Surprise: Scientists Say Thinking In Stereotypes Can Spark Creativity

In terms of both “fluency” (the total number of uses they named for each object) and “originality” (measured by their use of words that were far removed from the object’s obvious purpose), those who assumed the persona of “eccentric poet” scored highest. Those who took on the role of “rigid librarian” scored lowest, while participants who were not given a stereotype placed in the middle.