How Physical Problem Solving Benefits Intellectual Problem Solving

Open Access
- Author:
- Rosenthal, Carly Dana
- Area of Honors:
- Rehabilitation and Human Services
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Dr. Deirdre Elizabeth Mary O'sullivan, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Deirdre Elizabeth Mary O'sullivan, Thesis Honors Advisor
Dr. Carlos Zalaquette, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- Cognitive Psychology
Rehabilitation
Motor Planning
Problem Solving - Abstract:
- The systems of cognition and motor planning have been shown to be heavily intertwined within one another. After coming to the realization that individuals who utilize wheelchairs have to constantly maneuver their world using creative cognitions and motor planning strategies, it was predicted that there might be a relationship between creativity in cognition and action. The purpose of this study was to investigate the priming effects that creative motor planning could have on creative cognitive problem solving. Participants were asked to tie two knots with either both hands, only their right hand or only their left hand. After completing the creative motor planning task, the participants were then asked to participate in two cognitive problem solving questions. It was predicted that individuals who used only one hand to tie knots would be better primed with creativity, therefore making these participants more effective in answering the cognitive problem solving questions. Although there were no significant differences found, there were small effects showing a difference in the effectiveness in answering the cognitive problem solving questions for participants who tied knots with one hand compared to participants who tied knots with both hands.