Mindful Creativity: Drawing to Draw Distinctions

Abstract

Abstract Two hundred eight adults participated in 2 field experiments that investigated the effect of drawing as a mindfulness treatment. Novelty provokes mindfulness, and it was hypothesized that drawing is a method for introducing novelty. Experiment 1 showed that in novel settings, participants who drew the stimuli that they observed felt significantly more competent than those who simply observed. Experiment 2 demonstrated that in a familiar setting, instructions to engage in this task were not enough to overcome perceived incompetence. A mindfulness treatment, however, was effective in enabling participants overcome perceived incompetence. Taken together, the results demonstrate a relationship between mindful creativity and perceived competence.