Table 2.
Study characteristics: Intervention studies
| Study | Year | Participants | Age (mean, SD/range) | Design | Physical activity intervention | Control | Creative ideation task | Study quality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aga et al. [82] | 2021 |
n = 40 Exercise group: n = 20 Control group: n = 20 |
22.98 (1.95) | Between-subject | Cycling (15 min) | Reading (15 min) | Alternate uses test [73] | 7 |
| Blanchette et al. [83] | 2005 | n = 60 | 20 ( −) | Within-subject | Aerobic exercise (30 min) | No exercise (30 min) | Torrance test of creative thinking [71] | 4 |
| Bollimbala et al. [84] | 2019 |
n = 34 Experimental group: n = 17 Control group: n = 17 |
12 (1.29) | Between-subject (Parallel group) | Dance intervention (20 min) | Sitting (20 min) | Alternate uses test [73] | 6 |
| Bollimbala et al. [85] | 2020 |
n = 92 Experimental group: n = 46 Control group: n = 46 |
22.04 (0.84) | Between-subject (Parallel group) | Yoga (20 min) | Case study (20 min) | Alternate uses test [73] | 7 |
| Bollimbala et al. [86] | 2021 |
n = 68 Dancing group: n = 34 Control group: n = 34 |
21.6 (0.88) | Between-subject | Dancing (15 min) | Socializing | Alternate uses test [73] | 5 |
|
Campion and Levita [87] |
2014 |
n = 56 Dancing group: n = 15 Cycling group: n = 14 Music group: n = 14 No exercise group: n = 13 |
20.4 (1.31) | Between-subject | Cycling, dancing (5 min) | Listening to music, sitting quietly (5 min) | Torrance test of creative thinking [71] | 5 |
| Donnegan et al. (1–2) [88] | 2018 |
Yoga group: n1 = 19 Aerobic group: n2 = 18 |
Yoga: 41.3 (−) Aerobics: 48.4 (−) |
Within-subject | Yoga (75 min), aerobic (45 min) | – | The abbreviated Torrance test for adults [89] | 3 |
| Frith and Loprinzi [45] | 2018 | n = 32 | 23.1 (3.39) | Within-subject | Treadmill walking (15 min) | Sitting (15 min) | Alternate uses task [73] | 7 |
| Frith et al. [90] | 2021 | n = 32 | 22.66 (3.23) | Within-subject | Treadmill walking (20 min) | Sitting (20 min) | Instances creativity task [91] | 7 |
| Gondola [92] | 1986 | n = 19 | 9.77 (1.11) | Within-subject | Running (20 min/twice a week/six weeks) | – | Alternate uses test [73] | 3 |
| Herman-Tofler et al. [93] | 1998 |
n = 51 Aerobic exercise group: n = 26 Physical education group: n = 25 |
– |
Between-subject (Parallel group) |
Aerobics (25 min/ three times a week/ eight weeks) | Physical education (25 min/ three times a week/eight weeks) | Torrance test of creative thinking [71] | 3 |
| Latorre Román et al. [94] | 2018 |
n = 96 Aerobic game group: n = 48 Control group: n = 48 |
9.84 (1.12) | Between-subject (Parallel group) | Aerobic game session (45 min) | No exercise | Prueba de imaginacion creativa-Ninos [75] | 6 |
| Latorre Román et al. [95] | 2021 |
n = 114 Active recess program group: n = 58 Control group: n = 56 |
Experimental: 9.76 (1.09) Control: 9.77 (1.11) |
Within-subject | Active recess program (about 20 min/three times a week/ 10 weeks) | – | Prueba de imaginacion creativa-Ninos [75] | 5 |
| Leung et al. [96] | 2012 | n = 104 | – | Between-subject (Parallel group) | Free walking (2 min), rectangular walking (2 min) | Sitting (2 min) | Droodle and Lego task | 4 |
| Ludyga et al. [97] | 2020 | n = 34 | 12.8 (1.8) | Crossover | Aerobic exercise (20 min) | – | Alternate uses task [73] | 6 |
| Main et al. [98] | 2020 | n = 29 | 20.4 | Mixed measure (2 × 2) | Treadmill walking (8 min/ 4 × 2 min) | Sitting (8 min/ 4 × 2 min) | Alternate uses task [73] | 5 |
| Matsumoto et al. [99] | 2022 | n = 22 | 21.36 (1.33) | Within-subject | Stair-climbing | – | Alternate uses test [73] | 7 |
| Murali and Händel (1–3) [100] | 2022 |
n1 = 20 n2 = 17 n3 = 23 |
18–35 18–35 18–35 |
Within-subject | Walking | Sitting | Alternate uses task [73] | 7 |
| Netz et al. [101] | 2007 |
n = 58 Moderately-intense aerobic group: n = 20 Moderate aerobic group: n = 20 Control group: n = 18 |
54.99 (3.14) 56.12 (3.4) 54.75 (3.01) |
Between-subject (Parallel group) | Aerobic training (until participants reached their limit) | Watching a movie | Alternate uses test [73] | 7 |
| Oppezzo and Schwartz (1–3) [44] | 2014 |
n1 = 48 n2 = 16 n3 = 10 |
– | Within-subject | Walking (treadmill and outside) | Sitting | Alternate uses test [73] | 5 |
| Österberg and Olsson [102] | 2021 |
n = 51 Dancing group: n = 25 Control group: n = 26 |
12 ( −) | Between-subject | Dancing (3 min) | No exercise | Adopted idea generation test from Finke et al. [103] | 2 |
| Patterson et al. [104] | 2018 | n = 20 | 21.35 (1.3) | Within-subject | Treadmill walking (15 min) | – | Alternate uses task [73] | 4 |
| Richard et al. [105] | 2021 |
n = 66 Aerobic dance group: n = 30 Control group: n = 36 |
23.56 (2.66) | Between-subject | Aerobic dancing (30 min/ twice a week/five weeks) | Received 3 short readings about creativity | Runco creative assessment battery | 7 |
| Ruiz-Ariza et al. [106] | 2019 |
n = 184 Interval training group: n = 90 Static stretching group: n = 94 |
13.73 (1.34) | Between-subject (Parallel group) | High-intensity interval training (16 min/ twice a week/ 12 weeks) | Static stretching (16 min/ twice a week/ 12 weeks) | CREA test [107] | 4 |
| Steinberg et al. [108] | 1997 | n = 63 | 19–59 | Within-subject | Aerobic workout (17 min) and dance (17 min) | Watched a documentary of similar duration | Torrance’s unusual uses test of creative thinking [71] | 3 |
| Tilp et al. [109] | 2020 |
n = 35 Experimental group: n = 17 Control group: n = 18 |
12.26 (0.78) | Within-subject | Motor-coordinative exercise intervention (30 min/five times a week/four weeks) | Waiting for intervention | Alternate uses task [73] | 5 |
| Young-Mi and Hye-Jeon [110] | 2016 |
n = 30 Dance art group: n = 15 Science class group: n = 15 |
– | Between-subject (Parallel group) | Dance art group (180 min/once a week/15 weeks) | Science experiment class (180 min/once a week/15 weeks) | Torrance test of creative thinking [71] | 4 |
| Zhou et al. [111] | 2017 | n = 63 | 21.25 ( −) | Within-subject | Walking | Standing in the center of the room | Consequences imagination task | 6 |
n number of participants, ni number of participants in the independent subsample i, numbers in parentheses designate the independent subsamples i, e.g., Donnegan et al. (1–2)