| Summary: | This dissertation documents a research endeavour into the cognitive processes in Design Thinking. The goal was to identify the optimal way to think in the various phases of a Design Thinking project. The research draws on the findings in design, positive psychology, cognitive psychology, and neuroscience to analyse the Design Thinking process and tomap and match thinking modes with the phases of the process. The fundamental literature review covers three topics: The research into Design Thinking provides a comprehensive insight into the method and its scientific fundament. Then, creativity as a social product and the cognitive processes relevant to creativity are documented. Thirdly, emotion and its relation to creativity and the Limbic® Map approach are presented. Finally, automatic emotion recognition with deep learning based artificial intelligence algorithms are introduced. The first stages of empirical research revealed that emotions and other affective states are unworkable for reliable research results. Similarly, it could be shown that “mindset” has no scientifically approved definition, making the concept unsuitable for robust research. Further research identified five pairs of cognitive functions needed in Design Thinking. Three pairs address information processing (Acquisition of Data, Alignment of Perception, and Assessment of Information and Ideas), and two address flow control of cognition (Attention to a specific task and Awareness of the Cognitive Process). The research further investigated methods to activate and guide the cognitive functions in a project. Moreover, the importance of including creative professionals in a Design Thinking process was revealed. Research in neuroscience indicates specific abilities of creative people identifiable in the very brain network connections. The research also discovered new insights into the “Groan Zone”. The findings indicate that a change in the attitude and approach to the “Groan Zone” could considerably change the outcome of a Design Thinking project.
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