Cooperation makes two less-creative individuals turn into a highly-creative pair

&NA; This study aimed to investigate which type of group (e.g., consisting of less‐creative or highly‐creative individuals) would perform better in solving creativity problems, and explore the underlying inter‐brain neural correlates between team members. A preliminary test (an alternative‐uses task) was performed to rank individuals' level of creativity, and divide participants into three types of dyads: high‐high (two highly‐creative individuals), low‐low (two less‐creative individuals), and high‐low (one highly‐creative and one less‐creative individual). Dyads were then asked to solve a realistic presented problem (RPP; a typical creativity problem) during which a functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)‐based hyperscanning device was used to record the variation of interpersonal brain synchronization (IBS). Results revealed that less‐creative individuals, while working together, would perform as well as highly‐creative individuals. The low‐low dyads showed higher levels of cooperation behaviour than the other two types of dyads. The fNIRS results revealed increased IBS only for low‐low dyads at PFC (prefrontal cortex) and rTPJ (right temporal‐parietal junction) brain regions during RPP task performance. In the rDLPFC (right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), the IBS in the low‐low dyads was stronger than that of high‐high and high‐low dyads. In the rTPJ, the IBS in the low‐low dyads was only stronger than that of the high‐low dyads. Besides, the IBS at rDLPFC and rTPJ regions in the low‐low dyads was positively correlated with their cooperation behaviour and group creative performance. These findings indicated when two less‐creative individuals worked on a creativity problem together, they tended to cooperate with each other (indicated by both behaviour index and increased IBS at rDLPFC and rTPJ), which benefited their creative performance. HighlightsDyads consisting of two less‐creative members could perform as well to dyads consisting of highly‐creative individuals.Stronger interpersonal brain synchronization (IBS) between group members was evoked in the low‐low dyads.The IBS in rDLPFC and rTPJ covaried with the creative performance and cooperation in the low‐low dyads.The better cooperation in the low‐low dyads (indicated by behaviour index and IBS) may account for the enhanced performance.

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