Active State of the Prefrontal Cortex and Autonomic Nervous System in Two Different Idea Generation Phases

Abstract

The two types of reasoning stages for idea generation in design activities differ in the level of abstraction of the subject matter. Idea generation at a higher level of abstraction is necessary to create new value and to construct concepts by considering a wide range of means of realization. In order to gain insight into the differences between the two types of idea generation by designers, this study examines the activation levels of the prefrontal cortex and the autonomic nervous system in two successive phases of idea generation and draws conclusions.