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A new study out of UIC has been getting headlines: "Uncorking the muse: Alcohol intoxication facilitates creative problem solving" (PDF). On some level, it makes intuitive sense: lots of creative types are famous for their drinking (mid-century American authors, rock musicians), not many are famous for teetotaling (Ted Nugent? Ian MacKaye?). The authors set out to test the connection, and to see if it fits into other research on creativity. The mechanisms by which it happens are pretty interesting.
They got their subjects moderately liquored-up (.07 BAC, just under the legal limit), and gave them a test:
For each item, participants are given three target words such as PEACH, ARM, and TAR, and are tasked with finding a fourth word, such as PIT, that forms a good two-word phrase with each of the target words. The RAT is thought to involve creative problem solving because the most salient potential responses to the problem are often incorrect, and one must retrieve more remote associates in order to reach solution.
Then they asked them how they came to the conclusion, on a scale of revelation to determination:
One common way to test for differences in the perception of solution methods is through feeling-of-insight ratings, in which participants assess whether they felt the solution came suddenly to mind (an Aha! moment) or if they felt they reached solution through step-by-step, analytic processes.
www.chicagomag.com
They got their subjects moderately liquored-up (.07 BAC, just under the legal limit), and gave them a test:
For each item, participants are given three target words such as PEACH, ARM, and TAR, and are tasked with finding a fourth word, such as PIT, that forms a good two-word phrase with each of the target words. The RAT is thought to involve creative problem solving because the most salient potential responses to the problem are often incorrect, and one must retrieve more remote associates in order to reach solution.
Then they asked them how they came to the conclusion, on a scale of revelation to determination:
One common way to test for differences in the perception of solution methods is through feeling-of-insight ratings, in which participants assess whether they felt the solution came suddenly to mind (an Aha! moment) or if they felt they reached solution through step-by-step, analytic processes.
How Drinking Makes You More Creative
A bit of booze (just below the legal limit!) makes you better able to perform creative tasks, though it makes your memory worse. Probably because it makes your memory worse. A UIC team got some students tipsy and plied them with creative questions to investigate.
www.chicagomag.com
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