A Wandering Mind is Not Always a Creative Mind: How Thought Dynamics Explain the Relationship between Mind Wandering and Creativity

Abstract

ABSTRACTA wandering mind is not always a creative mind. Anecdotes about ideas spontaneously entering awareness during walks, showers, and other off‐task activities are plenty. The science behind it, however, is still inconclusive. Creativity might result from how thought context—whether thoughts are on‐task or off‐task—relates to thought dynamics—how thoughts unfold. To explore this, study 1 (n = 85) surveyed creative professionals about a single idea they had earlier in the day. The spontaneity of thoughts positively correlated with self‐reported creativity, whereas off‐task thoughts or doing something else did not. Study 2 (n = 180) replicated these findings in a student sample during an idea generation task and added that free movement of thoughts also correlates with self‐reported originality during idea generation. As indicated by expert ratings, no relationship of thought dynamics and thought context was found with population‐level creativity. Herewith, this study suggests that thought dynamics, rather than thought context, explain the often suggested relationship between mind wandering and creativity.