WIP: Using neuro-responses to understand creativity, the engineering design process, and concept generation

Abstract

Investigations of creativity have been an intriguing topic for a long time, but assessing creativity is extremely complex. Creativity is a cornerstone of engineering disciplines, so understanding creativity and how to enhance creative abilities through engineering education has received substantial attention. Fields outside of engineering are no stranger to neuro-investigations of creativity and although some neuro-response studies have been conducted to understand creativity in engineering, these studies need to map the engineering design and concept generation processes better. Using neuroimaging techniques alongside engineering design and concept generation processes is necessary for understanding how to improve creative idea generation and creativity studies in engineering. In this paper, a survey is provided of the literature for the different neurological approaches that have been used to study the engineering design process and creative processes. Also presented are proposed strategies to apply these neurological approaches to engineering design to understand the creative process in greater detail. Furthermore, results from a pilot study investigating neuro-responses of engineers are presented.