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Mind-wandering facilitates creative performance in a musical improvisation task.

Pedro T Palhares1, Diogo Branco2, Óscar F Gonçalves3

  • 1Proaction Laboratory, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal; CINEICC, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Portugal.

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Mind-wandering during creative tasks, like jazz improvisation, can boost creativity. This mental state, often seen as a distraction, may actually enhance spontaneous and flexible creative expression.

Keywords:
CreativityMind-blankingMind-wanderingMusical improvisationTask-related interference

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience of Creativity
  • Music Cognition

Background:

  • Mind-wandering is typically viewed as detrimental to task performance.
  • However, creative cognition research suggests potential benefits in specific contexts.
  • Existing research often uses simplified tasks and mental state categorizations.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the impact of mind-wandering on real-time creative output during live jazz improvisation.
  • To examine how different mental states (focused attention, mind-wandering, mind-blanking, task-related interference) affect creativity in an ecologically valid setting.
  • To explore the interaction between mental states, expertise, and creative performance.

Main Methods:

  • 52 musicians performed live jazz improvisation.
  • Random thought-probes assessed ongoing mental states during improvisation.
  • Expert judges rated performances on creativity and improvisational quality.
  • Mental states were analyzed for phenomenological distinctiveness and functional impact.

Main Results:

  • Mind-wandering was associated with higher creativity compared to focused attention.
  • Task-related interference negatively impacted creativity, while mind-blanking had neutral to positive effects.
  • The positive effect of mind-wandering on creativity was most pronounced in less- and mid-experienced musicians.
  • Overall improvisational quality was primarily influenced by musical expertise.

Conclusions:

  • Mind-wandering can facilitate, rather than impair, creative performance during improvisatory action.
  • It may represent an adaptive loosening of cognitive control, supporting spontaneity and flexibility.
  • These findings challenge the conventional view of mind-wandering as solely detrimental, highlighting its potential role in creative processes.