An Exploration into the Influence of Stimulation Distance of Stimulus Information on Design Thinking based on EEG Alpha Activity

doi:10.3901/JME.2017.15.040

Abstract

Abstract: Based on the importance of knowledge connection to product design, design thinking is regarded as an information processing mechanism whose core is establishing knowledge connection, and stimulus information and design problems are believed to be able to effect synergistically in idea generation. More importantly, one of the key factors that influences knowledge connection is the knowledge domain distance between stimulus information and design problems. Based on that, stimulus information is divided into three levels of abstraction,‘intra-domain’,‘close inter-domain’ and‘far inter-domain’, and Electroencephalogram (EEG) experiment about bicycle designing task is conducted. The cognitive activity data and EEG alpha band (lower alpha band and upper alpha band) data of eight subjects in one free design task and three information stimulating design tasks are collected and processed. It is proved by the analysis of cognitive activity data that knowledge connection acts as the core in the thinking process of idea generation. With Alternative Uses test as a reference, the analysis of variance (ANOVA) of EEG alpha band data shows the results as follows:in free design task and AU test alpha (upper/lower band) synchronizations of subjects show no significant differences; in stimulus information tasks subjects show stronger alpha (upper/lower band) synchronization than in free design task, which means that subjects show more focused on the cognitive process in stimulus information tasks than in free design task; the multiple comparisons of tasks, brain areas and other factors are observed to prove that the stimulation distance of stimulus information has certain connections with the levels of brain activation.

Key words: alpha activity, cognitive activity, design thinking, information stimulation, knowledge connection

CLC Number:

TH122

YUAN Ping, XIONG Yan, LI Yan, LIU Longfan, LI Mengdie. An Exploration into the Influence of Stimulation Distance of Stimulus Information on Design Thinking based on EEG Alpha Activity[J]. Journal of Mechanical Engineering, 2017, 53(15): 40-48.

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