The power of step 5 of focusing to propel creativity: evidence from text mining

This study aimed to clarify what occurs during Asking—the fifth step of Focusing – from a creativity perspective. In an experiment, participants engaged in a six-step Focusing process by answering a series of online questions. In Step 5, participants responded to three questions that directly reflect the content of Asking: ‘What does your body tell you is giving rise to this whole bodily feeling?’ (Q5-1), ‘What does the felt sense tell you is the most painful or constricted part of this whole concern?’ (Q5-2), and ‘What would feel like a relieving or easing direction for this whole situation?’ (Q5-3). They also reported their creativity self-efficacy after each question. Results indicated that participants’ creative self-efficacy was highest after Q5-3 in the Focusing condition. Participants who reported higher creative self-efficacy tended to address the queries in a more in-process manner compared to those with lower creative self-efficacy. Through text mining analysis, we explored potential reasons for this increase in creative self-efficacy. The thought flow during Step 5 of Focusing is discussed.