Creative problem solving is partly assessed in the new study by asking people to recall words that link with 3 otherwise unrelated words. For example, what word links with ‘way’, ‘jump’ ‘sky’. An answer is ‘high’. It is this accessing of remote words while holding between 1 and three others words in the working memory that is creative problem solving. A 0.075 level of alcohol after a few vodka and cranberry juices plus snacks and a cartoon movie were the arduous conditions for ‘20 social drinkers.
Alcohol and Associative Thinking
Meanwhile, 20 others were shown the same movie but had no drinks or snacks. The alcohol was shown to actually help with the associative rather than linear logical thinking needed to score well in a cognitive test given to all subjects. Those with alcohol gained an average of nine correct answers compared to 6 for those who were sober.
This study shows us that it is not necessarily the case that having lots of specialist knowledge, and an intense attention span are the only ways to think. Sometimes a level of distraction and randomness can be a useful thinking tool. Apart from a distracting little beer buzz, other mind techniques that improved creativity were, a change from normal routine, a good night’s sleep and growing older.
Thinking Outside of the Box
It is certain that our brains become very good at thinking in set patterns and routines. So much so that many psychologists think, the purpose of the human mind is not to think at all, if it can automate it. For getting through the day quickly and efficiently, this is fine but when it comes to dealing with new circumstances and situations, a different kind of thought process often referred to as lateral thinking or ‘thinking outside of the box’ is better.
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