ISSN 0439-755X
CN 11-1911/B
CN 11-1911/B
Acta Psychologica Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 58 ›› Issue (9): 1795-1812.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1795
• Reports of Empirical Studies • Previous Articles Next Articles
HUO Tengbin1, ZHUANG Kaixiang2, QIU Jiang3
Received:2025-05-09
Online:2026-07-29
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.
Add to citation manager EndNote|Ris|BibTeX
URL: https://journal.psych.ac.cn/acps/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1041.2026.1795
| [1] Abraham, A. (2014). Creative thinking as orchestrated by semantic processing vs. Cognitive control brain networks. [2] Amabile, T. (2013). Componential theory of creativity. In [3] Bai J., Zhao K., Li L., Zeng D., Li Q., Yang F.,& Zu, Q.(2024). Graph representation learning based on cognitive spreading activations. [4] Beaty R. E., Christensen A. P., Benedek M., Silvia P. J.,& Schacter, D. L.(2017). Creative constraints: Brain activity and network dynamics underlying semantic interference during idea production. [5] Beaty, R. E., & Johnson, D. R. (2021). Automating creativity assessment with SemDis: An open platform for computing semantic distance. [6] Beaty R. E.,& Kenett, Y. N.(2023). Associative thinking at the core of creativity. [7] Beaty R. E., Kenett Y. N., Hass R. W.,& Schacter, D. L.(2023). Semantic memory and creativity: The costs and benefits of semantic memory structure in generating original ideas. [8] Beaty, R. E., & Silvia, P. J. (2012). Why do ideas get more creative across time? An executive interpretation of the serial order effect in divergent thinking tasks. [9] Beaty R. E., Silvia P. J., Nusbaum E. C., Jauk E., & Benedek M. (2014). The roles of associative and executive processes in creative cognition. Memory & Cognition, 42(7), 1186-1197. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-014-0428-8 [10] Beaty R. E., Zeitlen D. C., Baker B. S.,& Kenett, Y. N.(2021). Forward flow and creative thought: Assessing associative cognition and its role in divergent thinking. [11] Benedek M.,& Fink, A.(2019). Toward a neurocognitive framework of creative cognition: The role of memory, attention, and cognitive control. [12] Benedek M., Jurisch J., Koschutnig K., Fink A.,& Beaty, R. E.(2020). Elements of creative thought: Investigating the cognitive and neural correlates of association and bi-association processes. [13] Benedek M., Kenett Y. N., Umdasch K., Anaki D., Faust M.,& Neubauer, A.(2017). How semantic memory structure and intelligence contribute to creative thought: A network science approach. [14] Benedek M.,& Lebuda, I.(2024). Managing your muse: Exploring three levels of metacognitive control in creative ideation. [15] Binder J. R., Desai R. H., Graves W. W., & Conant L. L. (2009). Where is the semantic system? A critical review and meta-analysis of 120 functional neuroimaging studies. Cerebral Cortex, 19(12), 2767-2796. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhp055 [16] Broday-Dvir, R., & Malach, R. (2021). Resting-state fluctuations underlie free and creative verbal behaviors in the human brain. [17] Cabana Á., Zugarramurdi C., Valle-Lisboa J. C., & De Deyne S. (2024). The “small world of words” free association norms for rioplatense spanish. [18] Chen Q., Beaty R. E., Wei D., Yang J., Sun J., Liu W., Qiu J. (2018). Longitudinal alterations of frontoparietal and frontotemporal networks predict future creative cognitive ability. [19] Christensen, A. P., & Kenett, Y. (2019). [20] Christensen, A. P., & Kenett, Y. N. (2023). Semantic network analysis (SemNA): A tutorial on preprocessing, estimating, and analyzing semantic networks. [21] Collins, A. M., & Loftus, E. F. (1975). A spreading-activation theory of semantic processing. [22] Conti R., Coon H. M., & Amabile T. M. (1996). Evidence to support the componential model of creativity: Secondary analyses of three studies. [23] De Deyne S., Navarro D. J., Perfors A., Brysbaert M., & Storms G. (2019). The “small world of words” English word association norms for over 12, 000 cue words. [24] De Deyne S., Navarro D. J., & Storms G. (2013). Better explanations of lexical and semantic cognition using networks derived from continued rather than single-word associations. Behavior Research Methods, 45(2), 480-498. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-012-0260-7 [25] Feist G. J.,Reiter-Palmon, R., & Kaufman, J. C.(Eds.). (2017). Process and structure of the creative personality. In The Cambridge handbook of creativity and personality research (pp. 7-164). Cambridge University Press. https://www. cambridge.org/core/books/cambridge-handbook-of-creativity-and-personality-research/process-and-structure-of-the-creative-personality/A63E06B9D05210CDFFEA8715FDE10EB2 [26] Frith E., Kane M. J., Welhaf M. S., Christensen A. P., Silvia P. J.,& Beaty, R. E.(2021). Keeping creativity under control: Contributions of attention control and fluid intelligence to divergent thinking. [27] Gray K., Anderson S., Chen E. E., Kelly J. M., Christian M. S., Patrick J., Lewis K. (2019). “Forward flow”: A new measure to quantify free thought and predict creativity. [28] Hao X., Geng F., Wang T., Hu Y.,& Huang, K.(2021). Relations of creativity to the interplay between high-order cognitive functions: Behavioral and neural evidence. [29] He L., Kenett Y. N., Zhuang K., Sun J., Chen Q., & Qiu J. (2025). Connector hubs in semantic network contribute to creative thinking. [30] Herault C., Ovando-Tellez M., Lebuda I., Kenett Y. N., Beranger B., Benedek M., & Volle E. (2024). Creative connections: The neural correlates of semantic relatedness are associated with creativity. [31] Karwowski M., Czerwonka M., Wiśniewska E., & Forthmann B. (2021). How is intelligence test performance associated with creative achievement? A meta-analysis. [32] Kenett Y. N.(2018). Investigating creativity from a semantic network perspective. In Z. Kapoula, E. Volle, J. Renoult, & M. Andreatta (Eds.), Exploring transdisciplinarity in art and sciences (pp. 49-75). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76054-4_3 [33] Kenett Y. N.(2025). The role of knowledge in creative thinking. [34] Kenett Y. N., Anaki D.,& Faust, M.(2014). Investigating the structure of semantic networks in low and high creative persons. [35] Kenett Y. N., Beaty R. E., Silvia P. J., Anaki D., & Faust M. (2016). Structure and flexibility: Investigating the relation between the structure of the mental lexicon, fluid intelligence, and creative achievement. [36] Kenett Y. N.,& Faust, M.(2019). A semantic network cartography of the creative mind. [37] Kenett Y. N., Humphries S.,& Chatterjee, A.(2023). A thirst for knowledge: Grounding curiosity, creativity, and aesthetics in memory and reward neural systems. [38] Kenett Y. N., Kenett D. Y., Ben-Jacob E., & Faust M. (2011). Global and local features of semantic networks: Evidence from the Hebrew mental lexicon. [39] Kenett Y. N., Levi E., Anaki D., & Faust M. (2017). The semantic distance task: Quantifying semantic distance with semantic network path length. [40] Kenett Y. N., Levy O., Kenett D. Y., Stanley H. E., Faust M., & Havlin S. (2018). Flexibility of thought in high creative individuals represented by percolation analysis. [41] Kenett Y. N., Medaglia J. D., Beaty R. E., Chen Q., Betzel R. F.,Thompson-Schill, S. L., & Qiu, J.(2018). Driving the brain towards creativity and intelligence: A network control theory analysis. [42] Kenett Y. N., Ungar L.,& Chatterjee, A.(2021). Beauty and wellness in the semantic memory of the beholder. [43] Krieger-Redwood K., Steward A., Gao Z., Wang X., Halai A., Smallwood J., & Jefferies E. (2022). Creativity in verbal associations is linked to semantic control. [44] Lai C. K., Haim E., Aschauer W., Haim K.,& Beaty, R. E.(2024). Fostering creativity in science education reshapes semantic memory. [45] Lakens, D. (2022). Sample size justification. [46] Lebuda, I. (2025). Broadening perspective on creative personality: Surface and core characteristics as predictors of creative achievements. [47] Lebuda I., Zielińska A.,& Karwowski, M.(2021). On surface and core predictors of real-life creativity. [48] Li Y., Kenett Y. N., Hu W.,& Beaty, R. E.(2021). Flexible semantic network structure supports the production of creative metaphor. [49] Li Y., Seger C. A., Chen Q., & Mo L. (2020). Left inferior frontal gyrus integrates multisensory information in category learning. [50] Liu C., Ren Z., Zhuang K., He L., Yan T., Zeng R.,& Qiu, J.(2021). Semantic association ability mediates the relationship between brain structure and human creativity. [51] Liu C. Y., Qin L., Tao R., Deng W., Jiang T., Wang N., Matthews S.,& Siok, W. T.(2024). Delineating region-specific contributions and connectivity patterns for semantic association and categorization through ROI and granger causality analysis. [52] Liu Y., Nour M., Schuck N. W., Behrens T., & Dolan R. (2022). Decoding cognition from spontaneous neural activity. [53] Long, H. (2014). More than appropriateness and novelty: Judges’ criteria of assessing creative products in science tasks. [54] Long, J. (2019). [55] Mednick, S. (1962). The associative basis of the creative process. Psychological Review, 69(3), 220-232. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0048850 [56] Merseal H. M., Luchini S., Kenett Y. N., Knudsen K., Bilder R. M., & Beaty R. E. (2025). Free association ability distinguishes highly creative artists from scientists: Findings from the big-C project. [57] Ovando-Tellez M., Benedek M., Kenett Y. N., Hills T., Bouanane S., Bernard M., Volle E. (2022). An investigation of the cognitive and neural correlates of semantic memory search related to creative ability. [58] Ovando-Tellez M., Kenett Y. N., Benedek M., Bernard M., Belo J., Beranger B., Bieth T., & Volle E. (2022). Brain connectivity-based prediction of real-life creativity is mediated by semantic memory structure. [59] Power J. D., Cohen A. L., Nelson S. M., Wig G. S., Barnes K. A., Church J. A., Petersen S. (2011). Functional network organization of the human brain. [60] Puccio G. J.(2020). Polarities in creativity: Revisiting amabile’s componential model. In: Reiter-Palmon, R., Fisher, C. M., Mueller, J. S. (Eds.), Creativity at work. Palgrave studies in creativity and innovation in organizations. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61311-2_14 [61] Quillian, M. R. (1969). The teachable language comprehender: A simulation program and theory of language. Communications of the ACM, 12(8), 459-476. https://doi.org/10.1145/363196.363214 [62] Rabini G., Ubaldi S., & Fairhall S. L. (2023). Task-based activation and resting-state connectivity predict individual differences in semantic capacity for complex semantic knowledge. [63] Roelke A.,& Hofmann, M. J.(2020). Functional connectivity of the left inferior frontal gyrus during semantic priming. [64] Sadrhaghighi H., Zarghami A., Irani M., Eskandarinezhad M., Sadrhaghighi S., & Parvaresh M. (2024). Student evaluation of teaching (SET) in dental faculty: Is it influenced by grouping the students according to their averages? [65] Shofty B., Gonen T., Bergmann E., Mayseless N., Korn A., Shamay-Tsoory S., Ram Z. (2022). The default network is causally linked to creative thinking. [66] Silvia P. J.(2011). Subjective scoring of divergent thinking: Examining the reliability of unusual uses, instances, and consequences tasks. [67] Skurnik A., Ackerman R., & Kenett Y. N. (2025). Semantic memory and creative evaluation. [68] Sripada C., Rutherford S., Angstadt M., Thompson W. K., Luciana M., Weigard A., Hyde L. H., & Heitzeg M. (2020). Prediction of neurocognition in youth from resting state fMRI. [69] Sternberg R. J.,& Lubart, T. I. (1998). The concept of creativity: Prospects and paradigms In R J Sternberg (Ed), Handbook of creativity (pp 3-15) Cambridge University Press https://doiorg/10 Prospects and paradigms. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 3-15). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511807916.003 [70] Sun J., Liu Z., Rolls E. T., Chen Q., Yao Y., Yang W., Qiu J. (2019). Verbal creativity correlates with the temporal variability of brain networks during the resting state. [71] Takeuchi H., Taki Y., Sassa Y., Hashizume H., Sekiguchi A., Fukushima A.,& Kawashima, R.(2010). White matter structures associated with creativity: Evidence from diffusion tensor imaging. [72] Thomas S. A., Ryan S. K.,& Gilman, J.(2023). Resting state network connectivity is associated with cognitive flexibility performance in youth in the adolescent brain cognitive development study. [73] Van Den Heuvel,M. P., De Lange, S. C., Zalesky, A., Seguin, C., Yeo, B. T. T., & Schmidt, R.(2017). Proportional thresholding in resting-state fMRI functional connectivity networks and consequences for patient-control connectome studies: Issues and recommendations. [74] Vatansever D., Smallwood J., & Jefferies E. (2021). Varying demands for cognitive control reveals shared neural processes supporting semantic and episodic memory retrieval. [75] Vigneau M., Beaucousin V., Hervé P. Y., Duffau H., Crivello F., Houdé O., Mazoyer B.,& Tzourio-Mazoyer, N.(2006). Meta-analyzing left hemisphere language areas: Phonology, semantics, and sentence processing. [76] Wallas, G. (1926). [77] Wang X., Chen Q., Zhuang K., Zhang J., Cortes R. A., Holzman D. D., Qiu J. (2024). Semantic associative abilities and executive control functions predict novelty and appropriateness of idea generation. [78] Wei D., Yang J., Li W., Wang K., Zhang Q.,& Qiu, J.(2014). Increased resting functional connectivity of the medial prefrontal cortex in creativity by means of cognitive stimulation. [79] Wu J., Wang J., Georgiadis J. R., Cera N., Liang J., Shi G., Chen C., & Dong M. (2024). Expertise, brain plasticity, and resting state. [80] Yan T., Zhuang K., He L., Liu C., Zeng R., & Qiu J. (2021). Left temporal pole contributes to creative thinking via an individual semantic network. [81] Zhang J., Zhuang K., Sun J., Liu C., Fan L., Wang X., Gu J., & Qiu J. (2023). Retrieval flexibility links to creativity: Evidence from computational linguistic measure. [82] Zhang W., Xiang M., & Wang S. (2022). The role of left angular gyrus in the representation of linguistic composition relations. [83] Zhong J., Kang K., Huang W., Zhao Z., & Zhang H. (2025). A standardized semantic feature norm for 954 cantonese concepts. |
| No related articles found! |
| Viewed | ||||||
|
Full text |
|
|||||
|
Abstract |
|
|||||
