CREATIVR · Creativity in Virtual Reality

Creativity in Virtual Reality

The rapid digital transformation of work, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the expansion of immersive technologies, has fundamentally reshaped how and where knowledge work takes place. Increasingly, organizations rely on hybrid and remote work models, while virtual reality (VR) technologies are emerging as potential alternatives or complements to physical working spaces. Despite growing investments in immersive technologies, little is known about how working in virtual environments affects core cognitive processes underlying relevant organizational behaviors such as creativity. Creativity is the foundation of innovation and competitiveness in knowledge-based economies. At its core lies divergent thinking, the ability to generate multiple novel and useful ideas, which are then developed into successful innovations. Therefore, organizations invest significantly in creating conditions that benefit such processes, the spaces people work in being one of the most visible aspects of such conditions. While research has demonstrated that physical workspaces influence cognition, affect, and performance, the impact of deliberately designed virtual workspaces on creative idea generation remains largely unexplored. The CREATIVR project addresses this gap by investigating how the design of VR workspaces influences individual creative idea generation. It integrates perspectives from organizational research, social and cognitive psychology, and neuroscience to examine three key functions of workspace design: symbolic (the meanings and norms conveyed by space), instrumental (how space supports attention and task performance), and aesthetic (the affective and sensory experience of space). The project aims to: - Develop a robust theoretical framework linking workspace design and creative cognition. - Experimentally test how differently designed VR workspaces affect creative idea generation. - Identify affective and cognitive mechanisms underlying these effects. - Develop and validate an integrated interaction model explaining how VR workspace design influences creativity. By combining immersive VR environments with behavioral, physiological, and neurocognitive measures, CREATIVR seeks to advance Europe’s leadership in extended reality technologies beyond entertainment and gaming applications. The results will inform the design of future virtual workspaces that enhance innovation performance, support sustainable remote work, and broaden participation in knowledge work.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union