Neurocognitive Research on Design Thinking

GE Shijun; SUN Yuanbo; CUI Yin; WANG Chenxi

doi:10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2025.14.001

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Packaging Engineering ›› 2025, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (14) : 1-8. DOI: 10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2025.14.001

Industrial Design

Neurocognitive Research on Design Thinking

GE Shijun¹, SUN Yuanbo^1,*, CUI Yin², WANG Chenxi³

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Abstract

The work aims to comprehensively review the neurocognitive research on design thinking, offering methodological guidance for design researchers in conducting cognitive experiments. Through thematic analysis, the relevant literature on design neurocognition from both Chinese and international sources in the past five years was reviewed, synthesized and analyzed. The key factors influencing design thinking were identified, including individual characteristics of designers, design question types, information stimuli, and generation method of concept. From an experimental methodology perspective, the experimental construction elements, the alignment of research questions with brain imaging techniques, and the data processing and research limitations were discussed. The neurocognition offers a valuable methodological approach for investigating design thinking. Future efforts should integrate social science, physiology, and neurocognitive paradigms to explore design thinking models in the context of emerging technologies. In practice, these methods should be applied to the development of design tools, process optimization, and educational reform, among other areas.

Key words

design thinking / design neurocognition / electroencephalogram (EEG) / functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) / functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)

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GE Shijun, SUN Yuanbo, CUI Yin, WANG Chenxi. Neurocognitive Research on Design Thinking[J]. Packaging Engineering. 2025, 46(14): 1-8 https://doi.org/10.19554/j.cnki.1001-3563.2025.14.001

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