Journal of Cognitive Enhancement (2018) 2:193–199

https://doi.org/10.1007/s41465-018-0082-3

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Exercise and Creativity: Can One Bout of Yoga Improve Convergent

and Divergent Thinking?
Kathleen F. Donnegan 1 & Annalisa Setti 1 & Andrew P. Allen 2

Received: 5 January 2018 / Accepted: 22 May 2018 / Published online: 1 June 2018
# Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018

Abstract
While creativity is a vastly debated topic, little research has been dedicated to determining whether exercise can boost cognitive
factors associated with creativity, such as divergent thinking. Yoga, as a form of exercise, comprises physical activity and open-
monitoring meditation, which may increase divergent thinking. We compared performance on a test of divergent thinking in
healthy adults, the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA), and one test of convergent thinking and field independence, the
Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT), before and after one session of ashtanga yoga, and one session of aerobic exercise.
Divergent thinking was not affected by either intervention overall; however, fluency of novel ideas generated was reduced post-
intervention in both groups. Practice effects were registered for the convergent thinking task, and those in the yoga group
performed better at this task both at baseline and following yoga, although yoga did not lead to a greater change from baseline
performance. The current findings do not suggest that one bout of yoga is associated with an immediate cognitive benefit.
However, further research is required onto whether long-term yoga practice may enhance divergent thinking.

Keywords Creativity . Divergent thinking . Exercise . Yoga

Introduction There is some evidence that aerobic exercise can enhance

There is an established link between cognitive performance
and physical exercise (Colcombe and Kramer 2003; Hillman
et al. 2008; Kelly et al. 2014). Whether one bout of exercise
can provide immediate cognitive benefits remains a debated
topic (Chang et al. 2012; Ferris et al. 2007; O’Brien et al.
2017; Tomporowski 2003). Creativity is crucial in many ap-
plied settings, and a key psychological factor underlying in-
novation (e.g. Marrocu and Paci 2012; Williams and McGuire
2010; but cf. Allen 2011; Cropley et al. 2010); therefore, it is a
topic of central concern for cognitive enhancement to deter-
mine whether a more creative mental state can be obtained,
even for a brief period, with short interventions such as one
bout of exercise.
* Andrew P. Allen
Andrew.Allen@mu.ie
1
School of Applied Psychology, University College Cork,
Cork, Ireland
2
Department of Psychology, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Co.
Kildare, Ireland
performance on creative thinking tasks (e.g. Blanchette et al.
2005; Colzato et al. 2013; Steinberg et al. 1997); however, the
relationship between exercise and creativity is still
underexplored.
Meditation is emerging as a creativity-enhancing practice
(Colzato et al. 2012; see also review by Lippelt et al. 2014, see
also Lebuda et al. 2016). Open-monitoring meditation in-
volves the monitoring of awareness itself, as opposed to fo-
cussed attention meditation, which involves maintaining at-
tention on a given object (see review by Colzato and
Hommel 2017). Evidence suggests that open-monitoring
meditation enhances divergent thinking, while focussed atten-
tion mediation enhances convergent thinking (Colzato et al.
2012). Intuitive/associative thinking and logical/analytical
thinking can both play a role in creative thought (Allen and
Thomas 2011), and shifting between the two may be key to
creative performance (Sowden et al. 2015) depending on the
task at hand. Further, these two modes of thought may be
associated with breadth of attention, with the analytical style
being associated with focussed attention and the intuitive style
with a wider breadth of attention (e.g. Howard-Jones 2002).
Breadth of attention may impact upon creative thinking
(Kasof 1997); in fact, Colzato et al. (2012) suggested that
194
the key difference between open monitoring and focused at-
tention meditation in fostering creativity is the cognitive con-
trol state induced: higher cognitive control for focused atten-
tion meditation and lower cognitive control for open
monitoring meditation. Along this line Baas et al. (2014) have
shown that the effect of mindfulness on creativity is not gen-
eralised, but depends on the ability to be open to observing
internal and external stimuli occurring during meditation.
Integrative mind-body training, focussed on a meditative
state associated with a sense of harmony between body and
mind, has also been shown to enhance divergent thinking
(Ding et al. 2014) possibly because it includes a meditation
component. Although previous research did not find a positive
effect of 25 min of yoga stretching on divergent thinking
(Khasky and Smith 1999), it is possible that a longer yoga
session with a strong emphasis on the meditative component
of yoga may produce a clearer effect.
In the present study, we aimed to assess whether ashtanga
yoga can have a beneficial effect on creative thinking, due to
its emphasis on meditation components, including open-
monitoring mindfulness, as well as its emphasis on body
awareness. To assess whether such benefit, should it be ob-
served, is specific to yoga or more generally due to exercising,
a group of participants performing aerobic exercise was used
as the control group. Specifically, we aimed to examine
whether a single bout of yoga could increase divergent and/
or convergent thinking in healthy adults. Given the brevity of
our intervention, our aim was to demonstrate a brief induction
of a more creative cognitive state, rather than the acquisition
of a skill or a lasting change in creative ability.
To assess divergent thinking, we utilised the Abbreviated
Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA) (Torrance 1966/1999),
which explores different dimensions of creativity, as well as
providing an overall index. We also assessed convergent
thinking on a test of field independence, the Group
Embedded Figure Test (Witkin et al. 1971). It is possible that
yoga may enhance divergent thinking specifically, based on its
mindfulness component; alternatively, it is possible that yoga
may enhance convergent thinking, fostering field indepen-
dence (Sridevi et al. 1995), in turn associated with problem
solving abilities (Davis and Haueisen 1976). In contrast, if
yoga increased performance both the ATTA and the GEFT,
this could provide some evidence for a more general effect of
yoga on creative performance, both in terms of divergent and
convergent thinking.
The control group, practicing aerobic exercise, was expect-
ed to only improve convergent thinking, i.e. performance in
the GEFT, as there is no specific focus on open monitoring
mediation and mind-body awareness in aerobic exercise.
In addition, we aimed to test the relationship between cre-
ativity as assessed in the lab and participants’ self-report of
creative achievements, with the hypothesis that individuals
practicing yoga would report more creative achievements,
J Cogn Enhanc (2018) 2:193–199
and this may be associated with the benefit they would gain
from one bout of exercise.
Method
Design
Participants completed either a single ashtanga yoga class or
an aerobics class. As participants were already enrolled in
such activities, this is a quasi-experimental design. We used
two cognitive tasks assessing creativity: one task to assess
divergent thinking (Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults)
and one task to assess field independence/convergent thinking
(Group Embedded Figures Test) (Witkin et al. 1971), which
were completed both before (t1) and after (t2) the yoga or
aerobics classes. Therefore, we adopted a mixed measure de-
sign with type of exercise as a between participants variable
and time of testing (t1, t2) as a within participants variable.
This study was reviewed and approved by the Applied
Psychology Ethics Committee at University College Cork,
Ireland.
Participants
Thirty-seven healthy adults completed this study. The partic-
ipants were neither rewarded nor compensated for participat-
ing in the study, and participation was completely voluntary.
Written informed consent was provided as per the Declaration
of Helsinki.
Tasks for the yoga group were conducted at a Yoga centre
in Cork (Ireland). Tasks for the aerobics group were conducted
at two gyms in Cork city and Mallow, Co. Cork. Participants
were tested in situ in a suitably quiet room.
Materials
To assess creativity, the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults
(ATTA; Goff and Torrance 2002) was used. The ATTA is
made up of three activities which assess verbal and figural
divergent thinking. Furthermore, building on the work of J.P.
Guilford (e.g. 1957), the ATTA scores for four creative abili-
ties: fluency (quantity of ideas generated), originality (novelty
of ideas), elaboration (depth with which ideas are developed)
and flexibility (extent to which a creative activity is
approached from different perspectives).
There are some previous examples in the literature (in child
participants) for administering tests similar to the ATTA re-
peatedly, although with a period of weeks or months between
pre- and post-intervention (Dziedziewicz et al. 2013, 2014).
Therefore, to assess the suitability of the task, a small pilot
study was conducted to investigate the use of the ATTA in a
repeated measures design and assess whether participants
J Cogn Enhanc (2018) 2:193–199
were able to generate completely new responses (without
building on the t1 responses/stories generated). This pilot
study did not include any interventions, but those who com-
pleted the pilot study took an hour-long break between the pre
and post-tests. The pilot indicated that participants were able
to generate new ideas; therefore, at the post-test, participants
in the main study were asked to produce new or different
responses than they had in the pre-test. As a number of ideas
were likely to be used at t1, and participants were requested
not to use these same ideas again at t2, it is possible that
participants would produce fewer ideas overall at t2 in the
ATTA; therefore improved performance should be considered
relative to the control group.
To assess convergent thinking and field independence, the
Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT; Witkin et al. 1971)
was used. The GEFT is composed of three timed sections.
Participants are asked to find Bsimple forms,^ or simple geo-
metric shapes in Bcomplex figures,^ or larger geometric de-
signs. Only the second and third sections are scored. Like the
ATTA, participants completed this task both before and after
their yoga or aerobics class.
In addition to these cognitive tests, we also used two self-
report forms to assess past creative achievement and recent
physical activity. To assess previous creative achievement,
the Creative Achievement Questionnaire (CAQ; Carson,
Peterson and Higgins 2005) was used. The CAQ is a reliable
and valid self-report questionnaire which assesses past crea-
tive achievements (e.g. BI have taken lessons in this area^, BI
have sold a piece of my work^) in different domains (e.g.
visual arts, music, invention, culinary arts). We used the
International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ; see
Booth, 2000) to assess self-reported moderate and vigorous
physical activity in the previous 7 days.
Procedure
All tests were administered immediately before the yoga or
aerobics class (in counterbalanced order); the ATTA and
GEFT were also administered immediately after the class to
assess if divergent thinking and field independence had
changed. Participants did not know in advance that they
would be completing the ATTA and the GEFT tasks again
after their yoga or aerobics class. Trained yoga instructors
delivered the yoga classes. The Yoga intervention included
meditation, mindfulness, breathing exercises, and physical
postures. Each yoga class lasted about 1 h and 15 min. A
professional trainer at two gyms in Cork delivered the aero-
bics exercise. This exercise included basic exercises to music
to increase the heart rate. It consisted of a 5-min warm-up,
25 min of aerobics, 10 min conditioning and toning and
5 min stretching. The aerobics exercise lasted about 45 min.
195
Statistical Analysis
In order to test if yoga and aerobic exercise had differing
impact on divergent thinking and field independence, we
analysed the interaction between exercise group and pre-post
intervention, using mixed factorial analyses of variance
(ANOVA), with exercise group as an independent measures
variable and time (t1 and t2) as a repeated measures variable.
We also examined main effects to see if there were any overall
differences between the two exercise groups and any overall
effects of repeated assessment for the sample as a whole.
Differences between groups in traits such as age, gender,
physical activity and past creative achievement were analysed
using t tests, Mann-Whitney U or chi-square tests as
appropriate.
Results
Participant Characteristics
The two groups did not differ significantly in age of partici-
pants t (34) = 1.59, p = 0.12; gender of participants, Χ2 (1) =
0.24, p = 0.69; years of practice in yoga/aerobics, U = 122.5,
p = 0.11; time/week of practice, U = 195.5, p = 0.72. Although
participants in the aerobics group were somewhat more likely
to report lower physical activity, the differences between the
groups were non-significant, U = 113, p = 0.08 (see Table 1
for further details).
Divergent Thinking and Field Independence
For the ATTA, the pre-test and post-test ATTA scripts were
marked by two independent raters, and the intraclass correla-
tions indicated an acceptable level of agreement at both pre-
test (r = .799) and post-test (r = .706).
A 2 (exercise group: yoga and aerobics) × 2 (time: t1 and
t2) mixed factorial ANOVA was performed on the ATTA.
Although divergent thinking increased slightly in the yoga
group and remained the same in the aerobic group, this differ-
ence was not significant, as shown by the lack of significant
interaction, F(1, 35) = 1.01, p = .32, ηp2 = .03 (see Fig. 1), nor
was there a main effect of exercise group (p = .72) or time
(p = .31) on divergent thinking. Similarly, for specific creative
abilities, the exercise groups did not differ significantly on
change in fluency, originality, elaboration or flexibility; how-
ever, there was a significant main effect of time, with partici-
pants generating fewer ideas post-intervention (see Table 2).
The exercise groups did not differ in their change on the
GEFT, F(1, 33) = 0.45, p = .51, ηp2 = 0.01; however, both
groups improved significantly following yoga/aerobic exer-
cise, F(1, 33) = 19.87, p < .001, ηp2 = 0.38, possibly due to a
practice effect (see Fig. 2). The yoga group scored
196 J Cogn Enhanc (2018) 2:193–199

Table 1 Participants
characteristics Group Yoga (N = 19) Aerobics (N = 18)
Gender F = 16, M = 3 F = 14, M = 4
Age Mean = 41.3 years Mean = 48.4 years
(SD = 11.2) (SD = 15.1)

Education High school graduate = 1 Some high school = 2

Some college credit = 3
Bachelor’s degree = 6
Master’s degree = 6
Professional degree = 3
Years of practice of yoga/aerobics (number of Less than 1 year = 2
participants) 1 year = 4
2–3 years = 8
More than 4 years = 5
Times/week of practice Less than once a week = 0
Once a week = 2
2–3 times a week = 8
More than 3 times a week = 7
No response = 2
Physical activity (IPAQ) Low activity = 1
Moderate activity = 15
High activity = 1
No response = 2
High school graduate = 2
Some college credit = 3
Bachelor’s degree = 2
Master’s degree = 6
Trade/vocational training = 1
No response = 2
Less than 1 year = 6
1 year = 2
2–3 years = 3
More than 4 years = 7
Less than once a week = 3
Once a week = 2
2–3 times a week = 8
More than 3 times a week = 5
Low activity = 6
Moderate activity = 11
High activity = 1

significantly higher than the aerobic exercise group overall,
F(1, 33) = 7.76, p < .001, ηp2 = 0.19. However, an exploratory
analysis of correlations between age, frequency of practice
and the dependent variables (ATTA and GEFT before and
after exercise) revealed that there was no significant correla-
tion with performance on the ATTA, while age (p < 0.01) and
times/week of practice (p < 0.05) were correlated with perfor-
mance on the GEFT. Considering that age and years of
72
education were highly correlated, while time/week of practice
and the other two variables were not, we introduced age and
time/week of practice as covariates for the GEFT. In this new
analysis, age was significant, F(1, 30) = 4.9, p < 0.05, ηp2 =
0.14, there was a trend for an effect of time (p = 0.06) and no
effect of exercise type.
The yoga group had on average higher past creative
achievement than the aerobic exercise group, although this
difference was not significant, t(33) = 0.98, p = .34 (see
Fig. 3).

70

68 Discussion
66
In the present study, we tested whether one single bout of
ATTA

64 Yoga
Aerobics
exercise was sufficient to provide significant improvement
62 in creative thinking performance measured with a divergent
60 thinking task, the ATTA and a convergent thinking task, the
58
GEFT. Given yoga’s focus on open-monitoring meditation
and body awareness, we hypothesised that participants in the
56
yoga group would see an immediate boost in their divergent
Baseline Post-intervenon
thinking, compared to an aerobics control group. However,
Fig. 1 Divergent thinking as assessed using the ATTA (Abbreviated
Torrance Test of creative thinking in Adults) at baseline and following
although divergent thinking increased in the yoga group,
either yoga or aerobic exercise (error bars represent standard error of the while remaining the same in the aerobic exercise group, this
mean) finding was not statistically significant. Despite previous
J Cogn Enhanc (2018) 2:193–199 197

Table 2 Creative abilities at

baseline and following yoga or Baseline Post- Exercise X pre-post Pre- Exercise group
aerobic exercise intervention post

Fluency Yoga 14.8 (0.7) 14 (0.6) p = .69 p = .03 p = .77

Aerobic 14.8 (0.7) 14.2 (0.6)
Originality Yoga 16.2 (0.6) 16.2 (0.7) p = .88 p < .99 p = .40
Aerobic 15.3 (0.7) 15.3 (0.6)
Elaboration Yoga 13 (1.1) 14.3 (0.5) p = .1 p = .28 p = .36
Aerobic 14.8 (0.7) 14.6 (0.5)
Flexibility Yoga 12.4 (0.8) 13.3 (0.3) p = .57 p = .30 p = .85
Aerobic 12.7 (0.9) 12.9 (0.3)

SEM in parentheses. The p values refer to significance of interaction (exercise X time) and main effects of pre-post
and exercise group in the factorial ANOVA

evidence that responses on divergent thinking tasks may im-
prove over a single test session (Beaty and Silvia 2012), re-
peated testing did not appear to affect divergent thinking over-
all. However, fluency of ideas was lower in both groups when
they completed the tests a second time; this is perhaps not
surprising as they were instructed not to produce the same
ideas a second time, and consequently were likely to have
exhausted at least some of their ideas with the previous at-
tempt. It was interesting in this regard that there was not a
compensatory increase in originality of ideas, as it might be
expected that reduced fluency of ideas might be at least partly
due to the most obvious (and therefore least original) ideas
being exhausted when participants completed the ATTA for
the first time.
The two groups were relatively similar in age and gender
profile, as well as their recent physical activity, and did not
differ in their overall baseline performance on the ATTA.
Nonetheless, in longer-term practitioners, many movement
routines are overlearned and automatized, which can lead to
dramatic reductions of conscious monitoring and control de-
mands (Beilock and Carr 2001; Schneider and Chein 2003).
Moreover, long-term fitness training leads to an increase of
oxygenation and glucose in the frontal brain regions, which
has been found to produce rather selective benefits for
executive-control processes (Colcombe and Kramer 2003).
This means that high-level practitioners may not exhibit the
same effects as low-level practitioners. While the latter should
show practice-induced costs in more control-demanding tasks
(like convergent thinking), the former might either not show
such costs or perhaps even show exercise-induced benefits.
Randomisation to a yoga or aerobic exercise group will be
important for stronger evidence of any acute or intervention
effects in future research; such a randomised trial could in-
clude participants who had never participated in either yoga
(or meditation) or an aerobics class, in order to assess whether
creative performance may be enhanced for those who have not
previously experienced yoga. A study on novices may find
results with a longer intervention (over multiple weeks); for
example, field independence may increase in people learning
yoga for the first time. Alternatively, a Bswitched session^
could be employed, whereby people who usually practice yo-
ga could take part in an aerobics class and vice versa. The
present evidence suggests that yoga practice that contains
meditation components but is not targeted towards meditation

14 14

12 12

10 10

8 8
GEFT

Yoga
CAQ

6 Aerobics 6

4 4

2 2

0 0
Baseline Post-intervenon Yoga Aerobics
Fig. 2 Field dependence as assessed using the GEFT(Group Embedded Fig. 3 Past creative achievement as assessed using the CAQ (Creative
Figures Test) at baseline and following either yoga or aerobic exercise Achievement Questionnaire) in the yoga and aerobic exercise groups
(error bars represent standard error of the mean) (error bars represent standard error of the mean)
198
or mindfulness specifically may not produce enhancement in
creativity, at least as assessed by a relatively complex task
such as the ATTA.
In their GEFT scores, the yoga group displayed greater
field independence, consistent with previous research on yoga
and field independence (Sridevi et al. 1995); this difference
was observed both at baseline and post-yoga. These findings
suggest that open-monitoring meditation may be associated
not only with enhanced divergent thinking, as reported by
Colzato et al. (2012), but also enhanced convergent thinking.
However, the effect of age as covariate should be noted. It is
interesting that the yoga group displayed higher field indepen-
dence. However, our data do not offer strong support for field
independence as a mediating factor between yoga and creativ-
ity, given the lack of a clear overall effect of yoga on creative
thinking performance on the ATTA. The two groups showed a
similar increase in their GEFT scores over time; however, this
is likely due to a practice effect; a parallel version of the GEFT
would be useful for future research.
While divergent thinking is an important aspect of creativ-
ity, there are a variety of methods of assessing creativity that
would be of interest to examine. For example, it is possible
that yoga, and particularly the open-monitoring meditation
involved in yoga practices, may help to overcome functional
fixedness, i.e. the failure to consider different potential func-
tions of an object, in creative problem solving (Duncker
1945). An open awareness of different thoughts and stimuli
could counter a mental fixation on repeatedly using the same
method to obtain a better outcome.
In conclusion, the current results do not suggest that a sin-
gle bout of yoga can enhance divergent thinking compared to
a single bout of aerobics. Nonetheless, the observed differ-
ences between those practicing yoga and aerobics may be
suggestive of more long-term effects of practising yoga.
Acknowledgments The authors wish to acknowledge Amy Jordan and
Maeve McLoughlin for assistance with data collection, as well as the
gyms that hosted the exercise groups.
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