Graduation Year

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree

M.A.

Degree Name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Degree Granting Department

Psychology

Major Professor

Ruthann Atchley, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Thomas Sanocki, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Daniel Griffin, Ph.D.

Keywords

Attention Restoration, Alternate Uses, Remote Associates

Abstract

This thesis examined the influence of indoor versus outdoor environmental exposure and individual versus group participation on verbal creativity performance. Guided primarily by Attention Restoration Theory (ART; Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989), it was predicted that outdoor natural settings would enhance creativity through restorative cognitive processes. Additionally, it was hypothesized that groups would outperform individuals due to the cognitive advantages of collective induction and information pooling. Participants (N = 256) completed verbal creativity tasks—Remote Associates Task (RAT; convergent creativity) and Alternate Uses Task (AUT; divergent creativity)—following a 30-minute exposure period in either an indoor student center or outdoor botanical garden setting, performing tasks either individually or in groups of three. Analyses showed that groups significantly outperformed individuals on both RAT and AUT measures, regardless of environmental setting. Environmental effects were marginally present only for the AUT, suggesting tentative support for ART's claim about enhanced divergent thinking in natural environments. Secondary analyses found moderate correlations between convergent and divergent creativity, shifts in positive and negative affect unrelated to environmental conditions, and select contextual and individual differences (e.g., conscientiousness, nature connectedness) that influenced creativity outcomes. Exploratory analyses using nominal group comparisons reinforced the robustness of the group performance advantage. Results extend previous research by highlighting consistent benefits of collaborative group settings in creativity tasks and nuanced, conditional effects of natural environment exposure. Implications for optimizing creative group work and future directions in environmental creativity research are discussed.

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