is less pronounced in individuals with higher levels of physical fitness, presumably because of the automatization of movement control, fitness-related neuroenergetic benefits, or both.
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spelling doaj.art-cd432bd0670148239f864020495f45ce2022-12-21T19:23:52ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612013-12-01710.3389/fnhum.2013.0082464674The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinkingLorenza S Colzato0Ayca eSzapora Ozturk1Justine Nienke Pannekoek2Bernhard eHommel3Leiden UniversityLeiden UniversityUniversity of Cape TownLeiden UniversityAnecdotal literature suggests that creative people sometimes use bodily movement to help overcome mental blocks and lack of inspiration. Several studies have shown that physical exercise may sometimes enhance creative thinking, but the evidence is still inconclusive. In this study we investigated whether creativity in convergent- and divergent-thinking tasks is affected by acute moderate and intense physical exercise in athletes (n=48) and non-athletes (n=48). Exercise interfered with divergent thinking in both groups. The impact on convergent thinking, the task that presumably required more cognitive control, depended on the training level: while in non-athletes performance was significantly impaired by exercise, athletes showed a benefit that approached significance. The findings suggest that acute exercise may affect both, divergent and convergent thinking. In particular, it seems to affect control-hungry tasks through exercise-induced ego-depletion, which however is less pronounced in individuals with higher levels of physical fitness, presumably because of the automatization of movement control, fitness-related neuroenergetic benefits, or both.http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00824/fullcreativitydivergent thinkingfitnessphysical exerciseConvergent Thinking
spellingShingle Lorenza S Colzato
Ayca eSzapora Ozturk
Justine Nienke Pannekoek
Bernhard eHommel
The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
creativity
divergent thinking
fitness
physical exercise
Convergent Thinking
title The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking
title_full The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking
title_fullStr The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking
title_full_unstemmed The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking
title_short The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking
title_sort impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking
topic creativity
divergent thinking
fitness
physical exercise
Convergent Thinking
url http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00824/full
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