Associative thinking at the core of creativity.

Creativity involves associative thinking: linking concepts from memory. Computational models of semantic memory allow researchers to quantify associative thinking as movement through a semantic space of concepts. Associative thinking reflects a search process operating on a semantic memory network structure. Highly creative people travel further in semantic space, switch between more semantic subcategories, and make larger leaps between associations. Creativity involves both free associations, in which concepts are spontaneously connected, and goal-directed associations, in which concepts are strategically combined. Free association is relevant for artistic creativity, implicating domain-general cognitive abilities in domain-specific creative expertise. Neuroscience evidence indicates associative thinking engages brain regions involved in both semantic and episodic memory. Creativity has long been thought to involve associative processes in memory: connecting concepts to form ideas, inventions, and artworks. However, associative thinking has been difficult to study due to limitations in modeling memory structure and retrieval processes. Recent advances in computational models of semantic memory allow researchers to examine how people navigate a semantic space of concepts when forming associations, revealing key search strategies associated with creativity. Here, we synthesize cognitive, computational, and neuroscience research on creativity and associative thinking. This Review highlights distinctions between free- and goal-directed association, illustrates the role of associative thinking in the arts, and links associative thinking to brain systems supporting both semantic and episodic memory – offering a new perspective on a longstanding creativity theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]