Digital touchscreens as a media for creativity during adolescence

Based on embodied representation theory (Pezzulo, 2011) considering creativity process as a predictive motor control process (Dietrich & Haider, 2015), this research was aimed at evaluating whether direct finger feedbacks on tablet could promote originality in drawings. Twenty-one adolescents aged 13/14 were asked to produce the most original house as possible on tablet with finger and stylus and on paper with a pen, and an unoriginal house with a pen on paper. Originality in drawing was scored with a rating scale comparing original drawings to a prototypical house, then comparing original drawings to unoriginal ones. Results revealed that original scores are higher for drawings on tablet (without difference between finger and stylus) than on paper. These findings highlight the role played by off-line simulation of action in the creative process.