Thinking creatively in two languages: Effects of mental imagery vividness, foreign language proficiency and hand gestures on bilingual creativity

• Hyusein, Gyulten ^[1] ; Göksun, Tilbe ^[2]
  1. [1] Kadir Has University

     Kadir Has University

     Turquía

     
  2. [2] Koç University

     Koç University

     Turquía

     
• Localización: Bilingualism: Language and cognition, ISSN 1366-7289, Vol. 29, Nº 2, 2026, págs. 443-458
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1017/s1366728925100151
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • This study investigated the influence of language context on creative thinking, mental imagery vividness and the use of representational hand gestures among Turkish-English bilinguals. Participants solved verbal divergent and convergent thinking tasks in both their native (L1) and second languages (L2) and self-reported their mental imagery vividness during each task. Results revealed that participants were more creative and experienced more vivid mental imagery in L1 compared to L2. Surprisingly, L2 proficiency was not associated with L2 imagery. Gestures in L1 had a positive association, while gestures in L2 had a negative association with divergent thinking. Higher gesture rates were related to lower convergent thinking performance in both languages, especially when imagery vividness was high. These findings suggest that creativity and mental imagery vividness might depend on the language context. The role of gestures for verbal creativity might also differ according to the language used.

• Referencias bibliográficas
  • Abraham, A. (2016). The imaginative mind. Human Brain Mapping, 37(11), 4197–4211. https://doi.org/10.1002/hbm.23300.
  • Akbuğa, Y. E., & Göksun, T. (in press). Spatial metaphors of time elicit more temporal gestures in a second language. Cognitive Processing.
  • Albert, Á. (2006). Learner creativity as a potentially important variable: Examining the relationships between learner creativity, language...
  • Albert, Á., & Kormos, J. (2004). Creativity and narrative task performance: An exploratory study. Language Learning, 54(2), 277–310. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2004.00256.x.
  • Amabile, T. M. (1982). Social psychology of creativity: A consensual assessment technique. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43(5),...
  • Arslan, B., Avcı, C., Yılmaztekin, A., & Göksun, T. (2024). Do bilingual adults gesture when they are disfluent?: Understanding gesture-speech...
  • Artola, T., Barraca, J., Martin, C., Mosteiro, P., Ancillo, I., & Poveda, B. (2008). PIC-J. Prueba de imaginacion creativa para jovenes....
  • Atit, K., Gagnier, K., & Shipley, T. F. (2015). Student gestures aid penetrative thinking. Journal of Geoscience Education, 63(1), 66–72.
  • Austin, L., Hernandez, A. E., & Schwieter, J. W. (2019). Proficiency Predictors in Sequential Bilinguals: The Proficiency Puzzle. Cambridge:...
  • Bartolotti, J., & Marian, V. (2013). Bilingual memory: Structure, access, and processing. In Altarriba, J. & Isurin, L. (Eds.), Memory,...
  • Beaty, R. E., Kenett, Y. N., Hass, R. W., & Schacter, D. L. (2023). Semantic memory and creativity: The costs and benefits of semantic...
  • Bergmann, K., Aksu, V., & Kopp, S. (2011). The relation of speech and gestures: Temporal synchrony follows semantic synchrony. In Proceedings...
  • Bialystok, E. (2021). Bilingualism as a slice of Swiss cheese. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 769323. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.769323.
  • Birba, A., Beltrán, D., Caro, M. M., Trevisan, P., Kogan, B., Sedeño, L., Ibáñez, A., & García, A. M. (2020). Motor-system dynamics during...
  • Blazhenkova, O., Kanero, J., Duman, I., & Umitli, O. (2023). Read and imagine: Visual imagery experience evoked by first versus second...
  • Caldwell-Harris, C. L. (2014). Emotionality differences between a native and foreign language: Theoretical implications. Frontiers in Psychology,...
  • Caldwell-Harris, C. L., & Ayçiçeği-Dinn, A. (2009). Emotion and lying in a non-native language. International Journal of Psychophysiology,...
  • Chun, C. A., & Hupé, J. (2015). Are synesthetes exceptional beyond their synesthetic associations? A systematic comparison of creativity,...
  • Corey, J. D., Hayakawa, S., Foucart, A., Aparici, M., Botella, J., Costa, A., & Keysar, B. (2017). Our moral choices are foreign to us....
  • Costa, A., Foucart, A., Arnon, I., Aparici, M., & Apesteguia, J. (2014). “Piensa” twice: On the foreign language effect in decision making....
  • De Dreu, C. K. W., Baas, M., & Nijstad, B. A. (2008). Hedonic tone and activation level in the mood-creativity link: Toward a dual pathway...
  • Dewaele, J. (2010). Emotions in multiple languages. Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230289505.
  • Dorfman, F. T., Kogan, B., Barttfeld, P., & García, A. M. (2025). Bilinguals on the footbridge: The role of foreign-language proficiency...
  • Dylman, A. S., & Bjärtå, A. (2018). When your heart is in your mouth: The effect of second language use on negative emotions. Cognition...
  • Estremera, R., & Torres, J. (2014). Psychosocial factors and types of linguistic knowledge in heritage speakers. Paper presented at the...
  • Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Buchner, A., & Lang, A. (2009). Statistical power analyses using G*power 3.1: Tests for correlation and regression...
  • Fernández-Fontecha, A. (2021). The role of learner creativity in L2 semantic fluency. An exploratory study. System, 103, 102658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102658.
  • Fernández-Fontecha, A., & Kenett, Y. N. (2022). Examining the relations between semantic memory structure and creativity in second language....
  • Finke, R. A., Ward, T. B., & Smith, S. M. (1992). Creative cognition: Theory, research, and applications. A Bradford Book.
  • Friedlander, K. J., Lenton, F. H., & Fine, P. A. (2024). A multifactorial model of visual imagery and its relationship to creativity and...
  • Fürst, G., & Grin, F. (2017). Multilingualism and creativity: A multivariate approach. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development,...
  • Fürst, G., & Grin, F. (2021). Multicultural experience and multilingualism as predictors of creativity. International Journal of Bilingualism,...
  • Georgiev, G. V., & Taura, T. (2014). Polysemy in Design Review Conversations. DTRS 10: Design Thinking Research Symposium 2014 – Purdue...
  • Ghonsooly, B., & Showqi, S. (2012). The effects of foreign language learning on creativity. English Language Teaching, 5(4), 161–167 ....
  • Gocłowska, M. A., Crisp, R. J., & Labuschagne, K. (2012). Can counter-stereotypes boost flexible thinking? Group Processes & Intergroup...
  • Guilford, J. P. (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist, 5, 444–454.
  • Guilford, J. P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence (1st ed.). McGraw-Hill.
  • Harris, C. L., Ayçiçeği, A., & Gleason, J. B. (2003). Taboo words and reprimands elicit greater autonomic reactivity in a first language...
  • Hayakawa, S., & Keysar, B. (2018). Using a foreign language reduces mental imagery. Cognition, 173, 8–15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2017.12.010.
  • Hayakawa, S., Tannenbaum, D., Costa, A., Corey, J. D., & Keysar, B. (2017). Thinking more or feeling less? Explaining the foreign-language...
  • Hommel, B., Colzato, L. S., Fischer, R., & Christoffels, I. K. (2011). Bilingualism and creativity: Benefits in convergent thinking come...
  • Hostetter, A. B., & Alibali, M. W. (2008). Visible embodiment: Gestures as simulated action. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 15(3),...
  • Hyusein, G., & Göksun, T. (2023). The creative interplay between hand gestures, convergent thinking, and mental imagery. PLoS One, 18(4),...
  • Hyusein, G., & Göksun, T. (2024b). Give your ideas a hand: The role of iconic hand gestures in enhancing divergent creative thinking....
  • Jansson, B., & Dylman, A. S. (2021). Reduced vividness of emotional memories following reactivation in a second language. Cognition and...
  • Jared, D., Poh, R. P. Y., & Paivio, A. (2012). L1 and L2 picture naming in mandarin–English bilinguals: A test of bilingual dual coding...
  • Kamermans, K. L., Pouw, W., Fassi, L., Aslanidou, A., Paas, F., & Hostetter, A. B. (2019). The role of gesture as simulated action in...
  • Kaushanskaya, M., Yoo, J., & Marian, V. (2011). The effect of Second-Language experience on Native-Language processing. PubMed. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23125864
  • Kenett, Y. N. (2023). Creatively searching through semantic memory structure: A short integrative review. In Ball, L. J. & Vallée-Tourangeau,...
  • Kenett, Y. N., & Austerweil, J. L. (2016). Examining search processes in low and high creative individuals with random walks. In Papafragou,...
  • Keysar, B., Hayakawa, S. L., & An, S. G. (2012). The foreign-language effect. Psychological Science, 23(6), 661–668. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797611432178.
  • Kharkhurin, A. V. (2007). The role of cross-linguistic and cross-cultural experiences in bilinguals’ divergent thinking. In Kecskes, I. &...
  • Kharkhurin, A. V. (2008). The effect of linguistic proficiency, age of second language acquisition, and length of exposure to a new cultural...
  • Kharkhurin, A. V. (2011). The role of selective attention in bilingual creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 23(3), 239–254. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2011.595979.
  • Kharkhurin, A. V. (2017). Language mediated concept activation in bilingual memory facilitates cognitive flexibility. Frontiers in Psychology,...
  • Kharkhurin, A. V., & Wei, L. (2014). The role of code-switching in bilingual creativity. International Journal of Bilingual Education...
  • Kirk, E., & Lewis, C. (2017). Gesture facilitates children’s creative thinking. Psychological Science, 28(2), 225–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797616679183.
  • Kita, S., Alibali, M. W., & Chu, M. (2017). How do gestures influence thinking and speaking? The gesture-for-conceptualization hypothesis....
  • Kosslyn, S. M. (1982). Image and mind. Poetics Today, 3(1), 198. https://doi.org/10.2307/1772225.
  • Kosslyn, S. M. (1994). Image and brain: The resolution of the imagery debate. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA28949474
  • Kosslyn, S. M., Thompson, W. L., & Ganis, G. (2006). The case for mental imagery. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195179088.001.0001.
  • Krasny, K. A., & Sadoski, M. (2008). Mental imagery and affect in English/French bilingual readers: A cross-linguistic perspective. Canadian...
  • Krauss, R. M. (1998). Why do we gesture when we speak? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 7(2), 54. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.ep13175642.
  • Lange, K. V., Hopman, E. W. M., Zemla, J. C., & Austerweil, J. L. (2020). Evidence against a relation between bilingualism and creativity....
  • Le Boutillier, N., & Marks, D. F. (2003). Mental imagery and creativity: A meta-analytic review study. British Journal of Psychology,...
  • Lee, H., & Kim, K. H. (2010). Relationships between bilingualism and adaptive creative style, innovative creative style, and creative...
  • Li, C., & Wei, L. (2025). The enhancement of creativity through foreign language learning: Do personality traits matter? Bilingualism...
  • Loderer, A., Muehlfeld, K., Wilken, R., Moritz, A., & Slomski, V. (2024). The language barrier as a springboard towards (team) creativity:...
  • López, E. M. D. (2020). A bilingual advantage in memory capacity: Assessing the roles of proficiency, number of languages acquired and age...
  • Lopez-Ozieblo, R. (2024). Is personality reflected in the gestures of second language speakers? Frontiers in Psychology, 15. 1463063. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1463063
  • Luchini, S., Kenett, Y. N., Zeitlen, D. C., Christensen, A. P., Ellis, D. M., Brewer, G. A., & Beaty, R. E. (2023). Convergent thinking...
  • Maciejewski, G., Taylor, J. E., & Klepousniotou, E. (2023). Type of polysemy matters: Evidence from semantic relatedness decisions. PsyArXiv....
  • Marian, V., Blumenfeld, H. K., & Kaushanskaya, M. (2007). The language experience and proficiency questionnaire (LEAP-Q): Assessing language...
  • Marian, V., & Fausey, C. M. (2006). Language-dependent memory in bilingual learning. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 20(8), 1025–1047. https://doi.org/10.1002/acp.1242.
  • Marian, V., & Kaushanskaya, M. (2007). Language context guides memory content. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 14(5), 925–933. https://doi.org/10.3758/bf03194123.
  • McAvinue, L. P., & Robertson, I. H. (2007). Measuring visual imagery ability: A review. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 26(3),...
  • McNeill, D. (1992). Hand and mind: What gestures reveal about thought. University of Chicago Press.
  • Mednick, S. (1962). The associative basis of the creative process. Psychological Review, 69(3), 220–232. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0048850.
  • Montero-Melis, G., Isaksson, P., van Paridon, J., & Ostarek, M. (2020). Does using a foreign language reduce mental imagery? Cognition,...
  • Nicoladis, E. (2007). The effect of bilingualism on the use of manual gestures. Applied PsychoLinguistics, 28(3), 441–454. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0142716407070245.
  • Nothelfer, S., & Nothelfer, S. (2020). Foreign language effects on creativity. In Innovation und Entrepreneurship, 47–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-31853-6_3
  • Oshima, M. R., & Morishima, Y. (2023). The effects of mental imagery on moral dilemmas in a second language. Authorea Preprints. DOI:...
  • Ottó, I., & Otto, I. (1998). The relationship between individual differences in learner creativity and language learning success. TESOL...
  • Özder, L. E., Özer, D., & Göksun, T. (2023). Gesture use in L1-Turkish and L2-English: Evidence from emotional narrative retellings. Quarterly...
  • Özer, D., & Göksun, T. (2020). Gesture use and processing: A review on individual differences in cognitive resources. Frontiers in Psychology,...
  • Paivio, A. (1969). Mental imagery in associative learning and memory. Psychological Review, 76(3), 241–263. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0027272.
  • Palmiero, M., Piccardi, L., Giancola, M., Nori, R., D’Amico, S., & Olivetti Belardinelli, M. (2019). The format of mental imagery: From...
  • Pavlenko, A. (2005). Emotions and multilingualism. New York: Cambridge University Press.
  • Pylyshyn, Z. W. (1979). The rate of “mental rotation” of images: A test of a holistic analogue hypothesis. Memory & Cognition, 7(1), 19–28....
  • Pylyshyn, Z. W. (1981). The imagery debate: Analogue media versus tacit knowledge. Psychological Review, 88(1), 16–45. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.88.1.16.
  • Pylyshyn, Z. W. (2002). Mental imagery: In search of a theory. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 25(2), 157–238. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X02000043.
  • Rabia, S. A., & Alattawna, Y. (2022). Advantages of bilinguals over monolinguals: Creativity among bilingual Arabic—Hebrew Arab students....
  • R Core Team, R. (2013). R: A language and environment for statistical computing.
  • Salvi, C., & Bowden, E. M. (2016). Looking for creativity: Where do we look when we look for new ideas? Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 161....
  • Salvi, C., Bricolo, E., Kounios, J., Bowden, E., & Beeman, M. (2016). Insight solutions are correct more often than analytic solutions....
  • Sassenberg, K., & Moskowitz, G. B. (2005). Don’t stereotype, think different! Overcoming automatic stereotype activation by mindset priming....
  • Shook, A., & Marian, V. (2012). The bilingual language interaction network for comprehension of speech. Bilingualism, 16(2), 304–324....
  • Sio, U. N., Kotovsky, K., & Cagan, J. (2021). Determinants of creative thinking: The effect of task characteristics in solving remote...
  • Smith, S. M., Ward, T. B., & Finke, R. A. (1995). The creative cognition approach (Bradford books) (1st ed.). The MIT Press.
  • So, W., Kita, S., & Goldin‐Meadow, S. (2009). Using the hands to identify who does what to whom: Gesture and speech go hand-in-hand. Cognitive...
  • So, W. C., Sim Chen-Hui, C., & Low Wei-Shan, J. (2012). Mnemonic effect of iconic gesture and beat gesture in adults and children: Is...
  • Stephan, E. (2017). The influence of a foreign versus native language on creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 29(4), 426–432. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2017.1376544.
  • Sternberg, R. J. (2002). Intelligence is not just inside the head: The theory of successful intelligence, in Improving academic achievement...
  • Torrance, E. P. (1990). The Torrance tests of creative thinking norms—Technical manual figural (streamlined) forms A & B. Bensenville,...
  • Vaid, J., López, B. G., & Martínez, F. E. (2015). Linking the figurative to the creative: Bilinguals’ comprehension of metaphors, jokes,...
  • Van Dijk, M., Kroesbergen, E. H., Blom, E., & Leseman, P. P. M. (2018). Bilingualism and creativity: Towards a situated cognition approach....
  • Wesp, R., Hesse, J., Keutmann, D., & Wheaton, K. (2001). Gestures maintain spatial imagery. The American Journal of Psychology, 114(4),...
  • Wu, W., & Qin, J. (2025). Creativity, topic familiarity, and L2 performance in story continuation writing tasks. International Journal...
  • Yang, Y., Li, Y., & Gu, J. (2025). The neural mechanisms of bilinguals’ creativity: A neuroimaging study. Journal of Neurolinguistics,...
  • Zeman, A., Milton, F., Della Sala, S., Dewar, M., Frayling, T., Gaddum, J., Hattersley, A., Heuerman-Williamson, B., Jones, K., MacKisack,...
  • Zvaigzne, M., Oshima-Takane, Y., & Hirakawa, M. (2019). How does language proficiency affect children’s iconic gesture use? Applied PsychoLinguistics,...