The association between semantic network structure and creativity: Evidence from behavioral and resting-state fMRI data

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1795

Acta Psychologica Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 58 ›› Issue (9): 1795-1812.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1795

• Column on the Stress, Resilience, and Health • Previous Articles Next Articles

The association between semantic network structure and creativity: Evidence from behavioral and resting-state fMRI data

HUO Tengbin¹, ZHUANG Kaixiang², QIU Jiang³()

¹School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou350117, China
²Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-Inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai200433, China
³Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China

Published:2026-09-25 Online:2026-07-29
Contact: QIU Jiang, E-mail: qiuj318@swu.edu.cn

Abstract

HUO Tengbin, ZHUANG Kaixiang, QIU Jiang. (2026). The association between semantic network structure and creativity: Evidence from behavioral and resting-state fMRI data. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 58(9), 1795-1812.

Network property	High-creativity (n = 27)	Low-creativity (n = 26)	95% CI of diff.	t	p	Cohen's d
Clustering coefficient	0.92 (0.013)	0.89 (0.013)	[0.029, 0.032]	51.60	< 0.001	2.31
Average shortest-path length	1.10 (0.017)	1.12 (0.014)	[?0.025, ?0.023]	?34.07	< 0.001	?1.52
Modularity (Q)	0.02 (0.006)	0.03 (0.004)	[?0.004, ?0.003]	?16.56	< 0.001	?0.74
Small-worldness (S)	0.95 (0.006)	0.93 (0.006)	[0.019, 0.020]	72.79	< 0.001	3.26
Global efficiency	0.95 (0.009)	0.94 (0.007)	[0.011, 0.013]	34.07	< 0.001	1.52

Network property	High-creativity (n = 27)	Low-creativity (n = 26)	95% CI of diff.	t	p	Cohen's d
Clustering coefficient	0.92 (0.013)	0.89 (0.013)	[0.029, 0.032]	51.60	< 0.001	2.31
Average shortest-path length	1.10 (0.017)	1.12 (0.014)	[?0.025, ?0.023]	?34.07	< 0.001	?1.52
Modularity (Q)	0.02 (0.006)	0.03 (0.004)	[?0.004, ?0.003]	?16.56	< 0.001	?0.74
Small-worldness (S)	0.95 (0.006)	0.93 (0.006)	[0.019, 0.020]	72.79	< 0.001	3.26
Global efficiency	0.95 (0.009)	0.94 (0.007)	[0.011, 0.013]	34.07	< 0.001	1.52

Network property	partial r with WCQ	95% CI	p
Average shortest-path length	?0.22	[?0.41, ?0.02]	0.034^*
Modularity (Q)	?0.22	[?0.41, ?0.01]	0.037^*
Global efficiency	0.17	[?0.04, 0.36]	0.118
Network diameter	?0.22	[?0.41, ?0.01]	0.040^*

Network property	partial r with WCQ	95% CI	p
Average shortest-path length	?0.22	[?0.41, ?0.02]	0.034^*
Modularity (Q)	?0.22	[?0.41, ?0.01]	0.037^*
Global efficiency	0.17	[?0.04, 0.36]	0.118
Network diameter	?0.22	[?0.41, ?0.01]	0.040^*

Predictor	β	SE	95% CI	Z	p
Semantic-network modularity (Q)	?0.24	0.10	[?0.44, ?0.03]	?2.27	0.026^*
Mean BOLD, semantic network	0.04	0.11	[?0.18, 0.27]	0.38	0.703
Q × BOLD (interaction)	0.19	0.08	[0.02, 0.35]	2.20	0.031^*

The association between semantic network structure and creativity: Evidence from behavioral and resting-state fMRI data

RichHTML

PDF (PC)

Knowledge

Abstract

Cite this article

share this article

Figures/Tables 3

References

Related Articles 0

Recommended Articles

Metrics

Comments