Contemporary Studies on the Concept of Creativity: the East and the West

This article reviews contemporary studies on the concept of creativity across two cultures—Eastern (Asian) cultures and Western (American and European) cultures — by examining two bodies of literature. One is on people's implicit theories of creativity across different cultures and the other is on cross‐cultural studies of creativity. Studies on implicit theories of creativity in the East suggest that many Asians have similar but not identical conceptions of creativity to many people in the West. Cross‐cultural studies of creativity reveal that Easterners and Westerners differ, on average, in their divergent‐thinking performance and creative expressions. A view of creativity as relatively culture‐specific is presented and the appropriateness of using divergent‐thinking tests to measure creativity is discussed.     

Implicit Theories of Creativity in Higher Education: A Constructivist Study

A qualitative constructivist study was conducted to explore university teachers’ implicit theories of creativity. The aim of the study was to understand how university teachers (NL?=?46) define creativity and perceive its manifestations and development. University teachers’ conceptions of creativity were elicited using the Implicit Theories of Creativity Questionnaire (ITC-Q). The qualitative analysis resulted in five types of implicit theories of creativity and its development: individualistic theories, activity theories, result-oriented theories, relational theories, and growth theories. By including a new theoretical position, target group, and a methodological framework, the study broadened the dialogue about creativity and its development in higher education.     

大学生创造性内隐观的调查研究——关于高创造性者的特征

本研究采用社会效度的方法,对大学生的创造性内隐观进行了调查研究,结果发现：1．大学生的创造性内隐观所涉及的范围广泛,涵盖了认知、人格的许多方面;2．经因素分析把大学生的创造性内隐观可以概括为十二个因素,分别是：道德品质、才情、异常人格、独创力、探究、自主敢为性、思维发散性、知识经验、勤勉、问题发现、智力、自强,其中道德品质和勤勉为中国大学生所特有。3．不同专业和性别的大学生在上述诸因素上内隐观总体差异显著,并且二者交互作用总体显著,在各具体因素上内隐观有些也存在不一致。     

Consumers' attributions and brand evaluations in product‐harm crises: The role of implicit theories of personality

This study aims to examine the moderating role of implicit theories of personality in the relationship between corporate recovery strategy (i.e., support versus stonewalling) and consumers' attributions (and brand evaluations). It is suggested that consumers' implicit theories about the fixedness/malleability of personality can affect consumers' attributions and brand evaluations during a product‐harm crisis. In addition, corporate image (i.e., strong versus weak) can moderate the influence of the role of implicit theories of personality. Two experiments were conducted to examine the proposed hypotheses. Results of Experiment 1 show that consumers who endorse entity theory (i.e., entity theorists) are likely to attribute crisis as more internal, stable, and controllable, particularly when they do not have any prior knowledge about the firm. The entity theorists would have more negative brand evaluations than incremental theorists (who endorse incremental theory), when “support” strategy was used by the firm. Results of Experiment 2 show that entity theorists are prone to have more external (internal) and unstable (stable) attributions toward a firm with a strong (weak) corporate image. Furthermore, entity theorists would provide more positive brand evaluations than incremental theorists when “stonewalling” strategy was used by a firm with strong corporate image, but not when “support” strategy was used by a firm with weak corporate image. Managerial implications are provided to managers with regard to product‐harm crisis and recovery strategies. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中学生创造性内隐观的调查研究

本研究运用社会效度的方法,对中学生的创造性内隐观进行了调查研究,结果发现:1.中学生的创造性内隐观所涉及的范围广泛,涵盖了认知、人格等许多方面;2.在创造性内隐观上,高中生和初中生差异显著,重点中学和非重点中学的学生差异显著,男生和女生差异显著,这种差异不仅表现在总体上,还表现在许多具体的特征上;并且,各因素间交互作用显著,一种因素对创造性内隐观许多方面的影响通常会随其他因素的变化而变化。这些发现不仅加强了我们对中学生创造性内隐观的了解,还使我们认识到创造性内隐观的可塑性,这对我们培养中学生正确的创造性观、培养学生的创造性和创新精神将具有重要的意义。     

Personality and Creativity: The Dual Pathway to Creativity Model and a Research Agenda

To better understand the relation between personality traits and creativity, we invoke the Dual‐Pathway to Creativity model (DPCM) that identifies two pathways to creative outcomes: (1) flexible processing of information (cognitive flexibility) and (2) persistent probing, and systematically and incrementally combining elements and possibilities (cognitive persistence). DPCM further proposes that dispositional or situational variables may influence creativity through either their effects on flexibility or persistence. Here, we propose the idea that approach‐related traits (e.g., openness to experience, extraversion, positive affectivity, and power‐motivation) may lead to greater creativity because they link to enhanced cognitive flexibility, whereas avoidance‐related traits (e.g., negative affectivity and neuroticism) under the right circumstances may lead to greater creativity because they link to enhanced cognitive persistence. Empirical support for this proposition is discussed, and a research agenda for future work on personality and creativity is set.     

Creating Through Deviancy or Adjustment? The Link between Personality Profile Normativeness and Creativity

Does deviancy or adjustment predict creativity? To address this question, we tested the association between personality profile normativeness (similarity between one's personality profile and the average profile—a proxy for the deviancy–adjustment continuum) and creativity across four different samples (total N = 348 768). We used a wide range of creativity measures, including self‐reported, informant‐reported, behavioural, and occupational creativity, as well as several essential statistical controls (i.e., demographics, socio‐economic background, intelligence, and life satisfaction). Furthermore, we employed both cross‐sectional and longitudinal designs, including samples of college students and representative adult populations. We found that people who had more normative personality profiles were more creative. However, this association only held within modality (i.e. when both personality and creativity were either self‐reported or informant‐reported). We did not find robust associations between personality profile normativeness and laboratory‐based behavioural measures of creativity, occupational creativity, or creative achievements. We discuss alternative explanations for the observed adjustment–creativity link, specifically, implicit theories of creativity and person perception biases (halo effects). Notably, the findings did not support the idea that deviancy breeds creativity, suggesting that the famed ‘mad genius’ hypothesis might not hold among the general population. © 2019 European Association of Personality Psychology     

The compatibility heuristic in non-categorical hypothetical reasoning: Inferences between conditionals and disjunctions

A new theory explains how people make hypothetical inferences from a premise consistent with several alternatives to a conclusion consistent with several alternatives. The key proposal is that people rely on a heuristic that identifies compatible possibilities. It is tested in 7 experiments that examine inferences between conditionals and disjunctions. Participants accepted inferences between conditionals and inclusive disjunctions when a compatible possibility was immediately available, in their binary judgments that a conclusion followed or not (Experiment 1a) and ternary judgments that included it was not possible to know (Experiment 1b). The compatibility effect was amplified when compatible possibilities were more readily available, e.g., for ‘A only if B’ conditionals (Experiment 2). It was eliminated when compatible possibilities were not available, e.g., for ‘if and only if A B’ bi-conditionals and exclusive disjunctions (Experiment 3). The compatibility heuristic occurs even for inferences based on implicit negation e.g., ‘A or B, therefore if C D’ (Experiment 4), and between universals ‘All A’s are B’s’ and disjunctions (Experiment 5a) and universals and conditionals (Experiment 5b). The implications of the results for alternative theories of the cognitive processes underlying hypothetical deductions are discussed.     

Parents' and Teachers' Implicit Theories of Children's Creativity: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

ABSTRACT: A social validation methodology was applied across two cultures to examine the implicit theories of parents and teachers. Adults (N = 150) from the United States and India were rated on 68 adjectives for creativity and desirability. The results indicated that all groups distinguished between indicative and contraindicative aspects of creativity and, for the most part, viewed creative traits desirably. These results were qualified by the adjectives that received high ratings for creativity but significantly lower ratings for desirability. These provided evidence that creativity and desirability are related yet separate constructs and that parents and teachers recognize that some traits associated with creativity may be undesirable. Multiple analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed significant differences between the United States and India for intellectual and attitudinal clusters of adjectives, p < .001; however, parent and teacher differences were not found, p > .05. These findings support the notion that implicit theories are influenced by cultural traditions and expectations.     

Teachers' Conceptions of Creativity and Creative Students

Teachers' conceptions of creativity and creative students were investigated. Questionnaires were administered to elementary school teachers to examine their attitudes, beliefs, and current classroom practices. Teachers were found to possess inaccurate concepts regarding what constitutes creativity and revealed conflicts with the classroom behaviors demonstrated by creative students. The paradox between teachers' reported support for creativity enrichment and virtual lack of related classroom practice is explored as a result of multiple misconceptions and contributing variables.     

Conceptions of Creativity and Relations with Judges' Intelligence and Personality

The aim of this study is to describe naïve conceptions of creativity and offer some explanation for their variability. Two methods are used to analyze conceptions of creativity. The first one consists of analyzing adjectives that are associated by naïve judges with the notion of creativity of an advertisement. The second one consists of predicting the evaluation of creative level of advertisements by naïve judges, through the assessment of dimensions such as the originality of these advertisements or the quality of their design. Results show that with both methods, originality is always the most characteristic dimension of creativity. Moreover, the results show that the variability of the importance given to the dimensions of creativity is linked to certain characteristics of judges. In particular, factor g is positively related to the weight given to originality in creativity. A personality trait, preference for novelty, is also positively associated with greater weight for originality in creativity judgments.     

小学教师的创造力培养观与创造性教学行为的关系:教学监控能力的中介作用

用创造力培养观、教学监控能力和创造性教学行为问卷对430名小学教师进行调查,考察三者之间的关系,并着重对教学监控能力在其中的中介作用进行分析。结果表明:(1)创造力培养观、教学监控能力及其各个维度对创造性教学行为都有正向预测作用;(2)教学监控能力的计划准备性、控制调节性、评价反馈性、课后反省性及作为一个整体在创造力培养观与创造性教学行为之间均具有显著的中介效应。这一发现提示教师培训工作应重视教师教学监控能力的实际增长,这样才能使教师已经接受的创造教育理念落实到创造性教学行为上。     

A Review on the Study of Creativity in Singapore

This paper reviews the study of creativity in Singapore. Three questions are asked. What is the current status of the study of creativity in Singapore? What kinds of creativity studies have been conducted? What are the future directions of Singaporean creativity research? PsycLIT and Eric databases, as well as resources in Singapore libraries such as journals, proceedings, and books are searched. The study of creativity is grouped into five categories, namely conceptual framework, conceptions of creativity (empirical), creative competence (empirical), creativity programs, and creative pedagogy. This review intends to contribute to the literature of creativity and the understanding of human creativity. Future directions of Singapore's creativity research should address several issues including theories or models, methods and instruments, the sample, research agenda, and research network.     

Identity and Creativity

Emerging adulthood is a period for exploration of identity aspects including occupational identity, and creative activity may contribute to or result from this exploration. Grounded in several conceptions of identity, particularly that of Erik Erikson, this research tested the prediction that identity processes predict creativity. In 2 studies (N = 250), university students completed measures of identity (Berzonsky's Identity Styles Inventory; Cheek's Aspects of Identity Questionnaire), plus creative potential (Creative Personality Scale), accomplishments (behavior checklist and open-ended listing), and products (drawings, stories). In keeping with prediction, these findings demonstrated that those who are information-seeking in style and emphasize their personal identity have the greatest potential creativity and evidence the greatest number of creative accomplishments in their young lives, whereas those emphasizing normative or collective identities evidenced fewer accomplishments. These identity variables contributed over and above the effects of gender and verbal ability. Results fit well with past findings in the creativity literature but represent a new direction for identity research and theory.     

a new typology of deviance: integrating normative and reactivist definitions of deviance

The concept of positive deviance is marginalized in deviance literature by the focus on negative deviance and the absence of comprehensive conceptions of deviance. Current conceptions of positive deviance simply parallel definitions of negative deviance, namely normative and reactivist conceptions. Normative definitions posit positive deviance as behaviors and attributes that exceed normative expectations (e.g., overconformity), such as overachieving students. Reactivist definitions view positive deviance as positively evaluated behaviors and attributes, such as athletic talent. We propose a new typology, which cross-classifies reactivist and normative definitions of deviance and more precisely distinguishes positive deviance, along with three other categories of deviance. Negative deviance, the traditional focus of the sociology of deviance, refers to behaviors that involve underconformity or nonconformity to norms and negative evaluations. Rate-busting refers to overconformity that is negatively evaluated. Deviance admiration refers to underconformity that is positively evaluated. Positive deviance refers to overconformity that is positively evaluated. This typology compensates for deficiencies in the separate conceptions of deviance by highlighting their contradictions (e.g., reactivists fail to consider rate-busting; normative theorists ignore deviance admiration). Current and historical examples in each category illustrate the utility of the new typology. The typology also accommodates the contextual nature of deviance, accentuates the role of power in defining deviance, and suggests the value of general theories of behavior as opposed to specific theories of ''deviant behavior.''     

创造力有其“阴暗面”

创造力有其“阴暗面”。从产品角度而言,创造力可产出伤害性或消极的产品;从个体角度而言,高创造力者可能具有一些消极特征,如精神疾病易感性强、宜人性差、说谎、不诚信等;从情境角度而言,高创造力表现可能与不信任感、生存危机感、社会拒绝等消极因素有关。未来研究应开发高生态效度的恶意创造力测评工具,改进计算恶意创造力水平的算法,探索消极个体特征和消极情境因素作用于创造性思维的认知与神经机制。     

Implicit and explicit age cues influence the evaluation of job applications

In the hiring process, older job seekers are often at a disadvantage when compared to younger job seekers: They receive less callbacks to applications, less invitations to job interviews, and fewer job offers. This phenomenon has often been demonstrated by varying explicit cues such as the date of birth. Less studied, but also influential are implicit age cues (e.g., age-stereotypic characteristics or activities in applicant profiles). Across a series of three studies, we addressed both forms of age cues in job applications. We explored the influence of explicit age information (20 years or 60 years) and implicit age profiles (age-neutral, young, or old job-relevant characteristics) on hiring decisions in hypothetical scenarios and tested the effect of a short anti-discrimination prompt. Applicants’ age (i.e., the explicit age cue) reduced the hiring likelihood ratings irrespective of implicit age profiles. The implicit age profiles influenced the hypothetical hiring decisions by their age association and by the stereotypical relevance of individual characteristics (e.g., charismatic as an age-neutral characteristic is stereotypically relevant for a leadership position). Applicants with an implicit old profile were less likely hired than applicants with an implicit young profile when the hiring goal was to increase profit and when no particular job status was specified. The anti-discrimination prompt significantly reduced age discrimination. Ageism in the hiring process is not only a matter of explicit age cues, but also of implicit age cues. Raising awareness for ageism and prompting to disregard age could well diminish discriminatory behavior also in real hiring decisions.     

Revisiting the Investment Theory of Creativity

This research further examines Sternberg and Lubart's (1995) investment theory of creativity by testing the newly constructed Multifaceted Assessment of Creativity (MAC). The MAC measures the extent to which people take into account the 6 resources for creativity (intelligence, knowledge, intellectual styles, personality, motivation, and environment) when they evaluate (a) hypothetical cases and (b) the importance of the six resources for identifying creativity. Two forms of the MAC (one assessing school boys and the other assessing school girls) were administered to 270 (120 male and 150 female) Chinese university students. Overall, results strongly supported the investment theory of creativity. Meanwhile, the 2 types of evaluation tasks yielded diverse results centered on the importance of intelligence and of styles. Furthermore, differential expectations were expressed for boys versus girls regarding what counts in creativity.     

Cultural Influence on Creativity: The Relationship between Asian Culture (Confucianism) and Creativity among Korean Educators

Creativity is a very complex interaction among a person, a field, and a culture (Csikszentmihalyi, 1988). People vary in their native capacity for creativity; however, an individual's interaction with the macrocosm can foster creative expression. East Asian cultures, which include Korean culture, are based upon the principals of Confucianism. The impact of Confucianism on creativity is reviewed and the relationship between Confucianism and creativity was explored in the present study. The study involved comparing 184 Korean educators' scores on a measure of Confucianism (Eastern‐Western Perspective Scale) with their scores on a measure of creativity (Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking‐Figural). The results indicate that Confucianism is negatively related to creativity. Specifically, some elements of Confucianism, Unconditional Obedience, Gender Inequality, Gender Role Expectations, and Suppression of Expression, may present cultural blocks to creativity. Further, Confucianism was found to be negatively related to Adaptive creative type and Creative Streangths, but not Innovative creative type, which indicates that Adaptive creative type may be more sensitive to, and thus more influenced by, culture.