Fluid Intelligence, Working Memory, and Creativity

Abstract

Interest in understanding the relationship between intelligence and creativity has a long history in psychology. Conceptions of this relationship have varied greatly, ranging from perceiving intelligence and creativity as completely unrelated constructs to perceiving them as entirely coincident sets. However, the truth appears to lie somewhere between those two extremes. Specifically, recent research employing improved measures of both intelligence and creativity has shown that creativity is related to individual differences in fluid intelligence—defined as the ability to solve novel problems. In addition, creativity has also been shown to be related to individual differences in executive functions, specifically its updating and inhibition components. However, aside from fluid intelligence and executive functions, behavioral and neural evidence has demonstrated that creativity is also supported by associative processes. Indeed, the dynamic interplay between executive and associative processes might be a hallmark of creativity.