The dual pathway to creativity model: Creative ideation as a function of flexibility and persistence

Too much information! When job resources become job demands, producing a curvilinear relationship between informational social support and creativity

OBJECTIVE

Informational social support can have both positive and negative effects on employees. This research aims to examine the curvilinear relationship between informational social support and employees' cognitive processes, specifically cognitive depletion and creativity. Additionally, we investigate the moderating role of emotional stability on this curvilinear relationship, particularly regarding cognitive depletion.

METHODS

A total of 108 male employees in South Korea participated in the study, completing 864 two-wave, time-lagged daily diary questionnaires. The surveys measured informational social support, cognitive depletion, creativity, and emotional stability.

RESULTS

The findings reveal that informational social support enhances employees' cognitive processes up to a certain threshold, after which its effects become detrimental, demonstrating a curvilinear pattern. Furthermore, emotional stability moderates this relationship: emotionally stable employees show a linear relationship between informational social support and cognitive depletion, while emotionally unstable employees exhibit a curvilinear relationship.

CONCLUSION

Our results suggest that excessive informational social support may harm employees' cognitive processes, indicating that there is an optimal level of support, beyond which the effects become counterproductive.

Effects of perceived sleep quality on creative behavior via work engagement: the moderating role of gender

BACKGROUND

Sleep quality significantly impacts employees' attitudes and behaviors. Using ego depletion theory, we examined the influence of sleep quality on work engagement and creative behavior, also investigating gender differences in these effects.

METHODS

A multi-wave survey approach was employed with a six-week interval between waves for data collection. Participants were recruited online across two waves, totaling 322 employees from the United Kingdom and the United States.

RESULTS

Regression analyses revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between sleep quality and creative behavior, mediated by work engagement. Additionally, gender moderated both the direct and indirect effects of sleep quality.

CONCLUSION

The study found a positive relationship between sleep quality and creative behavior, mediated by work engagement, with notable gender differences. Sleep quality had a stronger impact on work engagement for men than women, and a stronger indirect effect on creative behavior through work engagement. These findings add to the existing literature on the influence of sleep quality on creative behavior.

Automatic assessment of divergent thinking in Chinese language with TransDis: A transformer-based language model approach

Language models have been increasingly popular for automatic creativity assessment, generating semantic distances to objectively measure the quality of creative ideas. However, there is currently a lack of an automatic assessment system for evaluating creative ideas in the Chinese language. To address this gap, we developed TransDis, a scoring system using transformer-based language models, capable of providing valid originality (novelty) and flexibility (variety) scores for Alternative Uses Task (AUT) responses in Chinese. Study 1 demonstrated that the latent model-rated originality factor, comprised of three transformer-based models, strongly predicted human originality ratings, and the model-rated flexibility strongly correlated with human flexibility ratings as well. Criterion validity analyses indicated that model-rated originality and flexibility positively correlated to other creativity measures, demonstrating similar validity to human ratings. Study 2 and 3 showed that TransDis effectively distinguished participants instructed to provide creative vs. common uses (Study 2) and participants instructed to generate ideas in a flexible vs. persistent way (Study 3). Our findings suggest that TransDis can be a reliable and low-cost tool for measuring idea originality and flexibility in Chinese language, potentially paving the way for automatic creativity assessment in other languages. We offer an open platform to compute originality and flexibility for AUT responses in Chinese and over 50 other languages ( https://osf.io/59jv2/ ).

The relative importance of affect variability and mean levels of affect in predicting complex task performance

Although research indicates affect variability-the extent to which an individual's emotions fluctuate-is associated with behavioral outcomes related to adjustment and adaptability, it is unclear to what extent findings make important contributions to the literature when past research has failed to account for the role of mean levels of emotion. Accordingly, we conducted a repeated-measures laboratory study of college students (N = 253) learning to perform a complex computer task to examine the relative importance of affect variability indices (i.e., spin, pulse, and flux) compared to mean levels in explaining variance in off-task attention and task performance before and after changes in task demands (i.e., skill acquisition and adaptation). In doing so, we also disentangled valence and arousal (i.e., activating versus deactivating) aspects of emotion. Relative importance analyses showed mean levels of emotion were the most dominant predictors (i.e., explained the most variance)-negative deactivating emotions for off-task attention and positive activating emotions for performance. However, flux in negative activating and negative deactivating emotions also explained enough variance to be considered important, suggesting that flux has been overlooked in empirical research. Our findings also highlight that future research must account for mean levels when examining relationships between affect variability and outcomes of interest.

Creativity From Constraint Exploration and Exploitation

Using the frameworks of creativity as problem solving and Integrated Constraints in Creativity (IConIC), this article develops the proposal that creativity is best understood in terms of a cycle of constraint exploration and exploitation. This general thesis, which applies to varied domains and levels of creativity, is supported by three specific proposals about the role of constraints in creativity, each of which is developed and illustrated with examples. First, constraints provide the criteria for the evaluation of creative outcomes, which can vary as a function of the emphasis on novel usefulness or useful novelty. Second, constraints are critical in each step of the creative process: problem finding, problem construction, and problem solving. Third, constraints play a key role in both open-ended and closed-ended creative problems. These arguments are supported by specific predictions, concerning: (a) task differences in whether novelty or usefulness are emphasized more; (b) individual differences in the processing of constraints (some may favor flexible constraint exploration, while others may favor persistent constraint exploitation), which I hypothesize also correlate with (c) engagement in different types of creative problem-solving (more open-ended, of the sort encountered in art, vs. more closed-ended, of the sort encountered in science, business, and engineering).

From developmental neuroscience to policy: A novel framework based on participatory research

Insights from developmental neuroscience are not always translated to actionable policy decisions. In this review, we explore the potential of bridging the gap between developmental neuroscience and policy through youth participatory research approaches. As the current generation of adolescents lives in an increasingly complex and rapidly changing society, their lived experiences are crucial for both research and policy. Moreover, their active involvement holds significant promise, given their heightened creativity and need to contribute. We therefore advocate for a transdisciplinary framework that fosters collaboration between developmental scientists, adolescents, and policy makers in addressing complex societal challenges. We highlight the added value of adolescents' lived experiences in relation to two pressing societal issues affecting adolescents' mental health: performance pressure and social inequality. By integrating firsthand lived experiences with insights from developmental neuroscience, we provide a foundation for progress in informed policy decisions.

Experiencing more meaningful coincidences is associated with more real-life creativity? Insights from three empirical studies

Literature suggests a link between creativity and the perception of meaningful patterns in random arrangements, which is coined apophenia, patternicity, synchronicity, or the experience of meaningful coincidences. However, empirical research did not establish a clear link between real-life creativity and the experience of meaningful coincidences. In this three-study approach, we consistently found a connection between the experience of meaningful coincidences and creative activities as well as creative achievements. However, we did not obtain a consistent link with openness to experience or with peoples' creative potential. By applying an internet daily diary approach, we found that the experience of meaningful coincidences fluctuates from day to day and that the number of perceived coincidences is associated with positive and negative affect. A third preregistered study showed that positive and negative affect might not serve as a strong mechanism that mediates the link between meaningful coincidences and real-life creative activities. We need further research to explore the reason for this robust link between meaningful coincidences and real-life creativity.

On the dual nature of creativity: Same same but different?

The creativity literature is replete with dualistic constructs, suggesting shared mechanisms but also tempting overinterpretation of their interrelations. An explicit list of relevant concept associations indicates substantial commonality, yet also exposes certain inconsistencies. Dual-process accounts (A and B is relevant) hold promise in resolving discrepancies to the extent that we understand the relative contributions and conditions of A and B.

Distinct neurocognitive pathways underlying creativity: An integrative approach

By examining the shared neuro-cognitive correlates of curiosity and creativity, we better understand the brain basis of creativity. However, by only examining shared components, important neuro-cognitive correlates are overlooked. Here, we argue that any comprehensive brain model of creativity should consider multiple cognitive processes and, alongside the interplay between brain networks, also the neurochemistry and neural oscillations that underly creativity.

The Moderation Effect of Approach Motivation Between Schizotypy and Creative Ideational Behavior

Introduction

The schizotypy-creativity link has been studied from different perspectives over the past few decades, yet the results of this relationship are inconsistent in the literature. Previous studies have suggested that two basic motivational systems-Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS, avoidance motivation) and Behavioral Activation System (BAS, approach motivation)-underlie the relationship between schizotypy and creativity. Few empirical studies, however, have examined how the relationship interacts with other variables. This study fills these gaps and explores the role of the approach and avoidance motivation assessed by trait behavioral activation and inhibition in the link between schizotypy as a dimensional personality trait and creative ideational behavior as a measure of creativity.

Method

Undergraduate students (N = 388) completed questionnaires including the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) measuring 3 dimensions of schizotypy, Runco Ideational Behavior Scale (RIBS) measuring creative ideational behavior, and BIS/BAS Scales measuring trait behavioral motivation. Bivariate Pearson correlation was computed, and hierarchical linear regression was performed to explore the effects of schizotypy, BIS/BAS, and their interaction on creative ideational behavior. The conditional effect of schizotypy based on different levels of the moderator was further tested.

Results

The total score, positive dimension and disorganized dimension of SPQ were all positively correlated with RIBS, BAS, and BIS. Negative dimension of SPQ was not significantly correlated with the RIBS score but was positively correlated with BIS. Additionally, after controlling gender and age, BAS significantly moderated the relationship between the positive and disorganized dimensions of schizotypy and creative ideational behavior measured by RIBS. However, BIS was not a significant moderator.

Discussion

The findings of this study regarding the relationships between different dimensions of schizotypy, two motivational systems, and creative ideational behavior were mostly consistent with previous findings. The significant moderated effect of BAS on the relationship between two dimensions of schizotypy and creative ideational behavior made significant contributions to the understanding of the relationship between schizotypy and creativity.

How and when Proactive Vitality Management Promotes Undergraduates' Creativity? A Conservation of Resources Perspective

Despite widely highlighting that creative individuals need to be full of vitality to function optimally, previous research neglects the very real possibility that human beings may also need to proactively manage their vitality to ignite creativity. Drawing on the conservation of resources theory, this study explores the impact of proactive vitality management on undergraduates' creativity through harmonious academic passion, as well as the moderating roles of university creative climate and prevention focus. Evidence from a scenario-based experiment (Study 1) and a multi-wave field survey (Study 2) demonstrated that proactive vitality management positively promoted individual creativity. This relationship was partially mediated by harmonious academic passion. In addition, proactive vitality management enhanced undergraduate students' creativity via harmonious academic passion in a high university creative climate, whereas the indirect effect was weak when prevention focus was high. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed, along with study limitations and future research directions.

The HPA and SAM axis mediate the impairment of creativity under stress

With the ever-changing social environment, individual creativity is facing a severe challenge induced by stress. However, little is known regarding the underlying mechanisms by which acute stress affects creative cognitive processing. The current research explored the impacts of the neuroendocrine response on creativity under stress and its underlying cognitive flexibility mechanisms. The enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay was employed to assess salivary cortisol, which acted as a marker of stress-induced activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Eye blink rate (EBR) and pupil diameter were measured as respective indicators of dopamine and noradrenaline released by the activation of the sympathetic-adrenal-medullary (SAM) axis. The Wisconsin card task (WCST) measured cognitive flexibility, while the alternative uses task (AUT) and the remote association task (RAT) measured separately divergent and convergent thinking in creativity. Results showed higher cortisol increments following acute stress induction in the stress group than control group. Ocular results showed that the stress manipulation significantly increased EBR and pupil diameter compared to controls, reflecting increased SAM activity. Further analysis revealed that stress-released cortisol impaired the originality component of the AUT, reducing cognitive flexibility as measured by perseverative errors on the WCST task. Serial mediation analyses showed that both EBR and pupil diameter were also associated with increased perseverative errors leading to poor originality on the AUT. These findings confirm that physiological arousal under stress can impair divergent thinking through the regulation of different neuroendocrine pathways, in which the deterioration of flexible switching plays an important mediating role.

Exploring the role of working memory gate opening process in creativity: An ERP study using the reference-back paradigm

We investigated the relationship between the gate opening process of working memory and an individual's proficiency in divergent (DT) and convergent thinking (CT) using the reference-back paradigm. Event-related potentials and reaction times were measured across groups with varying DT (N = 40, 27.35 ± 5.05 years) and CT levels (N = 40, 27.88 ± 4.95 years). Based on the role of striatal dopamine in supporting cognitive flexibility, which facilitates DT, and considering the significance of phasic dopamine activity as the gate opening signal originating from the basal ganglia, we assumed that the gate opening process may contribute differently to DT and CT. Despite the absence of behavioural differences in gate opening costs, distinct neural patterns emerged. In the early time windows (P1, N1), gate opening effects were detected in both DT and CT groups, with a notable interaction influenced by the level of DT, resulting in significant effects within the lower DT group. The P2 component showed a gate opening effect only in the higher DT group. In the P3 time window, the process unfolded comparably in all groups. Our results suggest that groups with different levels of convergent thinking (based on Matrix reasoning) and those with lower DT (based on Creativity Index) tend to select and activate the prefrontal cortex representation containing the required task information at an earlier stage, compared to those with better DT. This could be beneficial especially in the early phase of idea generation, as more elements become available to create associations and original ideas.

Impact of chronic physical activity on individuals' creativity

There is growing evidence to suggest that physical activity positively influences cognitive processes. A similar trend is seen in the literature examining the relationship between acute physical activity and creativity. Nevertheless, certain questions persist: Does engaging in physical activity over an extended period (chronic) influence creativity? If it does, what is the duration of this impact? The present study uses Randomized Controlled Trials (RCT) to examine whether chronic physical activity for 6 weeks can improve individual creativity vis-à-vis a control group that performs regular class activity without any physical activity. It also assesses whether the effect of chronic physical activity on creativity endures after 2 weeks of ceasing the interventions. The study involves 49 school students who were randomly assigned to either the experimental or the control conditions. Their creativity, operationalized as divergent thinking is measured using the Alternate Uses Task. The measurements are taken before the intervention, again 6 weeks later, and once more, after 2 weeks of cessation of interventions. The results indicate that after 6 weeks of engaging in physical activity, the participants showed improvements in both the fluency and originality components of divergent thinking when compared to the control group. Furthermore, the results demonstrate a lingering effect of physical activity on the originality component of divergent thinking. The findings lend some support to the strength model of self-control. The implications for research and practice are further discussed in the study.

Reduced occipital alpha power marks a movement induced state change that facilitates creative thinking

Walking and minimized movement restriction has a positive effect on creativity, such as divergent thinking. Walking is further known to reduce occipital alpha activity. We used mobile EEG during free and restricted movement, while subjects (N = 23) solved a Guilford's alternate uses test, to understand if occipital alpha power is also affected by movement restriction and if it is a neural marker for creativity. We found that, independent of the task, relative occipital alpha power was higher during movement restriction and showed a negative relationship with creativity scores even though the task was purely based on auditory information. Alpha lateralization was only modulated during the task related think-time (mainly during sitting) and showed a positive relationship with creativity scores but no correlation with the relative alpha power. This indicates that the ongoing alpha power and alpha lateralization mark two independent processes. Overall, our work shows that movement and movement restriction leads to a general change in state which affects cognitive processes. Specifically, limiting one's movements e.g. due to sitting and fixating on a screen can introduce a state of increased occipital alpha power and lowered creativity.

Individuals who see the good in the bad engage distinctive default network coordination during post-encoding rest

Focusing on the upside of negative events often promotes resilience. Yet, the underlying mechanisms that allow some people to spontaneously see the good in the bad remain unclear. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotion has long suggested that positive affect, including positivity in the face of negative events, is linked to idiosyncratic thought patterns (i.e., atypical cognitive responses). Yet, evidence in support of this view has been limited, in part, due to difficulty in measuring idiosyncratic cognitive processes as they unfold. To overcome this barrier, we applied Inter-Subject Representational Similarity Analysis to test whether and how idiosyncratic neural responding supports positive reactions to negative experience. We found that idiosyncratic functional connectivity patterns in the brain's default network while resting after a negative experience predicts more positive descriptions of the event. This effect persisted when controlling for connectivity 1) before and during the negative experience, 2) before, during, and after a neutral experience, and 3) between other relevant brain regions (i.e., the limbic system). The relationship between idiosyncratic default network responding and positive affect was largely driven by functional connectivity patterns between the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the rest of the default network and occurred relatively quickly during rest. We identified post-encoding rest as a key moment and the default network as a key brain system in which idiosyncratic responses correspond with seeing the good in the bad.

Mental flexibility assessment: A research protocol for patients with Parkinson's Disease and Anorexia Nervosa

Mental Flexibility oscillates between adaptive variability in behavior and the capacity to restore homeostasis, linked to mental health. It has recently been one of the most investigated abilities in mental and neurological diseases such as Anorexia nervosa and Parkinson's disease, studied for rigidity or cognitive inflexibility. Patients with anorexia nervosa have rigid cognitive processes about food and weight, which leads to restrictive eating and excessive exercise. People who struggle to adapt their cognitive processes and actions to change their diet and exercise habits may have a harder time recovering from the disorder. On the other hand, research suggests that Parkinson's disease patients may have cognitive flexibility impairments that impair their ability to perform daily tasks and adapt to new environments. Although of clinical interest, mental flexibility lacks theoretical liberalization and unified assessment. This study introduces "IntellEGO" a protocol for a new, multidimensional psychometric assessment of flexibility. This assessment evaluates a person's authentic ability to handle daily challenges using cognitive, emotional, and behavioral factors. Since traditional assessments often focus on one domain, we aim to examine flexibility from multiple angles, acknowledging the importance of viewing people as whole beings with mental and physical aspects. The study protocol includes two assessment phases separated by a rehabilitation period. T0, the acute phase upon admission, and T1, the post-rehabilitation phase lasting 15 days for Parkinson's patients and 4 weeks for eating disorder patients, will be assessed. Neuropsychological performance, self-report questionnaires, psychophysiological measures, and neuroendocrine measures will be collected from Anorexia Nervosa and Parkinson's Disease patients during each study phase. The objective of this procedure is to provide clinicians with a comprehensive framework for conducting meticulous assessments of mental flexibility. This framework considers emotional, cognitive, and behavioral factors, and is applicable to various patient populations.

Outlining a novel psychometric model of mental flexibility and affect dynamics

Theoretically, affective states have always been conceived as complex phenomena enabling individuals to respond flexibly and dynamically to environmental demands. Methodologically, the novel field of Affect Dynamics has started to analyze affective states as inherently dynamic and interdependent phenomena by focusing on how and why they fluctuate over time. Fluctuations of affective states can also be conceived as a function of individuals' ability to flexibly modulate their responses according to environmental demands. However, this ability has been sparsely investigated in different disciplines and domains, thus, engendering a plethora of terms and models. In this conceptual analysis, we first aimed to disentangle the puzzle of flexibility by outlining the distinctive cross-domain features of this concept, thus providing a novel comprehensive operationalization. We termed this novel unitary concept "mental flexibility," the general ability to variably adapt to environmental demands. Then, we outlined the interplay between individuals' mental flexibility and affect dynamics by proposing a novel psychometric model of affect dynamics, using Markovian chain.

Methylphenidate undermines or enhances divergent creativity depending on baseline dopamine synthesis capacity

Catecholamine-enhancing psychostimulants, such as methylphenidate have long been argued to undermine creative thinking. However, prior evidence for this is weak or contradictory, stemming from studies with small sample sizes that do not consider the well-established large variability in psychostimulant effects across different individuals and task demands. We aimed to definitively establish the link between psychostimulants and creative thinking by measuring effects of methylphenidate in 90 healthy participants on distinct creative tasks that measure convergent and divergent thinking, as a function of individuals' baseline dopamine synthesis capacity, indexed with 18F-FDOPA PET imaging. In a double-blind, within-subject design, participants were administered methylphenidate, placebo or selective D2 receptor antagonist sulpiride. The results showed that striatal dopamine synthesis capacity and/or methylphenidate administration did not affect divergent and convergent thinking. However, exploratory analysis demonstrated a baseline dopamine-dependent effect of methylphenidate on a measure of response divergence, a creativity measure that measures response variability. Response divergence was reduced by methylphenidate in participants with low dopamine synthesis capacity but enhanced in those with high dopamine synthesis capacity. No evidence of any effect of sulpiride was found. These results show that methylphenidate can undermine certain forms of divergent creativity but only in individuals with low baseline dopamine levels.

Creativity in Scientific Research: Multidisciplinarity Fosters Depth of Ideas Among Scientists in Electronic "Brainwriting" Groups

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine the potential benefits of multidisciplinarity among agri-food researchers working in small groups to generate ideas to stimulate innovation in the context of a laboratory project.

BACKGROUND

Research on the role of multidisciplinarity in scientific research teams remains limited, particularly regarding the generation of ideas to innovate in a real laboratory project, and on a task with a real challenge for innovation.

METHOD

Researchers and agri-food research staff were assigned to small groups of either multidisciplinary or unidisciplinary composition to produce ideas on a cross-cutting theme for an innovative laboratory project using an electronic "brainwriting" application.

RESULTS

A greater depth in idea generation (number of ideas per category) was observed in the multidisciplinary condition than in the unidisciplinary condition.

CONCLUSION

The main benefits of this study were to experimentally examine the effects of multidisciplinarity in small scientific research groups on the production of ideas in a field study conducted on the premises of an agri-food laboratory.

APPLICATION

This study provides advice on how to promote innovative projects by stimulating ideation processes, which includes constructing small multidisciplinary groups and using an electronic "brainwriting" technique.

Thinking Styles and Creativity: The Mediating Role of Psychological Adjustment in College Students

The observation and cultivation of university students' creativity have always been of enormous concern to the Chinese government. The present research delved into the influence of three dimensions of the Chinese thinking style (Interconnection, Change, and Contradiction) on creativity and the mediating role of psychological adjustment in college students. Specifically, Study 1 investigated the relationship between university students' thinking styles and creativity through self-reported questionnaires. The results revealed that the thinking style of interconnections had a significant positive effect on creativity among university student groups, while the change dimension significantly negatively affected creativity. The relationship between the dimension of contradiction and creativity did not show significance. Study 2 manipulated thinking style by priming techniques, priming university students' thinking styles of interconnections (Study 2a) and change (Study 2b), and verified the mediating role of psychological adjustment between thinking styles and creativity. Aside from replicating the findings of Study 1, the results showed that university students' psychological adjustment mediated the positive effect of interconnections on fluency and the negative effect of change on fluency. These results and findings can provide a theoretical and practical reference for our government to cultivate university students' creativity.

Creative mindset reduces racial ingroup bias in empathic neural responses

Spontaneous racial categorization of other-race individuals provides a cognitive basis of racial ingroup biases in empathy and prosocial behavior. In two experiments, we investigated whether fostering a creativity mindset reduces racial ingroup biases in empathy and undermines spontaneous racial categorization of other-race faces. Before and after a creative mindset priming procedure that required the construction of novel objects using discreteness, we recorded electroencephalography signals to Asian and White faces with painful or neutral expressions from Chinese adults to assess neural activities underlying racial ingroup biases in empathy and spontaneous racial categorization of faces. We found that a frontal-central positive activity within 200 ms after face onset (P2) showed greater amplitudes to painful (vs. neutral) expressions of Asian compared with White faces and exhibited repetition suppression in response to White faces. These effects, however, were significantly reduced by creative mindset priming. Moreover, the creative mindset priming enhanced the P2 amplitudes to others' pain to a larger degree in participants who created more novel objects. The priming effects were not observed in control participants who copied objects constructed by others. Our findings suggest that creative mindsets may reduce racial ingroup biases in empathic neural responses by undermining spontaneous racial categorization of faces.

What's behind deliberation? The effect of task-related mind-wandering on post-incubation creativity

Previous studies have already suggested that the deliberate nature of Mind-Wandering (MW) is critical for promoting creative performance. However, the deliberate nature of MW may be mixed up with task-relatedness. Whether the deliberate nature or task-relatedness of MW is responsible for such positive influence remains unclear. The present study tried to address this issue by investigating the influence of deliberate MW (MW-d) and task-related MW (MW-r) on post-incubation creative performance. Our result showed that MW-d is positively correlated with MW-r and spontaneous MW (MW-s) is highly positively correlated with task-unrelated MW (MW-u). Meanwhile, after controlling the possible confounding variables (i.e., the pre-incubation creative performance, the performance during distraction task, and motivation on creative ideation), both MW-d and MW-r predicted participants' AUT performance after incubation. However, the prediction model based on MW-r was stable while the MW-d-based prediction model was not. These findings indicate that the task-relatedness of MW, instead of its deliberate nature, might have a positive influence on subsequent creative performance.

Don't Isolate Yourself in Workplace: A Serial Mediation Model of How Does Relationship Conflict Reduce Knowledge Employee's Creativity

Past studies have revealed that relationship conflict has negative effects on individual performance. To avoid the losses caused by such conflicts, individuals often choose to avoid interacting with coworkers instead of confronting the issues. However, our present study sheds light on the dark side of this avoidance strategy: it may diminish an individual's creativity. Our study aimed to examine the appropriate response for knowledge employees when faced with relationship conflict. The results indicate that relationship conflict triggers a sequential response, which significantly hampers the creativity of knowledge employees. Specifically, coworker ostracism and knowledge hoarding play serial mediating roles in the impact of relationship conflict on the creativity of knowledge employees. Furthermore, the level of emotional intelligence determines the ability of knowledge employees to effectively manage the negative consequences of relationship conflict. The results provide theoretical and practical insights that help to better explain the impact of relationship conflict on creativity.

A systematic framework of creative metacognition

Creative cognition does not just involve cognitive processes in direct service of the main task objective (e.g., idea generation), but also metacognitive processes that monitor and regulate cognition adaptively (e.g., evaluation of ideas and task performance, or development and selection of task strategies). Although metacognition is vital for creative performance, relevant work is sparse, which may be partly due to persistent ambiguities in the theoretical conceptualization of creative metacognition. Therefore, this article proposes a systematic framework of creative metacognition (CMC), which builds on recent advancements in metacognition theory and extends them to meet the specifics of creative cognition. The CMC framework consists of two dynamic components-monitoring and control-and a more static component of metacognitive knowledge, each subsuming metacognitive processes applying to the level of task, performance, and responses. We describe the presumed function of these metacognitive components in the creative process, present evidence in support of each, and discuss their association with related constructs, such as creative self-beliefs. We further highlight the dynamic interplay of metacognitive processes across task performance and identify promising avenues for future research.

The Manic Idea Creator? A Review and Meta-Analysis of the Relationship between Bipolar Disorder and Creative Cognitive Potential

Even though a relationship between psychopathology and creativity has been postulated since the time of ancient Greece, systematic meta-analyses on this topic are still scarce. Thus, the meta-analysis described here can be considered the first to date that specifically focuses on the relationship between creative potential, as measured by divergent thinking, and bipolar disorder, as opposed to psychopathology in general. An extensive literature search of 4670 screened hits identified 13 suitable studies, including a total of 42 effect sizes and 1857 participants. The random-effects model showed an overall significant, positive, yet diminutively small effect (d = 0.11, 95% CI: [0.002, 0.209], p = 0.045) between divergent thinking and bipolar disorder. A handful of moderators were examined, which revealed a significant moderating effect for bipolar status, as either euthymic (d = 0.14, p = 0.043), subclinical (d = 0.17, p = 0.001), manic (d = 0.25, p = 0.097), or depressed (d = -0.51, p < 0.001). However, moderator analyses should be treated with caution because of the observed confounding of moderators. Finally, none of the employed methods for publication-bias detection revealed any evidence for publication bias. We discuss further results, especially regarding the differences between subclinical and clinical samples.

Complex cognition and individual variability: a mixed methods study of the relationship between creativity and executive control

One of the methodological challenges of educational neuroscience is understanding real world cognition in the multifaceted environment of the classroom. Complex cognition does not simplify to processes (which might be satisfactorily measured in the lab) but to sets of activities, likely to vary between individuals, which involve the iterative use of multiple processes, as well as the environment, over an extended period of time. As such, studying complex cognition requires methodological flexibility; any single method is unlikely to provide complete answers. We illustrate this idea with our research exploring the relationship between executive control (EC) and creativity in primary school age children; in it, we used both qualitative and quantitative tools and a novel approach to bringing both sets of findings together. Quantitative findings helped inform 'how much' a participant could deploy EC or creative thinking, while qualitative findings told us more about 'how' they deployed EC in their creativity. Through triangulating findings, we gained insights which would have remained obscure using either approach alone; namely, first, that wide variation in how children deploy EC in creativity means that the same creative results can be achieved with very different levels of EC involvement, and second, that high levels of EC can limit creativity. We argue that, beyond the specific findings of this study, there might be useful broader methodological lessons for educational neuroscience. We also attempt to demystify mixed methods by showing that a multi-pronged approach is more feasible than many assume; for example, by using existing, familiar tools in novel ways. In our work, we redeployed well-established quantitative tests used in creativity research as stimuli for qualitative investigation. For educational neuroscience to evolve its understanding of complex cognition, we suggest it might benefit from being innovative, open-minded and ambitious in how it exploits the diversity of methodological tools available.

Direct and indirect effects of self-directed learning on creativity in healthcare undergraduates: a chain mediation model of openness to challenge and diversity and creative self-efficacy

Background

Creativity and self-directed learning (SDL) are prominent for undergraduate healthcare students to provide quality patient care in an increasingly complex healthcare environment. Research suggested that SDL is linked with creativity, yet the mechanism underlying the relationship between SDL and creativity has not been fully understood.

Objective

This study examined the relationship between SDL and creativity and constructed a chain mediation model to identify the mediating effect of openness to diversity and challenge (ODC) and creative self-efficacy (CSE).

Methods

Through convenience sampling, 575 healthcare undergraduates (average age = 19.28 years, SD = 1.124 years) were surveyed from Shandong Province in China. Creativity, SDL, ODC, and CSE were assessed using corresponding scales. Pearson's correlation analysis, hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis, a serial multiple mediation analysis, and bias-corrected percentile Bootstrap method were conducted by using structural equation modeling by AMOS 26.0.

Results

The direct path between SDL and creativity was significant. SDL can positively predict both ODC and CSE, and the latter two variables can significantly and positively predict creativity. ODC and CSE played a significant partial mediating role in the relationship between SDL and creativity. The mediating effect consists of three indirect effects: SDL → ODC → creativity (the mediating effect value is 0.193, p = 0.012), SDL → CSE → creativity (the mediating effect value is 0.096，p = 0.001), and SDL → ODC → CSE → creativity (the mediating effect value is 0.035, p = 0.031).

Conclusion

SDL can positively predict creativity. ODC and CSE had significant mediating effects between SDL and creativity, including single partial mediating effects of ODC and CSE and chain mediating effects of ODC-CSE.

Moderating Role of Creative Mindset in the Effect of Metacognitive Experience on Insight Problem Solving

Metacognitive experience, measured by processing fluency, contributes to divergent thinking performance; however, whether it exhibits varying effects on insight problem-solving remains unknown. Additionally, as individuals' interpretation of metacognitive experience is influenced by their creative mindset, whether creative mindset plays a role in the relationship between metacognitive experience and insight problem-solving is another issue. In Experiment 1, a Chinese logogriph task was used to investigate insight problem-solving performance. The font style of logogriphs (easy versus difficult) was used to alter the ease of processing. The results showed that individuals had lower performance accuracy for logogriphs presented in difficult font styles, suggesting the negative effect of metacognitive disfluency experience on logogriph solving. In Experiment 2, different creative mindsets (entity versus incremental) were activated in individuals via prime manipulation. Individuals with an incremental creative mindset had a significantly higher performance accuracy and longer reaction time for logogriphs presented in difficult font styles than individuals with an entity creative mindset, suggesting that an incremental creative mindset might counteract the negative effect of metacognitive disfluency experience on logogriphs solving. These findings suggest that metacognitive disfluency experience has a negative effect on insight problem-solving and that a creative mindset moderated this effect.

Psychosocial safety climate as a predictor of work engagement, creativity, innovation, and work performance: A case study of software engineers

Introduction

Creativity is vital for competitive advantage within technological environments facing the fourth industrial revolution. However, existing research on creativity has rarely addressed how a climate beneficial for worker psychological health, a psychosocial safety climate (PSC), could additionally stimulate the growth of workplace creativity, innovation, and performance in digital environments.

Method

To examine how individually perceived PSC influences subsequent work engagement promoting higher levels of computer-based radical and incremental creativity, innovation, and work performance, employees in a software engineering firm (N = 29, 86 observations) completed a weekly questionnaire for 4 consecutive weeks.

Results

At the between-person level PSC was positively related to average future weekly individual fluctuations of creativity (radical and incremental), work engagement, and job performance. Additionally weekly work engagement was related to future creativity (radical and incremental). Work engagement also mediated the between-person relationship between PSC and future creativity (both radical and incremental). PSC did not predict innovation.

Discussion

This study contributes to the theory on PSC, creativity, and work performance by elucidating the individual perceived PSC-creativity relationship and suggesting PSC systems as meaningful antecedents to digital work performance.

Effects of Openness on Incremental Versus Radical Creativity and the Moderating Role of Leader Behaviors

Abstract: Although openness to experience has been consistently related to employee creativity, we know less about how this relationship manifests when one makes a distinction between incremental creativity (i.e., minor modifications of existing practices) and radical creativity (i.e., major departures from existing practices). Our present work is driven by two expectations. First, we expect that openness more strongly relates to radical than incremental creativity. Second, we expect that the link between openness and incremental creativity becomes stronger when leaders display closing behaviors (i.e., they control adherence to rules) or they refrain from opening behaviors (i.e., they do not emphasize the importance of free experimentation). To test our propositions, we conducted four studies: one survey study with self-ratings of openness and creativity, one survey study with both self-ratings and other ratings of openness and creativity, one semi-experimental survey study, and one weekly diary survey study. Our studies largely provide support to the idea that openness has stronger links with radical than incremental creativity. Furthermore, our weekly study revealed that the link between openness and incremental creativity is stronger when closing leader behaviors are high and, at the same, opening leader behaviors are low. We discuss our findings and suggest how managerial practice can guide open employees to improve their potential for incremental creativity.

Executive functioning and divergent thinking predict creative problem-solving in young adults and elderlies

The role of executive functioning in creative thinking is under debate. Some authors suggested that increased inhibitory control, a component of executive functioning, is detrimental to creative solutions, whereas others argued that executive functions are central to creative problem-solving, thus questioning Guilford's classical distinction between divergent and convergent thinking. Executive functions decline with age. In this study, we investigated the contributions of executive functioning and its age-related decline and divergent thinking to creative problem-solving. To this aim, we divided our sample of sixty healthy adults into two age groups of young adults (20-26 years) and elderly (60-70 years) and we assessed their creative problem-solving abilities (using the compound remote associate problems) as well as other potential cognitive predictors of creative problem-solving (i.e., impulsivity, divergent thinking, verbal working memory, and decision-making style). A linear regression model revealed that the ability to solve problems creatively is negatively predicted by older age and impulsivity, while positively predicted by divergent thinking and verbal working memory. These findings reveal a combined contribution of executive functions and divergent thinking to creative problem-solving, suggesting that both convergent and divergent processes should be considered in interventions to contrast age-related decline.

Evaluative Skill in the Creative Process: A Cross-cultural Study

Evaluative skill is the ability to accurately judge ideas on creativity (or originality), which is a critical component of creativity. Various aspects of creativity have been examined cross-culturally, but little research has focused on evaluative skill. The first goal of this study was to examine the measurement invariance of evaluative skill assessments, which were based on two types of divergent thinking tests (Line Meanings and Uses), between American (n = 341) and Chinese (n = 345) college students. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses supported a two-factor model based on two types of evaluation tasks, and this model satisfied configural and weak invariance. However, partial strong invariance was satisfied only for the Uses evaluation task. Based on this evidence, our second goal was to explore the differences in evaluative skill between these two groups. Via latent mean comparisons, we found that American participants had better performance on evaluative skill based on the Uses evaluation task than their Chinese counterparts. Taken together, this study is one of the first to examine the cross-cultural differences in evaluative skill between American and Chinese adults. This study offered preliminary results showing some invariance in evaluative skill assessments across cultures and indicating cross-cultural differences in this ability.

The costs and benefits of psychedelics on cognition and mood

Anecdotal evidence has indicated that psychedelic substances may acutely enhance creative task performance, although empirical support for this claim is mixed at best. Clinical research has shown that psychedelics might have enduring effects on mood and well-being. However, there is no neurocognitive framework that ties acute changes in cognition to long-term effects in mood. In this review, we operationalize creativity within an emerging cognitive control framework and assess the current empirical evidence of the effects of psychedelics on creativity. Next, we leverage insights about the mechanisms and computations by which other psychoactive drugs act to enhance versus impair cognition, in particular to those that act on catecholamines, the neurophysiological consequences of which are relatively well understood. Finally, we use the same framework to link the suggested psychedelic-induced improvements in creativity with enduring psychedelic-induced improvements in mood.

How divergent are children's divergent movements? The role of cognition and expertise in a class-randomized cross-over trial

This study aimed at investigating (1) the cognitive and motor predictors of divergent movement ability (DMA) in childhood and (2) the role of sport and enriched physical education (PE) experience. Participants were 165 fifth graders, aged 10-11 years, with different histories (onset and duration) of participation in enriched PE. They were assessed in cognitive/attentional and motor/sport skills and active play/sport habits at baseline, and six months later in DMA. Results of regression analyses showed an overall prediction of DMA by sport practice and a nuanced prediction of individual DMA indices (fluency, flexibility, originality) by decision making and spatial attention ability. Linear mixed models revealed better DMA in children exposed to enriched PE, with differential effects on DMA indices depending on its duration and earlier/later onset. The results identify novel cognitive determinants of children's DMA and suggest that sport practice and experience of designed enrichment in PE may benefit DMA.

Challenges and understandings of creative practice in professional sport training

We conducted a qualitative study involving twelve expert sports coaches to explore and compare the range of creative practices they adopted during their professional activities. Their written responses to open-ended questions highlighted different interrelated dimensions of creative engagement in coaching sport, suggesting that efforts to instil creativity may initially focus on an individual athlete; they may often span a range of behaviours dedicated to efficiency; they may involve significant degrees of freedom and trust; and they cannot be captured by a single defining feature. We contextualise these findings in the light of recent literature in sports studies, performance science and creativity research, providing concrete examples based on the written statements provided by our participants. We conclude by offering insights for future research and coaching practice that may be relevant in broader domains.

Impacts of Cognitive Factors on Creativity Quality in Design: Identification from Performances in Recall, Association and Combination

The reason why people have different creativity quality levels may depend on their different performances relating to other cognitive factors that are important for creativity. This study was designed to identify the performance of three cognitive factors (recall, association, and combination) that a designer may use in a creative process and then identify how the differing performance for these cognitive factors will affect creativity quality levels. Seventy-one participants were recruited to undertake a design task and complete a semi-structured interview. The results indicate that, in a creative design process, similar performances in recall, association, and combination can result in differences in creativity quality level.

The influence of music environment on conceptual design creativity

Introduction

Creativity plays an important role in design. However, there have been mixed results about whether music, as an environmental stimulus, improves design creativity performance.

Methods

Participants were 57 design major students who were randomly assigned to one of three groups, with 19 students in each group: no music, pure music, and music with intelligible semantic information (unrelated to the task) playing in the background. Each participant completed a design task (design a tool for storing painting materials), with two phases in it, one that involved idea generation (divergent thinking) and one that involved idea evaluation (convergent thinking). Performance in the two phases was rated based on six indices of creativity (fluency; flexibility; adaptability; feasibility; usefulness; novelty) and overall design creativity (ODC).

Results

The results of one-way ANOVAs with Bonferroni correction showed that neither music environment had a significant influence on divergent thinking in idea generation nor convergent thinking in idea evaluation. However, both music environments had a significantly positive effect on novelty and ODC.

Discussion

We discuss the implications of our current results for fostering designers' creativity performance.

Investigating the involvement of cognitive control processes in innovative and adaptive creativity and their age-related changes

Introduction

Based on the two-factor model of creativity, two distinct types of creative problem solving can be differentiated: innovative ("do things differently") and adaptive ("do things better"). Flexible cognitive control is a crucial concept in connection with both general and specific styles of creativity: innovative problem-solving benefits from broader attention and flexible mental set shifting; while adaptive creativity relies on focused attention and persistent goal-oriented processes. We applied an informatively cued task-switching paradigm which is suitable for measuring different cognitive control processes and mechanisms like proactive and reactive control. We hypothesized that adaptive creativity is connected to effective proactive control processes, while innovative creativity is based on reactive task-execution. As we have found no previous evidence how age-related changes in cognitive control affects creative cognition; we also examined the effect of healthy aging on different problem-solving styles in an explorative way.

Methods

Our participants, 37 younger (18-30 years) and 37 older (60-75 years) adults, were divided into innovative and adaptive creative groups according to the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking's Figural Subtest (Hungarian version).

Results

Our results showed that among younger adults the adaptively creative group had larger cue-locked CNV component (effective preparatory activity connected to proactive control), while the innovatively creative group had a larger target-locked P3b component (effective target evaluation and categorization in line with reactive control) which supports a functional difference in the two creative styles. By contrast, in older adults innovative problem-solving showed larger mixing costs (less effective maintenance and selection of task sets), and the lack of trial type effect on target-locked N2b (target-induced goal reactivation and less effective conflict resolution); while adaptive problem-solving caused them to make fewer errors (accuracy-oriented behavior).

Discussion

All in all, innovative and adaptive creativity is based on distinct cognitive control mechanisms in both age-groups, but their processing level is affected by age-related changes.

The molecular genetic basis of creativity: a mini review and perspectives

Although creativity is one of the defining features of human species, it is just the beginning of an ambitious attempt for psychologists to understand its genetic basis. With ongoing efforts, great progress has been achieved in molecular genetic studies of creativity. In this mini review, we highlighted recent molecular genetic findings for both domain-general and domain-specific creativity, and provided some perspectives for future studies. It is expected that this work will provide an update on the knowledge regarding the molecular genetic basis of creativity, and contribute to the further development of this field.

Dopamine supports idea originality: the role of spontaneous eye blink rate on divergent thinking

The neurotransmitter dopamine plays a crucial role in human creative behaviour. Specifically, striatal dopamine seems to be associated with specific dimensions of divergent thinking performance, especially with categorical diversity (flexibility) of ideas. In experimental contexts, spontaneous Eye Blink Rate (sEBR) has been used as a proxy for striatal dopamine, and an inverted U-shape relationship between sEBR and flexibility has been demonstrated, such that a medium sEBR level predicts highest flexibility levels. The present study aimed at carrying out further investigations about the relationship between sEBR and idea generation through divergent thinking, specifically focusing on the relationship between idea originality and dopamine level, since originality is a key element for creativity. We asked 80 participants, whose sEBR at rest was measured, to perform an Alternative Uses Task (AUT) to measure their divergent thinking performance. Results revealed that the relationship between sEBR and originality, as measured through subjective ratings of external raters, followed an inverted U-shape function with medium sEBR being associated with highest originality scores. Moreover, and most importantly, we demonstrated that sEBR predicted originality through the mediation of flexibility. Our results provide further insights on the possible role of dopamine on divergent thinking performance, demonstrating that an adequate dopamine level may facilitate the generation of original ideas through the exploration of diverse conceptual categories (higher flexibility).

Influence of Analytic Processing on Divergent and Convergent Thinking Tasks: The Role of Rational and Experiential Thinking Styles

Scientific interest in the relationship between analytic processing and creativity has increased in recent years. However, there is conflicting evidence on whether analytic processing reduces or enhances creativity. We hypothesize that differences in creativity measurement paradigms (divergent or convergent thinking tasks) and the research orientation of analytic processing (dispositional or situational) may explain the conflicting findings. The present study aims to investigate how priming analytic processing affects individuals' performance on divergent and convergent thinking tasks and the moderating role of thinking styles. In Study 1 (N = 155), participants were assigned to either an analytic processing group or a control group and performed convergent thinking (Remote Associates Task) and divergent thinking (Alternative Uses Test) tasks after priming. In Study 2 (N = 119), we conducted a priming paradigm of analytic processing that differed from Study 1, and a personal experiential-rational thinking style was introduced as a moderator. Results showed that priming analytic processing promoted convergent thinking performance but decreased fluency and flexibility scores on the divergent thinking task (Study 1). Notably, the effect of priming analytic processing on divergent thinking performance was significant only for participants with higher levels of rational thinking style (Study 2). These results suggest that thinking styles and dimensions of creativity should be considered in the relationship between analytic processing and creativity.

Measuring flexibility: A text-mining approach

In creativity research, ideational flexibility, the ability to generate ideas by shifting between concepts, has long been the focus of investigation. However, psychometric work to develop measurement procedures for flexibility has generally lagged behind other creativity-relevant constructs such as fluency and originality. Here, we build from extant research to theoretically posit, and then empirically validate, a text-mining based method for measuring flexibility in verbal divergent thinking (DT) responses. The empirical validation of this method is accomplished in two studies. In the first study, we use the verbal form of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) to demonstrate that our novel flexibility scoring method strongly and positively correlates with traditionally used TTCT flexibility scores. In the second study, we conduct a confirmatory factor analysis using the Alternate Uses Task to show reliability and construct validity of our text-mining based flexibility scoring. In addition, we also examine the relationship between personality facets and flexibility of ideas to provide criterion validity of our scoring methodology. Given the psychometric evidence presented here and the practicality of automated scores, we recommend adopting this new method which provides a less labor-intensive and less costly objective measurement of flexibility.