Unconscious thinkers better select both their most and least creative idea (Experiment 2 replication)¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causalr2·q3
Currency · newest study 2012 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
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q3 i? In Experiment 2, unconscious thinkers significantly outperformed conscious thinkers and immediate responders in choosing both their most creative and their least creative idea. → Ritter 2012
Evidence¶
Ritter 2012¶
Ritter, S.M.; van Baaren, R.B.; Dijksterhuis, A.J. (2012). Creativity: The role of unconscious processes in idea generation and idea selection. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 7, 21-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2011.12.002
q3 · i? · causal · r2
Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 with 68 students on a different task (ideas for how students can earn some extra money) and added least-creative-idea selection; the condition effect was significant for both selection outcomes, /US2(2) = 8.00 and /US2(2) = 7.20, both p < .05.
"unconscious thinkers significantly outperformed conscious thinkers and participants who immediately listed their ideas in choosing their most creative idea, /US2(1) = 4.83, p < .05, /US2(1) = 6.42, p < .05, and their least creative idea, /US2(1) = 5.11, p < .05, /US2(1) = 5.87, p < .05, respectively."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Conscious thinkers produce more creative ideas than immediate responders (Experiment 2) — related
- Unconscious and conscious thought produce similar idea generation in number and average creativity (Experiment 1) — related
- Unconscious thinkers outperform conscious thinkers and immediate responders in selecting their most creative idea (Experiment 1) — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
unconscious-thought-improves-most-and-least-creative-selection-exp2 |
title |
Unconscious thinkers better select both their most and least creative idea (Experiment 2 replication) |
description |
Unconscious thinkers better select both their most and least creative idea (Experiment 2 replication) |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2012 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-17 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — ritter-2012 |
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