Cognitive Task Intervention Modulates Convergent Thinking and EEG Activity in Collaborative Engineering Design

Convergent thinking involves the evaluation and selection of ideas and is essential to collaborative engineering design. Previous studies have identified neural correlation within individual convergent thinking, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and collaborative processes involving the right temporoparietal junction (R-TPJ); however, the neural mechanisms underlying collaborative convergent thinking remain unclear. We examined whether cognitive task-based interventions modulate brain activity and subsequent idea-evaluation performance. Twelve right-handed male university students formed six dyads and performed an idea-evaluation task after rest, after a calculation task, and after a false-belief task. Electroencephalogram (EEG) signals were recorded using a 64-channel system, and beta-band (13-30 Hz) activity was analyzed. Performance was evaluated based on ratings provided by professional engineers. The results showed that idea-evaluation performance improved after the false-belief task but not after the calculation task. EEG analyses revealed increased DLPFC activation during the calculation task and increased DLPFC and R-TPJ activation during the false-belief task. These findings suggest that cognitive tasks can influence neural activity and subsequent convergent evaluation performance in collaborative engineering design.