DOCUMENT RESUME ED 393 593 PS 024 111 AUTHOR Polland, Mark J. TITLE Mental Imagery in Creative Problem Solving. PUB DATE 96 NOTE 205p.; Ph.D. Dissertation, Claremont Graduate School. PUB TYPE Dissertations/Theses Doctoral Dissertations (041) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC09 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Artists; Authors; Creativity; *Discovery Processes; Imagination; Inventions; Musicians; *Problem Solving; . *Productive Thinking; *Scientists; Spontaneous Behavior; Visual Arts; *Visualization IDENTIFIERS *Creative Problem Solving; *Mental Imagery ABSTRACT In order to investigate the relationship between mental imagery and creative problem solving, a study of 44 separate accounts reporting mental imagery experiences associated with creative discoveries were examined. The data included 29 different scientists, among them Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, and 9 artists, musicians, and writers, including Leonardo da Vinci and Richard Wagner. Thirty-three of the incidents were reported by the subjects themselves, and 11 were written by biographers and historians. The study analyzed reports of mental imagery according to the following three factors:(1) possible causes for the reported perception of mental imagery;(2) what perceptual modalities were involved in the reported mental imagery; and (3) at what stage in the problem solving process imagery was reportedly involved. Findings included the following: (1) mental images occurred more often in a spontaneous way when the subjects were occupied with routine behaviors; (2) imagery that occurred in the visual modality was the single most reported factor, which may reflect the fact that the research focused on scientific fields that tend to rely on visual representations; and (3) mental imagery was reported to occur most frequently during the later stages in the creative process. Contains approximately 305 references. (AJH) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made * from the original document. *********************************************************************** S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION O".ce of Eaf,cal.oriat ReSoil,C1, anc Innvovon'ent EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it CI Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points 01 view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy Mental Imagery in Creative Problem Solvin by Mark J. Polland A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Claremont Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate Faculty of Education. Claremont, CA 1996 PERMISSION TOREPRODUCE AND P1114 DISSEMINATE THISMATERIAL Approved by: HAS BEEN GRANTEDBY V2114 nox kt. kkoA Vz-,1 TO THE EDUCATIONALRESOURCES 4 INFORMATION CENTER(ERIC) John 0. Regan 1 BEST COPY AVAILABLE We, the undersigned, certify that we have read this dissertation and approve it as adequate in scope and quality for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation Committee: John 0. Regan, Chair Malcolm P. Douglass, Member Michael Brewster, Member Mary J. Martz, Visiting Examiner 2 I) 0 Dedication To my mother, Barbara Kay Po Hand, for her endless commitment and support. To John Regan, whose vision is a guiding light. And to my Grandmother and Grandfather, who helped to make this dream a reality. 3 0 Contents Page # Chapter 1 8 1.1 Abstract 8 1.2 Introduction 9 1.3 Summary 10 1.4 What are mental images? 12 Chanter 2 16 2.1 Problems in the observation of creative behaviors 16 2.2 Data validation 19 2.3 Describing mental images 20 2.4 Creativity in education 22 Chapter 3 23 3.1 Literature review 23 3.2 Thinking without words 26 3.3 Reports of mental imagery 27 3.3.1 Galton 27 3.3.2 Myers 29 4 3.3.3 Richardson 30 3.3.4 McKellar 31 3.3.5 Luria 32 3.4 Creative visualization 34 3.5 Mental practice 34 3.6 Mental imagery in healing 36 c 3.7 Stages in the creative process 36 Chapter 4 39 4.1 Data and analysis 39 4.2 Data selection criteria 40 4.3 Primary data 41 4.3.1 Oliver Evans 41 4.3.2 James Nasmyth 43 4.3.3 James Watt, part 1 45 4.3.4 Dimitri Mendeleev 49 4.3.5 Herman Hilprecht 52 4.3.6 Friedrich Kekule 57 4.3.7 Jacques Hadamard 64 4.3.8 Niko la Tesla 66 4.3.9 Albert Einstein, part 1 73 4.3.10 Albert Einstein, part 2 77 4.3.11 John Yellot 79 4.3.12 Omar Snyder 83 4.3.13 James Watson 85 4.3.14 Richard Feynman 89 4.3.15 Stephen Hawking 92 5 4.4 Secondary data 95 4.4.16 Thomas Blanchard 96 4.4.17 Niels Bohr 97 4.4.18 James Watt, part 2 100 4.4.19 Elias Howe 102 4.4.20 Michael Faraday 104 4.5 Thought experiments 107 4.5.21 Galileo Gan lei, part 1 108 4.5.22 Galileo Gall lei, part 2 109 4.5.23 Isaac Newton, part 1 110 4.5.24 Isaac Newton, part 2 112 4.5.25 James Clerk Maxwell 113 4.5.26 Henri Poincare 115 4.5.27 Albert Einstein, part 3 118 4.5.28 Albert Einstein, part 4 119 4.6 Inventors 120 4.6.29 Walter Chrysler 120 4.6.30 Flinders Petrie 122 4.6.31 A. Y. Dodge 124 4.6.32 E. Thompson 125 4.6.33 F. F. Forshee 127 4.6.34 H. A. W Wood 128 4.6.35 Seymour Cray 129 4.7 Poets, painters and composers, etc. 130 4.7.36 Samuel Taylor Coleridge 130 4.7.37 Joan Didion 134 4.7.38 Leonardo da Vinci 134 4.7.39 Max Ernst 135 4.7.40 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 136 6 4.7.41 Richard Wagner 139 4.7.42 Guiseppe Tartini 140 4.7.43 Hector Berlioz 141 4.7.44 The Eskimo 143 Chanter 5 145 5.1 Results of analysis 145 5.2 Distribution results 169 5.3 Conclusions 171 5.3.1 Possible causes 171 5.3.2 Perceptual modalities 182 5.3.3 Stages in the creative process 184 5.4 Summary 187 References 189 7 Chavter 1 1.1 Abstract A number of scientists, as well as artists, musicians and writers have reported experiencing mental imagery in conjunction with significant creative discoveries. Is it possible to learn about the creative from these reported experiences? This study presents a total of 44 separate accounts reporting mental imagery experiences associated with creative discoveries. The data include 29 different scientists and 9 artists, musicians and writers. Thirty-three (33) of the incidents were reported by the subjects themselves, and 11 were written by biographers and historians. The reports were collected from research into the literature concerning "mental imagery," "the creative process," and "scientific discovery." Do these reported experiences have any characteristics in common? Do they suggest a connection between mental imagery and creative problem solving? This study analyzed reports of mental imagery according to these three factors: 1. Possible causes for the re4)orted perception of mental imagery, including behavioral, psychological and environmental factors. What was the person doing and thinking at the time? Could that behavior have facilitated the reported imagery? Were other incidents of mental imagery reported, either in association with the experience in question or not? 2. What perceptual modalities were involved in the reported mental imagery? Though mental imagery is often associated with the visual modality, it is not limited to perceptions in the visual mode (see what are mental images below). Were non-visual modalities involved? Are multiple modalities indicated? Is there a 8 connection between the specific type of problem and the modeof perception? 3. At ssh41.5.1age_In the problem solving process was imagery reportedly involved? What function did the reported mental imagery perform in facilitating the problem solving process? To what degree, if any did the reported imagery contribute to the completed solution? The purpose of the analysis is to develop a profile that outlines both the range and frequency of the data within each of three factors, insofar as it may be determined from the accounts presented. It is possible to determine any common factors in these reportsthat might provide insight into the creative process? Are there ways to 40 develop this kind of (reported) creative behavior, or to teach it to others? Such reports are unverifiable because they represent purely cognitive phenomena. However, the significance of the discoveries associated with the accounts of imagery presented here warrants consideration of the reported circumstances involved. 1.2 Introduction Mental imagery is more commonly associated with the arts, such as painting and poetry, than with the scientific prc ilemsolving. This study documents reported incidents of mental imagery in a wider context, specifically broadening the scope to encompass the field of scientific discovery. Mental imagery has been reported in conjunction with a number of significant discoveries. Einstein,for example, reported that the Theory of Relativity wasfirst conceived as a mental image. This study examinesthe role of mental imagery in scientific discoveries in an effort to develop abroader, as well as a deeper understanding of the creative process. 9 1 0 The data present a compilation of anecdotal accountsreporting the perception of mental imagery in associationwith scientific discoveries. The data provide two functions.They document the importance of mental imagery in scientific discovery,and second, they provide the material with which toanalyze the unique characteristics of this reported phenomenon. What arethese characteristics like, and is it possible to determine anyfactors that may facilitate these experiences?Is it possible to develop or teach these abilities? Although accounts from nine artists, musiciansand writers are included, the primary focus of the data is onthe thirty scientists and inventors presented.