?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=Contextual+focus%3A+A+cognitive+explanation+for+the+cultural+transition+of+the+Middle%2FUpper+Paleolithic&rft.creator=Gabora%2C+Dr.+Liane&rft.subject=Cognitive+Psychology&rft.subject=Evolutionary+Psychology&rft.description=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%3A+the+capacity+to+focus+or+defocus+attention+in+response+to+the+situation%2C+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%2C+conducive+to+filtering+out+irrelevant+dimensions+and+condensing+relevant+ones.+&rft.publisher=Lawrence+Erlbaum+Associates&rft.contributor=Alterman%2C+Dr.+Rick&rft.contributor=Kirsch%2C+Dr.+David&rft.date=2003&rft.type=Conference+Paper&rft.type=PeerReviewed&rft.format=text%2Fhtml&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F3417%2F1%2Fcf.htm&rft.identifier=++Gabora%2C+Dr.+Liane++(2003)+Contextual+focus%3A+A+cognitive+explanation+for+the+cultural+transition+of+the+Middle%2FUpper+Paleolithic.++%5BConference+Paper%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F3417%2F