The role of mental imagery in improving user creativity

Long reserved to B2B and a few users recognized for their high innovation potential such as lead users (Von Hippel, 1976; Lilien et al., 2002), or more recently Emergent Nature consumers (Hoffman, Kopalle & Novak, 2010),... [ view full abstract ]

Long reserved to B2B and a few users recognized for their high innovation potential such as lead users (Von Hippel, 1976; Lilien et al., 2002), or more recently Emergent Nature consumers (Hoffman, Kopalle & Novak, 2010), co-creation has now spread to B2C and to “ordinary” consumers. However companies often declare their disappointment with these “ordinary” users’ ability to generate innovative ideas. In the light of these observations, it seems decisive to stimulate the creative capacities of “ordinary” users signed up for co-creation. This paper aims to answer the following general question: Can we improve the effectiveness of co-creation processes with users? If the identification of creative users is a critical issue for businesses, then it is also essential to ensure stimulation of the creative abilities of the users enrolled in the innovation process. This paper is interested in mental imagery, a phenomenon that has often been cited in psychology for its implication in the creative process. Indeed, many accounts of exceptional “creatives” (Einstein, Freud, Didion, Tesla, etc.) attribute a potentially influential role to mental imagery in these individuals’ creation of figurative objects and/or discoveries of a more abstract nature. Moreover, the influence of mental imagery has been widely discussed and proposed by psychology research into creative invention and mental synthesis (Finke et Slayton, 1988; Finke, Pinker et Farah, 1989; Finke, 1990; Smith, Ward et Finke, 1995). Similarly, in marketing the precursor works of Dahl, Chattopadhyay and Gorn (1999) first confirmed the positive influence of mental imagery on designers conceiving products. Besides, it has also been observed that truly creative individuals also possess the highest capacity for mental imagery, and that individuals with an above average aptitude for mental imagery also show above average creativity in accomplishing creative activities (Vellera and Gavard-Perret, 2012). Mental imagery seen as an individual’s capacity to produce mental images, thus seems to be involved in creative processes, but its role has rarely been confirmed and detailed empirically. On the basis of the literature indicating that it is possible to stimulate individuals to make them more creative (Basadur, Graen & Green, 1982; Gordon, 1968; Osborn, 1963; Burroughs et al, 2011), this research aims to see whether incitements that increase mental imagery activity (such as instructions for imagery) have a positive effect on the outcome of creative tasks and thus on the creative capacities of “ordinary” individuals. We carry out a first study which shows that it is possible to impact, via instructions to form mental images, the mental imagery process that is implemented in the creative process, thus improving the resulting creativity. These results highlight mental imagery as an underlying mechanism of the creative process. A second experiment, more consistent in terms of the variables examined, studies the effect of two types of stimulation of imagery activity: self-related vs. non self-related imaging stimulation, and the presence vs. absence of mental imagery training. The study, conducted in collaboration with the French company Renault (automobile manufacturer), confirms the mediator role of mental imagery and highlights the favorable effects of these stimulations on the quantity, originality, perceived usefulness and the customer appeal of the generated ideas. In sum, these two studies have enabled us to better understand the role of mental imagery in creative processes and to refine our understanding of the conditions for stimulating mental imagery to optimize this to increase the resulting creativity.