The cognitive and neural mechanism by which situational pressure increases the efficiency of creative discovery behavior

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1370

Abstract

Abstract: Identifying novel associations between seemingly unrelated things is the core characteristic of creative discovery behavior, while monitoring and resolving cognitive conflicts are essential cognitive processes that facilitate this form of creativity. However, the human brain tends to operate according to the principle of least effort, which can result in cognitive conflicts that are induced by novel ideas not being fully resolved. Consequently, several opportunities for identifying creative and useful ideas may be overlooked.
To increase the likelihood of accurately identifying novel ideas, it is necessary to strengthen executive control in resolving cognitive conflicts. Given the situational adaptability in psychological and behavioral activities, participants may experience pressure to generate or discover novel ideas in situations where ordinary ideas are insufficient to solve problems, compared with situations where ordinary ideas are suitable for problem solving. This type of situational pressure may enhance executive control during conflict resolution and subsequently increase the probability of successfully identifying novel ideas.
To test the feasibility of enhancing executive control during conflict resolution and improving the efficiency of identifying novel ideas, this study manipulated situational pressure in creative discovery. Following daily life problem scenario, participants were presented with two or three products consecutively so that they could discover and identify useful ideas. A commonly used product was introduced first, followed by a novel product. When a commonly used product is useful for solving a problem, participants are likely to experience no pressure to discover novel products. Conversely, when a commonly used product is not useful for solving a problem, participants experience pressure to discover novel products. If two consecutive commonly used products are not sufficient to solve the problem, participants experience high pressure to discover novel products. In addition to a no-pressure condition, experiment 1 included a pressure condition, while experiment 2 included a high-pressure condition.
Experiment 1 revealed that novel but less useful products elicited smaller N400 and larger LSP amplitudes under pressure conditions than under no-pressure conditions. In contrast, there were no differences in N400 or LSP amplitudes elicited by novel and highly useful products between the two conditions. Experiment 2 revealed that compared with no-pressure conditions, both novel and highly useful products, as well as novel but less useful products, elicited smaller N400 and larger LSP amplitudes under high-pressure conditions. Furthermore, for correctly identified novel products, the positive correlation between N400 and LSP amplitudes was significantly greater under high-pressure conditions than under no-pressure conditions.
These findings indicate that situational pressure enhances executive control during creative discovery behavior, particularly by improving the resolution of the cognitive conflicts induced by novel products and increasing the efficiency of distinguishing novel and useful products from novel but less useful products. This study demonstrates the impact of situational pressure on creative discovery, enriches the understanding of monitoring and resolving cognitive conflicts in creative discovery behavior, and reveals a cognitive pathway for creative behavior training.

Key words: pressure, creative behavior, executive control, cognitive conflict, N400

ZHENG Yilin, ZHANG Ling, HUANG Furong. (2026). The cognitive and neural mechanism by which situational pressure increases the efficiency of creative discovery behavior. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 58(7), 1370-1386.

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