Linking together body and mind: The relation between body postures and creative processes

Recent evidence supported the notion that body movements and gestures can either facilitate or hinder the generation of novel and original ideas, but the role of posture has not been yet investigated. To fill this gap of knowledge we carried out two studies aimed at assessing whether open and closed body postures influence creative thinking. In the first study participants were involved in two creative tasks assuming an open or a closed posture. In the second study participants were involved in logic and creative tasks assuming the same postures; individuals’ physiological indexes were recorded through biofeedback equipment. Scores obtained in creative tasks were significantly higher for participants who performed the tasks in the open than in the closed posture. Data suggest that posture affects performance in creative tasks, facilitating the production of creative ideas when subjects embody a posture which metaphorically suggests to adopt a broad mental framework