"A study of cognitive factor sequences and relations to creativity quality levels" by Yuan Yin & Peter R. N. Childs

This research paper examines the sequence of cognitive factors and their impact on the quality of creative design solutions. The study uses a think-aloud method with 71 participants, who completed a design task while verbalising their thought processes. The researchers analysed the participants' cognitive factor sequences and then correlated these with the creativity quality levels of their designs as assessed by expert judges. The findings suggest that certain sequences of cognitive factors, such as semantic memory, common association, remote association, episodic memory, and remote combination, are more likely to lead to higher creativity quality levels. Furthermore, the study indicates that the repetition of the same cognitive factor, particularly semantic memory, does not necessarily contribute to higher creativity, and that the more cognitive factors involved in a design process, the higher the potential for creative quality.