title: Can clouds dance? Part 2: an ERP investigation of passive conceptual expansion.
abstract: Conceptual expansion, one of the core operations in creative cognition, was investigated in the present ERP study. An experimental paradigm using novel metaphoric, nonsensical and literal phrases was employed where individual differences in conceptual knowledge organization were accounted for by using participants' responses to categorize the stimuli to each condition. The categorization was determined by their judgment of the stimuli on the two defining criteria of creativity: unusualness and appropriateness. Phrases judged as unusual and appropriate were of special interest as they are novel and unfamiliar phrases thought to passively induce conceptual expansion. The results showed a graded N400 modulation for phrases judged to be unusual and inappropriate (nonsense) or unusual and appropriate (conceptual expansion, novel metaphorical) relative to usual and appropriate (literal) phrases. The N400 is interpreted as indexing greater effort to retrieve semantic information and integrate the novel concepts presented through the phrases. Analyses of the later time-window showed an ongoing negativity that was graded in the same manner as the N400. The findings attest to the usefulness of investigating creative cognition using event-related electrophysiology.
authors.affiliation: Department for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Justus-Liebig University, Giessen, Germany. Barbara.Rutter@psychol.uni-giessen.de
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rutter
authors.forename: Sören
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kröger
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Windmann
authors.forename: Christiane
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hermann
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abraham
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003210:Concept Formation / Q000502:physiology*; D003405:Creativity; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D012016:Reference Values; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology; D013850:Thinking / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D055815:Young Adult