Reducing sketch inhibition during concept generation: Psychophysiological evidence of the effect of interventions

Wan Lin Hu, Joran Booth, Tahira Reid

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

This research investigated the effect of warm-up activities on cognitive states during concept generation. Psychophysiological tools including electroencephalography (EEG) and galvanic skin response (GSR) were used along with self-report measures (NASA TLX). Participants were divided into 3 test conditions: 1) no warm-up activity; 2) simple warm-up activities; 3) sketchinhibition reducing activities. All participants did the same short design task. Results show that those who did a warm-up prior to ideation had a decrease in stress, especially for those who were personally familiar with the design problem. The art activities especially improved engagement for younger participants. We also saw that females who used the art-based activities reported lower mental workload during ideation and greater pride in their sketches. However, the warm-ups did not produce any difference in the number of ideas or other metrics of performance. These preliminary results indicate that warm-up activities, especially the art-based ones, help reduce inhibition by calming the cognitive state.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication27th International Conference on Design Theory and Methodology
PublisherAmerican Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
ISBN (Electronic)9780791857175
DOIs
StatePublished - 2015
EventASME 2015 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, IDETC/CIE 2015 - Boston, United States
Duration: Aug 2 2015Aug 5 2015

Publication series

NameProceedings of the ASME Design Engineering Technical Conference
Volume7

Other

OtherASME 2015 International Design Engineering Technical Conferences and Computers and Information in Engineering Conference, IDETC/CIE 2015
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityBoston
Period8/2/158/5/15

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Modeling and Simulation
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design

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