Creative problem solving and facial expressions: A stage-based comparison
2022 (PLOS ONE)
(DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269504)
A wealth of research indicates that emotions play an instrumental role in creative problem-solving. However, most of these studies have relied primarily on diary studies and self-report scales when measuring emotions during the creative processes. There has been a need to capture in-the-moment emotional experiences of individuals during the creative process using an automated emotion recognition tool. The experiment in this study examined the process-related difference between the creative problem solving (CPS) and simple problem solving (SPS) processes using protocol analysis and Markov’s chains. Further, this experiment introduced a novel method for measuring in-the-moment emotional experiences of individuals during the CPS and SPS processes using facial expressions and machine learning algorithms. The experiment described in this study employed 64 participants to solve different tasks while wearing camera-mounted headgear. Using retrospective analysis, the participants verbally reported their thoughts using video-stimulated recall. Our results indicate differences in the cognitive efforts spent at different stages during the CPS and SPS processes. We also found that most of the creative stages were associated with ambivalent emotions whereas the stage of block was associated with negative emotions.
Laterality in Gesture-Based Video Games
2023 (Book Chapter, AHFE)
(DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1003863)
Brain lateralization refers to hemispheric dominance for different tasks. Lateralization of the brain and body has been consistently reported in the literature. An extreme right-hand preference has been reported among most people throughout the world. However, gesture control involves coordination among the eye, hand, and foot, and the lateralization pattern of all three is expected to influence such gestures. This study examines the effect of lateral bias in gesture-based video games. The experiment involved 23 students playing a gesture-based game on an Xbox console to determine the interplay of hand-foot lateralization in gesture-based games. The findings are discussed in light of game design and lateral bias in gesture-based games.
Examining the effects of near and far cues on creativity
2023 (Book Chapter, AHFE)
(DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1003317)
During the creative problem-solving, creators frequently encounter external stimuli. As a result of the context in which the problem exists, these stimuli can be near or far. Various theories in the past have supported the role of analogical cues to overcome impasses and generate new ideas. The use of analogous cues ensures successful transfer between the source and the target, depending on the degree of superficial similarity and complexity between them. However, some studies have shown that exposure to analogous cues can result in creative fixation rather than the development of new solutions. Furthermore, there has not been extensive research on the analysis of the combination of both the near and far cues on creativity as compared to the near and far analogies alone. This study investigates the effect of near and far cues in the creative process. This study aims to fill this gap by exploring the impact of combining near and far analogies on creativity and its impact on the flexibility, fluency, and originality of the ideas produced.
Understanding the dynamics of emotions during the Design process
2021 (Book Chapter, Springer)
(DOI: 10.1007/978-981-16-0119-4_38)
Research on emotion and design literature has relied primarily on the product generated by the designers and the emotional experience felt by the users while using the product. A limited number of studies have addressed the dynamics of the designer's emotions during the design process. This exploratory study attempts to understand the emotional experience of designers during the design process with supporting empirical evidence. Twenty-five designers were asked to carry out a design task for a limited period of time. The data was analyzed using the FBS ontology framework, linkography, and PANAS ratings to establish the dynamics of the emotions during the design process based on the video and audio recordings of the task. This study demonstrates mostly positive affect throughout the design process with associated high entropy scores and high outcomes, where the affective states varied between different time intervals and at different phases of the design process.
Pupil Dilation, Emotion Valence and recall of Visual Images
2021 (Book Chapter, Springer)
(DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-80094-9_59)
Visual Images (pleasant and unpleasant) have a significant role in cognitive processing. Visual design disciplines intentionally create affective products and images that influence users' behavior. Thus, it is vital to understand the human factors involved in processing pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral images. Pupillometry is one such feature to measure the psychological process sensitive to the visual stimulus. This study examines the role of affective images on pupil dilation and recall. Thirty graduates from a technical institute participated in the study. They were shown pictures that varied across emotional valence (pleasant and unpleasant) and also across categories (child, adult, animal, and landscape). Eye-tracking was used to capture pupil size variation in response to the emotional valence of the stimuli. The participants were later asked to recall the pictures. Bayesian model comparison using the Bayes Factors approach was utilized for analyzing data. Results did not produce evidence for the main effect of either emotional valence or picture category; instead, the interaction of both influenced pupil size and recall. The cross-over interaction is discussed in light of the previous finding in the literature.
Introducing Visual Literacy activities for Primary school children in India
2021 (Book Chapter, Springer)
(DOI: 10.1007/978-981-16-0084-5_61)
Visual Literacy is an essential skill to comprehend and interpret visual meaning efficiently. Previous research has claimed visual Literacy to be necessary for thinking, communication, and learning. Several researchers have realized the importance of visual awareness in children, which does not only benefit their visual skills but also their verbal skills, motivation, engagement, independence, and confidence. Despite having multiple advantages of introducing visual Literacy in the school curriculum, scant attention has been paid to introduce visual Literacy for school children in India. This study is an intervention to introduce visual Literacy through VL activity-book and scaffolding for primary school children. Several visual literacy tasks were developed and tested with primary school children in Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh, India). Results show significant improvement in children's visual literacy skills after our VL activity-based learning program's intervention. We argue for the design and implementation of such visual literacy activities as a part of the Indian school curriculum to develop an eye for it and understand visuals in a better way.
Preferences in recall of pleasant and unpleasant images
2017 (Book Chapter, Springer)
DOI: 10.1007/978-981-10-3521-0_59)
The role of emotional state on memory has been well established. How emotion provoking stimuli influence the cognitive processes is, however, not well understood. Our broad objective was to see the impact of emotion provoking visual stimulus on memory. Forty images were generated using Indian version of the Geneva Affective Picture Database (GAPED). Four categories of images (child, adult, animal and landscape) were either pleasant or unpleasant in nature. These images were shown to thirty participants following a repeated measure design. Immediate free recall of the images was recorded to see the effect of type of image on recall. Bayesian inference was used to analyze the data. Results show evidence for effect of type of image on recall by 120:1 against the null. The model of image category was also preferred to the null by 35:1.
Influence of Creative thinking and Playfulness on Creative Styles of the Individuals
2017 (Book Chapter, Springer)
(DOI: 10.1007/978-981-10-3521-0_40)
This study was done to understand the influence of creative thinking and playfulness in enhancing creative self-esteem of students. 40 freshmen master’s students in the Design discipline, participated in the study. Participants were required to undergo an activity involving creative thinking and playful activities. Their creative self-assessment was carried out using creative style questionnaire-Revised (CSQ-R), pre and post-activity. Results did not indicate a global increase in creativity of the students as assessed by CSQ-R. However, two subscales of CSQ-R viz. Use of other people (p<.001) and Environmental Control/self-regulation (p=.04) showed significant change post activity. The findings are discussed in light of cognition research. We argue for design and implementation of such creative thinking based workshops in enhancing the creative styles of individuals especially through improvement in working with groups and self-regulation of the individuals.
Comparing the Incubation effect between various age group of students during the Creative problem solving
2017 (Book Chapter, Bloomsbury India)
(ISBN13: 978-9386349880, pg 137-145)
Empirical evidence on the phenomenon of incubation during the creative problem solving is well known. Most of the researchers have revealed the significant effect of incubation during the problem-solving phase. Various researchers have demonstrated, either the effect of the task given during the incubation period or the length of the incubation period on the creative performance of the individuals. However, our experiment tries to investigate the difference between creative performances of two groups; upper primary school children and undergraduate students during the incubation phase. This empirical work employed 180 participants (60 undergraduates, 60 upper primary and 60 higher secondary school children). The experiment used problem-solving task for 15 minutes followed by incubation phase for all the groups. Participants were then indulged in three playful activities for a period of 45 minutes after which they were instructed to return back to the same problem for another 15 minutes. The findings are discussed in the light of cognition research. The paper argues that individual’s performance during the problem solving during the incubation phase varies across groups.