Standing out: an atypical salience account of creativity

Trends Cogn Sci. 2024 Jul;28(7):597-599. doi: 10.1016/j.tics.2024.04.013. Epub 2024 Jun 6.

Abstract

Creativity often entails gaining a novel perspective, yet it remains uncertain how this is accomplished. Atypical salience processing may foster creative thinking by prioritizing putatively irrelevant information, thereby broadening the material accessible for idea generation and inhibiting attentional fixedness; in essence, motivating creative individuals to incorporate information that others overlook.

Keywords: aberrant salience; creativity; dopamine; incentive salience; personality.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Attention* / physiology
  • Creativity*
  • Humans
  • Thinking / physiology