Enhancing Children's Creative Thinking Through Prompts for Controlled Mental Manipulation

Creative thinking in early childhood is a critical foundation for cognitive development and future success, yet a significant research gap remains in understanding the strategies that can effectively nurture this cognitive ability. Drawing from neuroscientific findings on the interplay of large-scale brain networks during creative thinking, this study assessed the impact of adult mediation in the form of prompting controlled processing of mental manipulation on preschool children's creative thinking. Seventy-two children, ranging from 4 to 6 years old, were randomly divided into experimental (35) and control (37) groups. The experimental procedure consisted of three stages, in which participants performed an Alternative Uses Task (AUT). In the baseline stage both groups performed the AUT without guidance; in the experimental stage only the experimental group received guidance on using controlled-processing to generate additional ideas; and in the final stage both groups were tested form short-term sustained effects. The study revealed three main findings. First, prompting children to use controlled processing mental manipulation on the objects led to improvements in children’s creative thinking skills (fluency and flexibility). Second, this brief manipulation showed short-term sustained effects for fluency and flexibility without prompting. Third, during the AUT, children naturally employed various other strategies, such as spontaneous use of mental manipulation, episodic memory, and environmental cues, all contributed to their creative thinking. Although children naturally use strategies that enable creative thinking, further mediation that targets controlled processing of mental manipulation boosts children’s creative abilities. This study demonstrates the potential to significantly enhance children’s creativity over a short period of time through simple interventions.