The Sound of Creativity: Correlating Brainwave & Psychometric Changes with Workplace Acoustics

This research reports on findings from a controlled yet ecologically relevant study that investigates how sound may influence creativity. Frontal lobe electroencephalographic (EEG) brainwaves were recorded while consenting participants completed alternate use tests, a creative product task, and post-test surveys in an office environment that was controlled to have no visual distractions and quiet control conditions. Initial findings show changes in creativity scores associated with different acoustic stimuli, and significant changes in alpha, beta, and gamma brainwave amplitudes during creative tasks versus inter-test intervals. These data suggest that face-to-face interaction, conversation, and acoustic interruption may disrupt the creative process. The experiment’s progress and findings will add to the conversation of the impact and evolution of the open office workplace.