The Influence of Semantic Stimuli on Design Creativity: An EEG Study from the Perspective of Design Neurocognition

This study employed electroencephalogram (EEG) to collect brain activity while participants read different kinds of semantic stimuli. The standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography method was used to analyze the current source in both the lower alpha frequency band (8–10 Hz) and the upper alpha frequency band (10–13 Hz). This study focused on understanding how semantic stimuli with different degrees of abstraction influence design creativity and on exploring the activities of the brain when processing them. The results showed abstract stimuli evoked a larger current source in the upper alpha frequency band compared to concrete stimuli on 269 voxels distributed in 13 Brodmann areas and among three lobes (frontal, temporal, and occipital). Additionally, there was a positive correlation between the upper alpha current source and both novelty scores and surprise scores. These results substantiate the hypothesis that activities in the upper alpha band are conducive to enhancing design creativity.