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Contextual Focus: A Cognitive Explanation for the Cultural Revolution of the Middle/Upper Paleolithic

L. Gabora

Published 2013 in arXiv: Neurons and Cognition

ABSTRACT

Many elements of culture made their first appearance in the Upper Paleolithic. Previous hypotheses put forth to explain this unprecedented burst of creativity are found wanting. Examination of the psychological basis of creativity leads to the suggestion that it resulted from the onset of contextual focus: the capacity to focus or defocus attention in response to the situation, thereby shifting between analytic and associative modes of thought. New ideas germinate in a defocused state in which one is receptive to the possible relevance of many dimensions of a situation. They are refined in a focused state, conducive to filtering out irrelevant dimensions and condensing relevant ones.

PUBLICATION RECORD

  • Publication year

    2013

  • Venue

    arXiv: Neurons and Cognition

  • Publication date

    2013-09-10

  • Fields of study

    Biology, History, Mathematics, Psychology

  • Identifiers
    arXiv 1309.2609
  • External record

    Open on Semantic Scholar

  • Source metadata

    Semantic Scholar

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