Creativity is one of the five values of CERN. That’s why, when I heard on my favourite radio programme that Nature had published an article1 on the impact of virtual interactions on creativity, I reached out to the online journal to find out more about this piece of research.
Creativity is defined in the CERN core values as “being at the forefront of one’s professional field, furthering innovation and organisational development”. Under this heading, CERN contributors are advised to be “open to new ideas and approaches”, and to “adopt alternative outlooks in order to generate new thoughts and concepts”.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, most interactions between CERN collaborators were virtual in 2020 and 2021, with Zoom very rapidly becoming part of our work lives. We, willingly or less willingly, have become experts in fine-tuning sound and camera settings and in opening and closing the door of our virtual meeting room. We have adapted to the rules of virtual team interactions. Raising virtual hands and waiting to be given the floor (or rather the screen), asking our questions in the chat and voting on the most popular questions. We have shared screens and applauded virtually at the end of presentations, progressively discovering the options available to express our reactions and feelings using the tools at hand.
This has worked surprisingly well and, today, when teleworking is still very much part of our working lives, we continue interacting virtually within our team, section or group.
In my view, this Nature article throws a curveball.
Recent research demonstrates that collaborative idea generation, which is at the heart of scientific progress, is actually inhibited by videoconferencing.
How can this be when videoconferencing, owing to advances in network quality and display resolution, conveys many of the same aural and non-verbal information cues as face-to-face interactions?
The Nature article explains that, when we interact in person, we share the same physical space. When virtual team members meet, they inhabit a virtual space that is bounded by the screen in front of them. In this way, looking at their Zoom screens, they narrow their visual field and filter out peripheral visual stimuli.
And here is the link with creativity: because research has shown that visual attention and cognitive attention are linked, when we narrow our visual field, we narrow our cognitive focus. In turn, this narrowed cognitive focus constrains the process underlying idea generation.
QED2 : idea generation within teams, which is at the heart of their creativity, is impaired by videoconferencing.
On a positive note, this piece of research also shows that virtual interactions do not affect the logical next process after idea generation: the selection of the best ideas by the team.
This finding may also explain why it’s so much more effective for the Ombud to receive visitors in person rather than meeting them virtually. Indeed, much of what happens in the Ombud’s office is idea generation, exploring with the visitors all possibilities to move forward out of a challenging situation, and brainstorming possible steps to take.
We’re now back on the CERN sites and very happy to be here. It’s a joy (who would have thought?) to see full car parks and queues in the restaurant; it’s great to find ourselves once again struggling to find a free conference room for a meeting. And most of all, it’s great to meet colleagues in person, see their smiles and sit down with them to talk!
Based on the findings of this research paper, now that we’re back on site, in the coming months we should see a surge of creativity and of new ideas for solving both scientific challenges and conflictual situations or management issues. Something to look forward to! Have a great summer!
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1Nature, April 2022, ‘Virtual communication curbs creative idea generation’, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04643-y
2QED = quod erat demonstrandum
Laure Esteveny
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