CREATIVELY SEARCHING THROUGH SEMANTIC MEMORY STRUCTURE: A Short Integrative Review

Creativity involves search processes that operate over semantic memory (our system of knowledge), generating creative ideas by connecting ideas or concepts that are far away from each other. Although this concept is intuitively embedded in classic creativity theory, until recently empirically studying such a concept was a challenge. In the past two decades, rapid development of computational models of semantic memory and the dynamics that operate over it have paved the way to directly study creative search processes. This chapter will briefly review (1) the application of computational models to study the role of semantic memory in creative thinking; (2) the application of computational models to study creative search processes; and (3) the benefits and costs imposed by a rich semantic memory structure on creative search, as illustrated in the domain of domain-specific expertise. Finally, research is discussed concerning how creative search and information retrieval systems (such as search engines) can contribute to one another. Overall, we now have the tools and methods to start elucidating creative search, as we continue to push forward to better understand and unpack the complex nature of the creative process.