Contextual Focus: A Cognitive Explanation for the Cultural Revolution of the Middle/Upper Paleolithic

TL;DR

This paper proposes that the emergence of cultural elements in the Upper Paleolithic was driven by the cognitive ability of contextual focus, enabling shifts between focused and defocused attention to foster creativity.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of contextual focus as a cognitive mechanism explaining the cultural revolution in the Middle/Upper Paleolithic period.

Findings

Contextual focus facilitates creative idea generation.

Shifts between focused and defocused attention enhance cultural innovation.

Supports a cognitive basis for the cultural explosion in early human history.

Abstract

Many elements of culture made their first appearance in the Upper Paleolithic. Previous hypotheses put forth to explain this unprecedented burst of creativity are found wanting. Examination of the psychological basis of creativity leads to the suggestion that it resulted from the onset of contextual focus: the capacity to focus or defocus attention in response to the situation, thereby shifting between analytic and associative modes of thought. New ideas germinate in a defocused state in which one is receptive to the possible relevance of many dimensions of a situation. They are refined in a focused state, conducive to filtering out irrelevant dimensions and condensing relevant ones.