Roger Beaty

Roger Beaty is an associate professor of psychology at Penn State. His research seeks to understand how people think creatively. In his lab, his team uses brain imaging and behavioral experiments to examine neural and cognitive systems that support creative thinking. One line of research uses fMRI to characterize brain network dynamics during creative task performance. A goal of this work is to link brain activity during creative performance to specific cognitive processes (such as memory, attention, and cognitive control), using network analysis and multivariate modeling of fMRI data. They also combine brain imaging with neuromodulation (e.g., tES-fNIRS) to test causal questions regarding neurocognitive mechanisms of creativity, with the longer-term goal of understanding whether and how creativity can be enhanced. They study creativity in a variety of contexts and domains, including musical improvisation and scientific problem solving. They also develop open access resources to measure creativity for educators and researchers, using natural language processing and other computational tools.