Sensorimotor-Conceptual Integration in Free Walking Enhances Divergent Thinking for Young and Older Adults
Frontiers in Psychology December 22, 2016 Chun-Yu Kuo, Yei-Yu Yeh 40 citations
Free walking boosts creative divergent thinking in both young and older adults, and the effect depends on bidirectional body-mind links—not just any movement. In two experiments, young participants who walked freely generated more original, fluent, and flexible uses for chopsticks than those who walked a fixed rectangular path or followed someone else's path. Older adults randomly assigned to free walking also outperformed those on a rectangular path, and their originality matched or exceeded that of young adults on the fixed path. The findings indicate that the bidirectional connection between proprioceptive-motor experience and abstract concepts enhances creative thinking across age groups.