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.

Membership change, idea generation, and group creativity: A motivated information processing perspective

Membership change has been found to stimulate collective idea generation but to not always benefit group creativity—the generation of final outcomes that are novel and useful. Based on motivated information processing theory, we propose that membership change challenges group members to generate more ideas, but that this only contributes to group creativity when members have high levels of prosocial motivation and are willing to process and integrate each other’s ideas. In a laboratory study of 56 student groups, we found that incremental, but not radical, idea generation mediated the positive effect of membership change on group creativity, and only when group members were prosocially motivated. The present study points to different roles of incremental versus radical ideas and underscores the importance of accounting for prosocial motivation in groups for reaping the benefits of membership change in relation to group creativity.

Self-Evaluative and Other-Directed Emotional and Behavioral Responses to Gossip About the Self

Gossip, or informal talk about others who are not present, is omnipresent in daily interactions. As such, people who are targeted are likely to hear some gossip about themselves, which may have profound implications for their well-being. We investigated the emotions and behavioral intentions of people who hear performance-related gossip about themselves. Based on the affective events theory, we predicted that gossip incidents have strong emotional consequences for their targets and that these emotional responses trigger different behaviors. Two scenario studies (N₁ = 226, M_age = 21.76; N₂ = 204, M_age = 34.11) and a critical incident study (N = 240, M_age = 37.04) compared targets' responses to positive and negative gossip. Whereas, targets of positive gossip experienced positive self-conscious emotions (e.g., pride), targets of negative gossip experienced negative self-conscious emotions (e.g., guilt), especially when they had low core self-evaluations. In turn, these negative self-conscious emotions predicted repair intentions. Positive gossip also led to positive other-directed emotions (e.g., liking), which predicted intentions to affiliate with the gossiper. Negative gossip, however, also generated other-directed negative emotions (e.g., anger), especially for targets with high reputational concerns, which in turn predicted retaliation intentions against the gossiper. This pattern of emotional reactions to self-relevant gossip was found to be unique and different from emotional reactions to self-relevant feedback. These results show that gossip has self-evaluative and other-directed emotional consequences, which predict how people intend to behaviorally react after hearing gossip about themselves.

Linking Self-Construal to Creativity: The Role of Approach Motivation and Cognitive Flexibility

While some evidence has linked the way individuals define themselves in relation to others (independent versus interdependent self-construal) to creativity, little is known about the underlying mechanism in explaining why and how self-construal influences creativity. Integrating approach-avoidance motivation theory and the dual pathway to creativity model, this research focuses on the motivational and cognitive mechanisms that transfer the effects of self-construal on creativity. Specifically, we expect that independent self-construal is a driver of creativity because it facilitates individuals' approach motivation, which in turn increases flexible information processing. To test the three-stage mediation model, one experiment and one survey study were conducted. In Study 1, in a sample of 231 Dutch students, self-construal was manipulated by a story-writing task; approach-avoidance motivation, cognitive flexibility, and creativity were measured. In Study 2, self-construal, approach (and avoidance) motivation, cognitive flexibility, and creativity were all measured in a second sample of Dutch students (N = 146). The results of two studies supported the three-stage mediation model, showing that approach motivation and cognitive flexibility together mediated the effects of self-construal on creativity. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

Engaging in Creativity Broadens Attentional Scope

Previous studies have shown that creativity is enhanced by a broad attentional scope, defined as an ability to utilize peripheral stimuli and process information globally. We propose that the reverse relationship also holds, and that breadth of attention also is a consequence of engaging in a creative activity. In Study 1, participants showed increased breadth of attention in a visual scanning task after performing a divergent thinking task as opposed to an analytic thinking task. In Study 2, participants recognized peripheral stimuli displayed during the task better after performing a divergent thinking task as compared to an analytic task, whereas recognition performance of participants performing a task that involves a mix of divergent and analytic thinking (the Remote Associates Test) fell in between. Additionally, in Study 2 (but not in Study 1), breadth of attention was positively correlated with performance in a divergent thinking task, but not with performance in an analytic thinking task. Our findings suggest that the adjustment of the cognitive system to task demands manifests at a very basic, perceptual level, through changes in the breadth of visual attention. This paper contributes a new, motivational perspective on attentional breadth and discusses it as a result of adjusting cognitive processing to the task requirements, which contributes to effective self-regulation.

How the Group Affects the Mind: A Cognitive Model of Idea Generation in Groups

A model called search for ideas in associative memory (SIAM) is proposed to account for various research findings in the area of group idea generation. The model assumes that idea generation is a repeated search for ideas in associative memory, which proceeds in 2 stages (knowledge activation and idea production), and is controlled through negative feedback loops and cognitive failures (trials in which no idea is generated). We show that (a) turn taking (production blocking) interferes with both stages of the process; (b) ideas suggested by others aid the activation of problem-relevant knowledge; and (c) cognitive failures are important determinants of brainstorming persistence, satisfaction, and enjoyment. Implications for group decision making and group recall are discussed.

Female Dominance in Human Groups

Compared to men, women less often attain high-level positions and generally have lower status in society. In smaller groups, the relative influence of men and women depends on gender composition, but research is inconclusive regarding the relation between gender composition and female influence. Studies of nonhuman primates show that when females are in the minority they become more dominant over males, but only when conflict levels are high, because under these conditions men fight among each other. Similarly, here we show, in two studies with mixed gender groups ( N = 90 and N = 56), that women were more dominant in groups with a high percentage of men and high levels of conflict. This depends on gender differences in aggressive behavior, inducing more aggressive behavior in women eliminated this increase in female dominance. Our work reveals that status relations between the genders among nonhuman primates can generalize to humans.

Creativiteit en innovatie

Creativity and innovation: Introduction to the theme

In this introduction to the special issue of Gedrag & Organisatie we provide a brief overview of the state-of-the-science in the area of creativity and innovation. We then introduce the six articles in the special issue. We end with a short conclusion.

Tell Me the Gossip

We investigate the self-evaluative function of competence-related gossip for individuals who receive it. Using the Self-Concept Enhancing Tactician (SCENT) model, we propose that individuals use evaluative information about others (i.e., gossip) to improve, promote, and protect themselves. Results of a critical incident study and an experimental study showed that positive gossip had higher self-improvement value than negative gossip, whereas negative gossip had higher self-promotion value and raised higher self-protection concerns than positive gossip. Self-promotion mediated the relationship between gossip valence and pride, while self-protection mediated the relationship between gossip valence and fear, although the latter mediated relationship emerged for receivers with mastery goals rather than performance goals. These results suggest that gossip serves self-evaluative functions for gossip receivers and triggers self-conscious emotions.

Leaving a legacy neutralizes negative effects of death anxiety on creativity

Mortality salience (MS) can lead to a paralyzing terror, and to cope with this, people strive for literal or symbolic immortality. As MS leads to conformity and narrow-mindedness, we predicted that MS would lead to lower creativity, unless creativity itself could lead to leaving a legacy and thus symbolic immortality. We show that this pattern holds (Experiment 1), but only when creativity is socially valued (Experiment 2). Finally, especially individualistic people are more creative under MS when they can leave a legacy than when they cannot, and high originality predicts subsequent accessibility of death thoughts (Experiment 3). Implications are discussed.

Avoidance Motivation and Conservation of Energy

Compared to approach motivation, avoidance motivation evokes vigilance, attention to detail, systematic information processing, and the recruitment of cognitive resources. From a conservation of energy perspective it follows that people would be reluctant to engage in the kind of effortful cognitive processing evoked by avoidance motivation, unless the benefits of expending this energy outweigh the costs. We put forward three empirically testable propositions concerning approach and avoidance motivation, investment of energy, and the consequences of such investments. Specifically, we propose that compared to approach-motivated people, avoidance-motivated people (a) carefully select situations in which they exert such cognitive effort, (b) only perform well in the absence of distracters that occupy cognitive resources, and (c) become depleted after exerting such cognitive effort.

Time Pressure Undermines Performance More Under Avoidance Than Approach Motivation

Four experiments were designed to test the hypothesis that performance is particularly undermined by time pressure when people are avoidance motivated. The results supported this hypothesis across three different types of tasks, including those well suited and those ill suited to the type of information processing evoked by avoidance motivation. We did not find evidence that stress-related emotions were responsible for the observed effect. Avoidance motivation is certainly necessary and valuable in the self-regulation of everyday behavior. However, our results suggest that given its nature and implications, it seems best that avoidance motivation is avoided in situations that involve (time) pressure.

Motivated information processing and group decision refusal

Group decision making has attracted much scientific interest, but few studies have investigated group decisions that do not get made. Based on the Motivated Information Processing in Groups model, this study analysed the effect of epistemic motivation (low vs. high) and social motivation (proself vs. prosocial) on group decision refusal (the decision to delay choice and refuse all options). In a laboratory experiment, groups had to negotiate diverse preferences and choose one of three options or refuse all. When epistemic motivation was low decisions were made quickly, whereas high epistemic motivation more often led to refusal. This effect was partly mediated by perceived information insufficiency. Social motivation did not affect refusal, but proself motivation led to longer discussions, greater task conflict and more forcing behavior than prosocial motivation. Further, forcing was negatively related to decision refusal, but only when epistemic motivation was low.

Creative performance under pressure

Creativity is the cornerstone of organizational success in today’s economy. At the same time, employees face considerable work pressure, which might undermine their creativity. This article integrates theoretical perspectives from the stress and creativity literatures to develop a new model that conceptualizes the effects of work pressure on creative performance. Our model proposes a double-mediated process by which pressure triggers challenge and threat appraisals, which, in turn, influence creativity by shaping employees’ cognitive flexibility and/or persistence. Further, we theorize that available resources and employee commitment are important moderators. We illustrate our model with the potential effects of leadership on the association between pressure and creativity. Implications for further empirical and theoretical research are discussed.

Working Memory Benefits Creative Insight, Musical Improvisation, and Original Ideation Through Maintained Task-Focused Attention

Anecdotes from creative eminences suggest that executive control plays an important role in creativity, but scientific evidence is sparse. Invoking the Dual Pathway to Creativity Model, the authors hypothesize that working memory capacity (WMC) relates to creative performance because it enables persistent, focused, and systematic combining of elements and possibilities (persistence). Study 1 indeed showed that under cognitive load, participants performed worse on a creative insight task. Study 2 revealed positive associations between time-on-task and creativity among individuals high but not low in WMC, even after controlling for general intelligence. Study 3 revealed that across trials, semiprofessional cellists performed increasingly more creative improvisations when they had high rather than low WMC. Study 4 showed that WMC predicts original ideation because it allows persistent (rather than flexible) processing. The authors conclude that WMC benefits creativity because it enables the individual to maintain attention focused on the task and prevents undesirable mind wandering.

Moeilijke beslissingen

Difficult decisions

Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 24, September 2011, nr. 3, pp. 304-315.In the scientific literature, there is no consensus about the causes of (subjectively experienced) decision difficulty. It is important, however, to know more about this, because more resources are invested in difficult rather than easy decisions, because difficult decisions are associated with stress, and because decision difficulty affects people’s choice behavior. I present a theory about decision difficulty, which consists of two stages. In the first stage, the decision maker tries to uncover which of the alternatives is sufficiently distinct from other alternatives. In the second stage, the decision maker evaluates whether the favorite alternative in fact is good enough. This theory is illustrated with examples of field and laboratory research.

Motivated information processing, social tuning, and group creativity

The extent to which groups are creative has wide implications for their overall performance, including the quality of their problem solutions, judgments, and decisions. To further understanding of group creativity, we integrate the motivated information processing in groups model (De Dreu, Nijstad, & Van Knippenberg, 2008) with work on epistemic social tuning (Lunn, Sinclair, Whitchurch, & Glenn, 2007). Three propositions were advanced: (a) Groups produce more ideas when members have high rather than low epistemic motivation, especially when members also have a prosocial rather than pro-self motivation; (b) these ideas are more original, appropriate, or feasible when a group norm favors originality, appropriateness, or feasibility; and (c) originality is valued more in individualistic cultures (e.g., the Netherlands), whereas appropriateness is valued more in collectivist cultures (e.g., Korea). Four studies involving 3-person groups generating ideas supported these propositions: Epistemic motivation (mild vs. intense time pressure; presence vs. absence of process accountability) stimulated production and originality, especially when prosocial rather than pro-self motives were present and participants were Dutch or originality norms were experimentally primed. When appropriateness norms were primed or participants were Korean, epistemic motivation stimulated production and appropriateness, especially when prosocial rather than pro-self motives were present. We discuss implications for research on group processes and for work on culture and creativity.

Behavioral Activation Links to Creativity Because of Increased Cognitive Flexibility

Previous work suggests that trait behavioral activation may link to creativity, a possibility the authors empirically examine in this article. This research is grounded in the dual pathway to creativity model and experiments on approach orientation, and the authors propose that behavioral activation potentiates creativity when and because it facilitates global and flexible processing. Four experiments support this hypothesis and also reveal that when external cues sustain or facilitate local and bottom-up processing, trait behavioral activation negatively relates to creativity. Possible explanations and avenues for new research are discussed.

Stemming, motivationele oriëntatie, fit en creativiteit: De rol van mentale activering

Mood, motivational orientation, fit, and creativity: The role of mental activation

M. Baas, C.K.W. De Dreu, & B.A. Nijstad, Gedrag & Organisatie, volume 23, March 2010, nr. 1, pp. 00-00.

This article aims to increase our understanding of the ways mood and motivational states influence creativity. Based on the dual pathway to creativity model, we argue that creativity is function of flexibility (the number of content categories that is surveyed), and of persistence (the exploration of a few content categories in great depth). Second, the model argues that affective and motivational states that activate the individual (e.g., happiness, anger, fear, approach states, unsuccessful avoidance motivation) enhance creativity as compared to motivational states that deactivate the individual (e.g., sadness, relaxed state, successful avoidance). We discuss a series of experiments that support these predictions. Furthermore, the positive effects of activating states are stronger when the creativity task fits the motivational state. We end with practical implications for managers and policy makers about how to boost employee creativity.

Mental set and creative thought in social conflict: threat rigidity versus motivated focus

According to the traditional threat-rigidity reasoning, people in social conflict will be less flexible, less creative, more narrow-minded, and more rigid in their thinking when they adopt a conflict rather than a cooperation mental set. The authors propose and test an alternative, motivated focus account that better fits existing evidence. The authors report experimental results inconsistent with a threat-rigidity account, but supporting the idea that people focus their cognitive resources on conflict-related material more when in a conflict rather than a cooperation mental set: Disputants with a conflict (cooperation) set have broader (smaller) and more (less) inclusive cognitive categories when the domain of thought is (un)related to conflict (Experiment 1a-1b). Furthermore, they generate more, and more original competition tactics (Experiments 2-4), especially when they have low rather than high need for cognitive closure. Implications for conflict theory, for motivated information processing, and creativity research are discussed.

A meta-analysis of 25 years of mood-creativity research: hedonic tone, activation, or regulatory focus?

This meta-analysis synthesized 102 effect sizes reflecting the relation between specific moods and creativity. Effect sizes overall revealed that positive moods produce more creativity than mood-neutral controls (r= .15), but no significant differences between negative moods and mood-neutral controls (r= -.03) or between positive and negative moods (r= .04) were observed. Creativity is enhanced most by positive mood states that are activating and associated with an approach motivation and promotion focus (e.g., happiness), rather than those that are deactivating and associated with an avoidance motivation and prevention focus (e.g., relaxed). Negative, deactivating moods with an approach motivation and a promotion focus (e.g., sadness) were not associated with creativity, but negative, activating moods with an avoidance motivation and a prevention focus (fear, anxiety) were associated with lower creativity, especially when assessed as cognitive flexibility. With a few exceptions, these results generalized across experimental and correlational designs, populations (students vs. general adult population), and facet of creativity (e.g., fluency, flexibility, originality, eureka/insight). The authors discuss theoretical implications and highlight avenues for future research on specific moods, creativity, and their relationships.

Choosing None of the Above: Persistence of Negativity after Group Discussion and Group Decision Refusal

Within psychology and other disciplines, group decision making is a much-studied topic. However, the conditions in which groups do not decide but rather refuse to choose among available options have not been studied systematically. This research begins to fill this void, studying the effects of the initial opinions of group members on group decision refusal. Based on the common knowledge effect, it is predicted and found that groups will often refuse all available options when group members are initially negative about the options. It is further found that, when initial opinions are negative, positive information entered during group discussion does not have much impact. The implications of this negativity bias are discussed.

Hedonic tone and activation level in the mood-creativity link: toward a dual pathway to creativity model

To understand when and why mood states influence creativity, the authors developed and tested a dual pathway to creativity model; creative fluency (number of ideas or insights) and originality (novelty) are functions of cognitive flexibility, persistence, or some combination thereof. Invoking work on arousal, psychophysiological processes, and working memory capacity, the authors argue that activating moods (e.g., angry, fearful, happy, elated) lead to more creative fluency and originality than do deactivating moods (e.g., sad, depressed, relaxed, serene). Furthermore, activating moods influence creative fluency and originality because of enhanced cognitive flexibility when tone is positive and because of enhanced persistence when tone is negative. Four studies with different mood manipulations and operationalizations of creativity (e.g., brainstorming, category inclusion tasks, gestalt completion tests) support the model.

Hedonic tone and activation level in the mood-creativity link: toward a dual pathway to creativity model

To understand when and why mood states influence creativity, the authors developed and tested a dual pathway to creativity model; creative fluency (number of ideas or insights) and originality (novelty) are functions of cognitive flexibility, persistence, or some combination thereof. Invoking work on arousal, psychophysiological processes, and working memory capacity, the authors argue that activating moods (e.g., angry, fearful, happy, elated) lead to more creative fluency and originality than do deactivating moods (e.g., sad, depressed, relaxed, serene). Furthermore, activating moods influence creative fluency and originality because of enhanced cognitive flexibility when tone is positive and because of enhanced persistence when tone is negative. Four studies with different mood manipulations and operationalizations of creativity (e.g., brainstorming, category inclusion tasks, gestalt completion tests) support the model.