Imagine getting old and playing dress-up
The human imagination becomes more active with age, scientists claim
IMAGINATION matures like a fine wine; well, maybe not. But it certainly doesn't follow received wisdom and sour with age.
That is surely good news for those of us getting a little long in the tooth; encroaching senescence doesn't have to dim that inner vision.
Research commissioned by English Heritage even gives this outlook the veneer of science, rather than wishful thinking, too. Indeed, it claims to have found that contrary to popular opinion, the adult imagination is not only as vivid as that of a child, it even becomes more active with age.
“This research has confirmed what we already suspected from watching our visitors interact on site: that imagination simply doesn’t diminish with age,” said Beth Stone, head of visitor experience at English Heritage.
“We’ll be encouraging adult participation at our blockbuster events and hands-on history sessions, whilst our new costumes will hopefully help our older visitors leave their inhibitions at the door and let their imaginations take them back in time.”
Play dress-up with me
Over the summer, as Stone mentioned, English Heritage has been giving visitors the opportunity to 'cosplay' a little history, by dressing up in period outfits.
The organisation has been running its 'One Extraordinary Summer' events at 11 of its sites across the country. Spurred on by the research's findings, it went for “bringing the imagination to life” with hands-on history sessions, and historical costumes targeted at adults.
Costumes ranged from Roman togas, Mediaeval chain-mail, and World War 2 uniforms, to exquisite Tudor gowns and smart Victorian suits. There's no word on whether visitors went for a pick and mix ensemble; now that would be imaginative flair.
The research into the effects of age on the imagination was carried out by a team from Kent University's School of Psychology.
It involved challenging people to imagine how unfamiliar historical objects might have been used. Over 470 people aged between four and 81 were asked to put their imaginative faculties to the test.
They were evaluated on the fluency of their answers (number of response), flexibility (how many different categories they came up with, such as cooking, religion, art), the proximity of their answer to the object's actual function, elaboration (how detailed their answers were), and on their originality.
What the team found was, that with increasing age, people were more likely to imagine uses that were closer to the actual function of the objects.
However, an increase in the originality of the answers was also found with age, and older adults were more likely to provide more detailed or colourful ideas.
Yet, adolescents and young adults scored higher for the fluency and flexibility of their imagination. They came up with a larger number of suggestions and these ideas spanned a wider range of categories than other age groups.
Different strengths
The scientists suggest that different age groups have different strengths when it comes to the imagination.
“These new findings dispel the commonly held belief that humans lose their imaginations as they age,” said Dr Angela Nyhout, assistant professor at the university's School of Psychology, who led the research.
“Instead, it shows that our imaginations continue to grow and change, even throughout adulthood, with the over 60s actually showing the most originality.
“Adults’ imaginations can be just as vivid as children’s, but what they already know about the world constrains their imagination in some cases and enhances it in others.
“We just need the freedom of the right environment and opportunity to explore the limits of our imagination, and historical places are a perfect place to do this.”
MC