Researchers divided people into two groups. One group watched an artistic animated short from a film curation site. The other group watched a fast mix of funny home videos and animal clips.
After the videos, participants completed two tasks. First, a categorization task asked how well items fit a category. Accepting unusual examples showed broader thinking called conceptual expansion. Second, people wrote a short story that had to include the words "stamp", "letter" and "send". Independent judges scored the stories for originality.
Overall, the group that watched the artistic films performed better on both tasks, even though those viewers said they felt worse afterward.
Difficult words
- curation — process of choosing and organizing items
- categorization — action of putting things into groups by type
- conceptual expansion — thinking that accepts unusual or new ideas
- originality — quality of being new or different
- participants — people who take part in a study
- score — to give a number or mark for qualityscored
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Discussion questions
- Which type of video would help you think more broadly, and why?
- Have you ever felt worse after watching something but then worked better? Tell why.
- Do you prefer funny clips or artistic films when you create something? Explain.
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