The paradox of creativity

Social Representations Theory in Creativity Research

Abstract. Due to the difficulties of understanding all the aspects of creativity, the study of this complex phenomenon has been placed at the crossroads of various disciplines. Among these, social psychology has been interested in this exploration. Incidentally, various approaches in creativity research highlighted the importance of social factors in the production, judgment, and acceptance of creative ideas. Contributions adopting such a social perspective naturally convoked different social psychological theories, among which is the Social Representations Theory. This theory focuses on the collective construction of shared knowledge and beliefs (social representations) within social groups. Interesting perspectives about the contribution of social representations to the study of creativity have been described in previous works. Nevertheless, these works remain rare despite the many possibilities offered by the theoretical and methodological framework of social representations. Consequently, the present contribution recalls briefly the main objectives that these previous works have pursued in order to highlight several unexplored lines of research that could promote theoretical, methodological, and applied advancement. These lines could enrich research related to the evaluation of creativity, the study of creativity as deviance, the stimulation of group creativity, and promote interdisciplinary work. This contribution aims to draw the attention of researchers to these under-exploited perspectives and stimulate the creation of many others to understand better the complex phenomenon of creativity.

Development and Validation of a Questionnaire to Assess Creative Potential Traits

The aim of the study was to develop an inventory to assess traits of creative potential and to analyze its psychometric properties. Three dimensions that could be associated with creative potential were proposed: willingness to transgress, willingness to take on challenges, and willingness to explore. For this purpose 551 participants were chosen to respond to an inventory composed of 12 items: Traits of Creative Potential Questionnaire, (TCPQ-12) and other tests to determine concurrent validity. The correlations between these instruments were significant. In addition, the instrument showed adequate internal consistency (Ω = 0.813) and the exploratory factor analysis yielded salient factors coincident with the proposed dimensions. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated an optimal fit (CFI = 0.984, TLI = 0.979, GFI = 0.963, RMSEA = 0.035). with composite reliability (CR) values > 0.70 in two factors and in one was slightly lower (CR = 0.684). The average variance extracted (AVE) was > 0.5 in two factors and in one < 0.5. The study data allow to highlight that the instrument presented here is a concise instrument with adequate psychometric properties.

Need for Cognition Is Positively Related to Promotion Focus and Negatively Related to Prevention Focus

Need for cognition (NFC) and regulatory focus (RF) are important variables with individual differences relevant to motivation and goal pursuit. These constructs are widely used in the literature, often separately; no work has simultaneously examined the need for cognition scale (NCS) and Lockwood’s general regulatory focus measure (GRFM). Here, we explore shared theoretical underpinnings of the two constructs and assess whether they may be driven by common underlying factors. Considering purported overlaps between these scales and other constructs (e.g., personality and cognitive processes), we take a strong inference approach to test hypothesized bridges between the two measures. In a large (N = 853) sample, we found NCS to be related positively to GRFM promotion and negatively to GRFM prevention scores, suggesting mutual ties with behavioral inhibition system/behavioral activation system, intrinsic motivation, openness, and creativity. A generalized approach motivation, as well as intrinsic motivation, may thus drive both NFC and RF.

Product Creativity as an Identity Issue: Through the Eyes of New Product Development Team Members

In this study, we introduce a concept of product identification that denotes the overlap between identities of a new product and its developer. As creativity is the most important identity dimension in the new product, we draw on two dimensions of creativity: novelty and meaningfulness. According to the argument that novelty represents exploration, whereas meaningfulness represents exploitation, we hypothesize that product novelty is associated with an explorative behavior of new product team members, while product meaningfulness is associated with exploitative behavior. More importantly, product identification is proposed as the mechanism that explains the amplification effect of product identity on team members. Based on survey data collected from 200 Japanese new product development (NPD) team members, we conduct a statistical analysis to test the hypotheses. The findings demonstrate the alignment between the identity of a new product and the behaviors of the NPD members, which is amplified by product identification but not by organizational identification.

'Knowing as we go': a Hunter-Gatherer Behavioural Model to Guide Innovation in Sport Science

Where do novel and innovative ideas in sport science come from? How do researchers and practitioners collectively explore the dynamic landscape of inquiry, problem, solution and application? How do they learn to skilfully navigate from current place and practice toward the next idea located beyond their current vantage point? These questions are not just of philosophical value but are important for understanding how to provide high-quality support for athletes and sport participants at all levels of expertise and performance. Grounded in concepts from social anthropology, and theoretically positioned within an ecological dynamics framework, this opinion piece introduces a hunter-gatherer model of human behaviour based on wayfinding, situating it as a conceptual guide for implementing innovations in sport science. Here, we contend that the embedded knowledge of a landscape that guides a successful hunting and gathering party is germane to the pragmatic abduction needed to promote innovation in sport performance, leading to the inquisition of new questions and ways of resolving performance-preparation challenges. More specifically, exemplified through its transdisciplinarity, we propose that to hunt 'new ideas' and gather translatable knowledge, sport science researchers and practitioners need to wayfind through uncharted regions located in new performance landscapes. It is through this process of navigation where individuals will deepen, enrich and grow current knowledge, 'taking home' new ideas as they find their way.