Studie: Menschen über 50 Jahre erleben einen Ausbruch an Kreativität

Das Phänomen ist bekannt: ältere Menschen benötigen weniger cognitive Kontrollen um ihre Alltagstätigkeiten zu erledingen, ältere Menschen > 50 Jahre vollbringen ihre alltägliche Tätigkeiten «wie im Schlaf».

Mit Bezug auf ihre Kreativtätsleistungen wurde dieses Phänomen wissenschaftlich noch wenig untersucht. Jetzt berichten Forscher der University of Toronto in Canada and Harvard in the US, dass diese Reduktion der Cognive Control im Alltag offensichtlich im Gehirn mehr neurale Kapazität zur Lösungen kreativer Probleme erföffnet. Einige Menschen über 50 Jahre erleben geradezu einen Ausbruch an Kreativitat.

Abstract:

The scientists found that men and women over 50 were more likely to become distracted which led to creative flourishes. passing one’s 50th birthday often triggers a burst of creativity unparalleled in a person’s younger years, a study suggests.
Cognitive control, the ability to limit attention to goal-relevant information, aids performance on a wide range of laboratory tasks. However, there are many day-to-day functions which require little to no control and others which even benefit from reduced control.
We review behavioral and neuroimaging evidence demonstrating that reduced control can enhance the performance of both older and, under some circumstances, younger adults. Using healthy aging as a model, we demonstrate that decreased cognitive control benefits performance on tasks ranging from acquiring and using environmental information to generating creative solutions to problems. Cognitive control is thus a double-edged sword – aiding performance on some tasks when fully engaged, and many others when less engaged.

Toronto University researcher Tarek Amer said some tasks benefit from a broad focus of attention – such as creative thinking or using information that was previously considered irrelevant.

‘In reality, many older adults get along just fine in their day-to-day lives, and we think that shows that ageing adults don’t always need to have high cognitive control.’ Mr Amer and his colleagues discovered that people with lower levels of cognitive control found it easier to solve problems creatively, and they were better at spotting patterns in the world around them.

This means older adults can outperform younger counterparts on certain problem-solving tasks – as they find it easier to broaden their attention. Most day-to-day tasks, like walking down the street or learning new information, do not benefit from tight focus in cognitive control, the researchers said.

Source: Daily Mail: Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3940262/How-creative-pass-50-easily-distracted-age-help-learn-new-skills.html#ixzz4QHIanLez
Scientific Source:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310321965_Cognitive_Control_As_a_Double-Edged_Sword