Imagining, also known as imaging, is simply the skill in which a person can picture something in their head. In their chapter on imaging, Michele and Robert Root-Bernstein describe the different levels we can do this–for many folks, it is easiest to picture an imaginary geometric shape if they trace the shape in the air first. Some more advanced imaginers can picture a shape behind their eyelids. The most advanced can visually superimpose the image of a shape right in front of whatever they are looking at! Imaging also applies to the ability to invoke other senses, such as emotions or physical sensations. Being able to envision or invoke something in full detail is the first step towards creating something new. Think about that. It applies to creative problem solving, of course, but in a more esoteric sense, it empowers us to have agency to live the way we want to. In this article, I will explain common issues that interrupt the normal cognitive development of imagination, and I offer remedies for recovering imagination skills, even for those well into adulthood.
Unfortunately, trends in overall creativity have steadily declined over the last 40 years. In the 2011 study, “The Creativity Crisis” (Kim), the author analyzed creative thinking scores from studies of school aged children. The studies used the Torrance Inventory of Creative Skills and Abilities. Results indicated that, since 1990, IQ scores rose, yet creative thinking scores significantly decreased, with the most significant decrease among kindergartners through third graders. 1998 scores were comparable to 1990 scores, however, 2008 scores showed the largest decrease. The author attributes these shifts to less free uninterrupted time (reflective abstraction) for children and too much screen time. He recommends that schools teach more problem finding. He also explains that the increase in high stakes standardized testing in schools is partly to blame.
Because of the pressure of testing, it has become common for educators and adults to push reading on children as early as ages 3 or 4. Obviously, there are outliers–some children are more interested in reading earlier. However, it is significant that the biggest loss of creativity occurred in Kindergarten through third graders in Kim’s study. Up until age 7, or when children lose teeth happens to be the developmental moment when it creative learning through play is the most complex learning a child can accomplish (Piaget, 1962). In Piaget’s developmental model, age 7 is around when children gravitate towards systems and symbols, such as the rules of written language and the rules of society. In their research on paracosms (imaginary worlds), the Root-Bernsteins (2006) found that complex processes happen when a child collaborates with another child to create a world, to develop characters, to elaborate in ongoing scenarios and conflicts and games. Their research also found the correlation that MacArthur Fellows were more likely to engage with extensive imaginary worlds than the general population. If a child is more focused on learning symbol systems instead of playing, they lose the opportunity to develop one of the most complex thought processes available: imagination.
In addition to early reading, screen time inhibits the development of imagination in young children. Yes, even “educational” screen time. The reason is–if the story and the image is being produced for the child, they cannot form it for themselves. This visualizing happens in the prefrontal cortex–the area where complex decision making happens all throughout our lives. Empowering a child to picture their own reality at the appropriate developmental stage by reading them a book without pictures and giving them space to picture an unknown world on their own terms empowers their vision for life.
I have noticed that for teen and adult artists who did not get much imaginative play as children, it is difficult for these individuals to elaborate on an idea…at first. However, I have witnessed these same individuals grow in their confidence and fluency over time, with practice. Two skills I teach–synthesis and imaging–directly strengthen and recover the imagination, making anyone more confident in their creative problem-solving! Here is how I do it:
Synthesis means “to combine ideas”. My favorite ways to strengthen synthesis are through unlikely pairings and synesthesia. To make an unlikely pairing, you combine two unlikely objects into a new object, or an unexpected pairing between found words and images. In these tasks, the thinker imposes unlikely connections and makes a drawing of object of the new invention. Synesthesia is combined sensing. This phenomenon–which could be smelling sounds, tasting colors, and so on–is estimated to naturally occur in roughly 1-4% of the population, with many of these individuals being artists and musicians. But, being that synaptic pruning separated our senses around age 2, we were all once synesthetes (Carmichael & Simner, 2013; Cytowic, 2018)! This is why it isn’t a stretch for us to understand metaphors when artists and musicians make these connections. Using synesthesia in the art-making process in my workshops helps participants find new ways to tap into inspiration and brings pleasure to the sense-body.
Two ways I like to use the imaging to strengthen the imagination are through what I call “imagination drawings” and pareidolia. An imagination drawing is a drawing where you picture a scene that makes you happy, and try to draw it from your head, including as many details as possible. Some prompts I like are: “Draw a picture of you and your friends doing something fun.” or “Draw a scene from your life 5 years from now.” Pareidolia is the name for when you see objects in amorphous spaces like clouds or popcorn ceilings. You can gaze at the clouds to strengthen your imagination, or take it a step further: start with a blob of dried watercolor paint, and use a fine point sharpie to turn the blob into a scene. Keep asking yourself, “what else?” as you elaborate, adding details to continue the story of your image. Elaboration, in and of itself, does not involve imaging, but it is a measurable aspect of creativity (Torrance, 1972), that allows you to stay with an imaginative problem longer as you are building those muscles of imagination!
In conclusion, imaging is crucial if we want to change the world we live in–for ourselves and others. Imagining is a cognitive skill that is shrinking in a wide-scale cultural and generational sense, because of screen time and overemphasis on early reading. Researchers are concerned about the dwindling resource of imagination. Luckily, imagining is a skill that can be trained, even throughout adulthood. One of my workshop topics centers around imagining, but the skill gets strengthened in any of the workshop topics I offer.
Carmichael, D. & Simner, J. (2013). The immune hypothesis of synesthesia. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, p. 563.
Cytowic, R. (2018). Synesthesia. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
Kim, (2011). The creativity crisis: The decrease in creative thinking scores on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Creativity Research Journal, 23(4), 285-295.
Root-Bernstein, M. & Root-Bernstein, R. (1999). Sparks of genius: The thirteen thinking tools of the world’s most creative people. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Root-Bernstein, M. & Root-Bernstein, R. (2006). Imaginary worldplay in childhood and maturity and its impact on adult creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 18(4), 405-425.Torrance, E.P. (1972). Can we teach children to think creatively? Journal of Creative Behaviour: 6, 114-143.
