(D-154) Enhancing the Design Environment to Gain Insight into the Neural Indicators of Design Fixation

Introduction:: Design Fixation is a tendency within designers, to focus on one set of ideas, and as a result become blind to other creative ideas. This ends up limiting the possibilities of creativity in the outcoming designs. While previous studies have explored this tendency using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and Electroencephalogram (EEG), not many have utilized a digital environment. These experiments have predominantly taken place in environments that were paper or verbal-based.[1][3] As we progress further into the technological age we find ourselves conceptually designing less in paper/verbal environments and more in digital environments. As a result, this study aims to examine the neural properties of Design Fixation within a digital design environment.

Materials and Methods:: Two sets of 64 channel functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) (NIRSport, NIRx, German) was utilized to portably assess brain activity in prefrontal (PFC) cortex and sensory-motor area (SMA) within the digital environment. Participants were fitted with the fNIRS cap and seated at a desk with two displays. One monitor included the stimuli/question presentation and the other was a Wacom Drawing Tablet. The experiment commenced with the participants focusing on a simple image, such as a crosshair. Subsequently, they were presented with a series of ten design questions, allowing 60 seconds to read each question and review any related example solutions provided. There was a rotating stimulus set varying by which questions provided example solutions.[1] The subsequent 60 seconds were allocated for the participants to draw their designs on the application Paint 3D with a stylus pencil. The draw time was followed by the participants verbally responding to two interview questions concerning their design and difficulty of the design process. To end the experiment, participants were asked to fill out a demographic survey. This fNIRS data was analyzed using the Brain NIRS AnalyzIR toolbox. The AR-IRLS model was used to correct the artificial in the signal subject analysis and the random-effect regression model was used to compute changes in hemoglobin in the group level. Significant activation was then identified within these regions(p< 0.1) due to our small sample size.

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions::

The preliminary fNIRS data analysis showed significant activation in the right PFC (p = 0.02) during the Reading Example Fixed and Sketching Fixated phases (p = 0.03). The right PFC activation differences were found between reading Fixated and reading unfixated (p =0.08), and sketching Fixated and Sketching unfixated (p =0.08). Our study setting suggests that studying Design Fixation within a digital design environment is inherently fruitful. The activation in the right PFC is associated with decision making process. Our previous results showed right SMA activated during fixated conditions in reading and sketching in paper format. However, the results in this study showed the right PFC activated during the reading fixed and sketching fixated phase, which may indicate different pattern of brain activation in paper and digital environment. Further studies should increase the sample size and compare the brain activation in paper and digital environment. In conclusion, we believe that studying the state of Design Fixation within a digital design environment will further our knowledge about the properties of Design Fixation.

Acknowledgements (Optional): : This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 1950507. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.

References (Optional): :

1. Fu, K., et al. (2019). Using fMRI to deepen our understanding of design fixation. Design Science, 5, E22. doi:10.1017/dsj.2019.21

2. Linsey, J. S., et al. (2010). ASME. Journal of Mechanical Design, 132(4), 041003.

3. Cao, J., et al. (2021). Utilizing EEG to Explore Design Fixation during creative Idea Generation. Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience, 6619598.