CREATIVITY AND BREADTH OF ATTENTION

This study tested the hypothesis that creative performance is facilita ted by wide breadth of attention. Sixty-one participants completed a m easure of trait breadth of attention and wrote a poem while alone in a quiet setting. On a random basis, 40 of these participants were then assigned to write a second poem while being subjected to attention-nar rowing stimulation (noise) that was predictable or unpredictable and i ntelligible or unintelligible; the remaining 21 participants wrote the second poem in the quiet setting. All poems were judged for creativit y and were measured for word originality. Results showed that (a) trai t breadth of attention was correlated modestly and positively (r =. 20 ) with creative performance; (b) creative performance was impaired by exposure to noise, especially noise that was unpredictable or intellig ible; and (c) noise impaired creative performance more in participants whose trait breadth of attention was wide than in those whose trait b readth of attention was narrow. The relation between creativity and br eadth of attention is discussed in terms of the high complexity level of creativity tasks and the need for parallel processing and broad att entional capacity required for successful performance on highly comple x tasks.