Creativity as a Matter of Choice: Prior Experience and Task Instruction as Boundary Conditions for the Positive Effect of Choice on Creativity

This study investigates the effects of prior experience, task instruction, and choice on creative performance. Although extant research suggests that giving people choice in how they approach a task could enhance creative performance, we propose that this view needs to be circumscribed. Specifically, we argue that when choice is administered during problem solving by varying the number of available resources, the high combinatorial flexibility conferred by a large choice set of resources can be overwhelming. Through two experiments, we found that only individuals with high prior experience in the task domain and given explicit instruction to be creative produced more creative outcomes when given more choice. When either of these two conditions is not met (i.e., low prior experience or given non‐creativity instruction), more choice did not lead to more creative performance. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Embeddedness and New Idea Discussion in Professional Networks: The Mediating Role of Affect‐Based Trust

This article examines how managers' tendency to discuss new ideas with others in their professional networks depends on the density of shared ties surrounding a given relationship. Consistent with prior research which found that embeddedness enhances information flow, an egocentric network survey of mid‐level executives shows that managers tend to discuss new ideas with those who are densely embedded in their professional networks. More specifically, embeddedness increases the likelihood to discuss new ideas by engendering affect‐based trust, as opposed to cognition‐based trust. Implications for network and creativity research are discussed.     

Extinction: guidelines for its selection and use

This article focuses on the use of “extinction” as a classroom behavior modification technique: whether or not the counselor should suggest its use in a given situation and how to insure its maximal effectiveness once it is chosen as an appropriate procedure. The authors present some questions to be considered when deciding whether or not to use extinction and give guidelines for its best use. The questions and guidelines are presented in a flow chart format in order to facilitate easy and quick use by practitioners.