The Effect of Involuntary Tactile Stimulation on the Creativity and Rey Auditory-Verbal Memory of Young Adults

INTRODUCTION: Recent studies have revealed the possibility of learning skills through alternative methods and repetitive tactile stimulation without explicit training. This study aimed to examine the effect of involuntary tactile stimulation on the memory and creativity of healthy participants. METHODS: A group of 92 right-handed students participated in this study voluntarily. They were assigned to the experimental (n=45) and control (n=47) groups. The participants performed two creativity tests (divergent and convergent thinking) and a verbal memory task as the pretest. Then, the experimental group received 30-min involuntary tactile stimulation on the right index finger, and the control group did not. In the posttest, both groups were asked to perform the creativity and verbal memory tasks again. RESULTS: The learning score and speed of the Rey auditory-verbal learning test in the stimulation group significantly increased (P=0.02). Moreover, in the creativity-related tests, there was a significant effect of the intervention on convergent thinking, i.e., the remote association task (P=0.03), but not for the divergent thinking, i.e., the alternative uses test (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Using involuntary tactile stimulation on the index finger of the right hand of individuals could enhance their performance in verbal memory and creativity-convergent thinking.