Creating imaginary friends can aid in solving tangible problems
The effectiveness of the "perspective shift" technique has been substantiated by American scientists
Researchers from Ohio State University have uncovered how creativity influences the ability to discover inventive solutions.
In an experiment involving 32 schoolchildren, they were divided into two groups. Each group was given a personal problem to solve, such as managing conflicting plans for the weekend. One group employed conventional problem-solving methods, while the other utilised the linguistic technique of “perspective shift” by providing advice from an imaginary friend’s standpoint.
The results demonstrated that the creative approach significantly aided 94% of the children in finding a solution, while half of the traditionally solving group couldn’t devise a way out of the situation.
Lead author of the study, Angus Fletcher, emphasised that, if you ask people to look at a problem through someone else’s eyes, you will get much more creative and effective solutions.
