Creative potential of the bored brain : an EEG study

While boredom is traditionally viewed as a state characterized by low cognitive arousal and associated with negative outcomes, recent research suggests its positive potential, including enhancing creativity. Seeking to establish how boredom affects creativity, the present study tests if exposure to boredom increases divergent thinking thus enhancing creativity, and if there exist condition-dependent links between daydreaming and creativity moderated by boredom. With a view to uncovering neural mechanisms involved in boredom and creativity, this EEG study also compares alpha brain oscillations in individuals watching a boring vs. engaging video clip, and checks for relationships between state boredom, creativity components (fluency and originality), and alpha power. The present study used the Short Form of the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS-SF) and the Tel Aviv Creativity Test (TACT) to measure state boredom and creative thinking. The results revealed a statistically significant difference in the total fluency scores, but not in the originality scores, between the bored and engaged groups. However, the experimental condition (engaged vs. bored) was not found to mediate the correlation between the state of daydreaming with creativity components. As for alpha brain oscillations, their EEG analysis revealed significant differences between the engagement and boredom groups, and significant positive correlations between state boredom and alpha power, but only in two electrodes. The associations uncovered in this study may have important policy implications in the educational context, and suggest the need to stimulate creative thinking by integrating in the school curriculum short periods of unstructured time aimed at inducing boredom.