Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Optimal Arousal Theory

Optimal Arousal Theory

The optimal arousal theory suggests that performance is maximized when an individual experiences a moderate level of arousal. This theory is closely tied to the Yerkes-Dodson law, which illustrates an inverted U-shaped relationship between arousal and performance. The law, formulated by psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dodson, implies an ideal arousal level for optimal performance, and deviations from this level can lead to declines in effectiveness.
Inverted U-Shaped Performance Curve
The...

High-Level and Low-Level Awareness

High-Level and Low-Level Awareness

Controlled processes in human consciousness represent high-alert mental states where individuals deliberately focus their attention on achieving specific goals. Controlled processes can be seen in situations like mastering new technology, where a person might become so absorbed that they ignore surrounding distractions. Such processes involve selective attention, requiring one to concentrate on particular elements of experience while disregarding others. These are governed by executive...

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...

Creative Thinking

Creative Thinking

Creative thinking encompasses innovative and unconventional methods for addressing challenges, often leading to groundbreaking solutions. Instead of focusing solely on enhancing existing systems, such as increasing smartphone battery capacity, creative thinking might inspire advancements like energy-efficient batteries or processors that minimize power consumption. This multidimensional approach underscores the importance of exploring novel pathways to innovation.
Divergent thinking is the...

Self-Discrepancy Theory

Self-Discrepancy Theory

One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.

The Scientific Method

The Scientific Method

Research is what makes the difference between facts and opinions. Facts are observable realities, and opinions are personal judgments, conclusions, or attitudes that may or may not be accurate. In the scientific community, facts can be established only using evidence collected through empirical research.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

REM sleep favors the restructuring of problem-related semantic associations.

Communications biology·2026

Same author

Semantic Memory Structure and Self-Evaluation of Creativity: Evidence Across Tasks and Dimensions.

Journal of Intelligence·2026

Same author

Large language models are homogeneously creative.

PNAS nexus·2026

Same author

The private solution trap in collective action problems across 34 nations.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

Switching, fast and slow: Deciphering the dynamics of memory search, its brain connectivity patterns, and its role in creativity.

Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)·2025

Same author

Neural dynamics during the generation and evaluation of creative and non-creative ideas.

Communications biology·2025

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 12, 2025

Problem-Solving Before Instruction PS-I: A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities

Problem-Solving Before Instruction PS-I: A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities

Published on: September 11, 2021

An entropy modulation theory of creative exploration.

Thomas T Hills¹, Yoed N Kenett²

¹Department of Psychology, University of Warwick.

Psychological Review

|September 19, 2024

Summary

Higher creative individuals exhibit faster-and-further phenomenology by executive modulation of entropy during cognitive search. This entropy modulation theory integrates cognitive structure and executive process accounts of creativity.

More Related Videos

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal

Published on: April 18, 2017

Examining Changes in HRV and Emotion Following Artmaking with Three Different Art Materials

Examining Changes in HRV and Emotion Following Artmaking with Three Different Art Materials

Published on: January 11, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 12, 2025

Problem-Solving Before Instruction PS-I: A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities

Problem-Solving Before Instruction PS-I: A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities

Published on: September 11, 2021

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal

Published on: April 18, 2017

Examining Changes in HRV and Emotion Following Artmaking with Three Different Art Materials

Examining Changes in HRV and Emotion Following Artmaking with Three Different Art Materials

Published on: January 11, 2020

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Neuroscience
Creativity Research

Background:

Higher creative individuals demonstrate faster-and-further phenomenology, producing ideas more quickly and with greater novelty.
Traditional explanations involve associative theories (cognitive representation structure) or executive theories (cognitive control).
Existing theories struggle to formally explain the faster-and-further phenomenology.

Purpose of the Study:

Introduce entropy modulation theory to integrate structure and process-based creativity accounts.
Provide a formal process model for how executive abilities contribute to creativity.
Explain the faster-and-further phenomenology through executive modulation of cognitive entropy.

Main Methods:

Review and integrate existing evidence from creativity research.
Propose a theoretical framework: entropy modulation theory.
Model cognitive search, specifically memory retrieval, using activation dynamics.

Main Results:

Entropy modulation theory posits that differences in creativity lie in executive modulation of entropy during cognitive search.
Activation magnitude and variance enhance retrieval entropy and speed, reproducing faster-and-further phenomenology.
Apparent differences in semantic structure can arise from entropy-modulating retrieval processes.

Conclusions:

Entropy modulation theory offers a unified account of creativity, integrating structural and process-based factors.
Executive modulation of cognitive entropy is key to cognitive flexibility and the exploration-exploitation trade-off in creative cognition.
This framework provides a novel explanation for the cognitive mechanisms underlying enhanced creativity.