Creative self‐efficacy as mediator between creative mindsets and creative problem‐solving

An emerging area of research is how one's mindset regarding the fixedness and malleability of creative ability relates to creative performance. Malleable creative mindsets tend to be positively related to creativity while fixed mindsets often show a negative association. Similarly, creative self‐efficacy, or one's beliefs that they have the capacity to be creative, is also related to creative performance and creative mindsets. While previous studies tested the direct relationship between mindsets and creativity, this study tested creative self‐efficacy in this relationship. A total of 152 students from a Midwestern university participated in the study. They were provided with measures of creative self‐efficacy, creative mindsets, and creative problem‐solving. Solutions were assessed in terms of quality and originality. Results indicated that both malleable creative mindsets and creative self‐efficacy were positively related to solution quality and originality while fixed creative mindsets were negatively related. Mediation analysis using Preacher and Hayes' (2004) bootstrapping macro showed that creative self‐efficacy mediated the relationship between malleable mindsets and quality and originality as well as the relationship between fixed mindsets and quality and originality. This research advances the study of creativity by demonstrating that creative self‐efficacy is an important mechanism through which creative mindsets relate to creative performance.     

Inaction Inertia in the Stock Market1

Based on the inaction inertia effect, it was hypothesized that investors who missed an opportunity to leave a “bear market” will be less likely to sell the stock at a later opportunity when facing a grave loss. Participants in a stock‐market computer game were given an opportunity to sell their stock for a moderate gain. Having missed this initial opportunity and now facing a grave loss, these participants were less likely to sell their stock compared to participants whose potential loss was not as grave, or compared to participants facing the same magnitude of loss who had no previous opportunity to leave the market. Analysis of the time spent by participants on reading relevant information concerning the stock market suggests that this tendency toward continued inaction was not the result of careful deliberation over market trends. The results are discussed in terms of counterfac‐tual thinking and anticipated regret.     

Subtle Bias Against Muslim Job Applicants in Personnel Decisions1

Contemporary theories of prejudice suggest that racism still exists in society, but is expressed in subtle and justifiable manners. Employing such theoretical frameworks, the present study examined subtle ways in which social category information is used differentially in personnel decisions. Participants (managers or undergraduates) were presented with background information and a résumé (with a typical Muslim or European American name) for a hypothetical job applicant. After reviewing the résumés, participants judged the applicant on hirability, salary assignment, and other job‐related characteristics. Results showed that the Muslim applicant, relative to the American, was unfavorably judged in salary assignment and job‐related characteristics in the presence of negative information. Both managers and undergraduates exhibited the same bias. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

A comparison of the work needs,attitudes, and preferences of professional accountants at different career stages

Although the concept of career stages has played an increasingly important role in vocational psychology, little research exists on career stage differences among professionals. In the present study, a sample of male professional accountants (N = 764) at different career stages were compared with respect to their work needs, work attitudes (intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction, organizational and professional commitment), and vocational preferences. Accountants at different stages were found to differ significantly in their needs, work attitudes, and the extent to which they fit the Conventional type in Holland's model. In particular, accountants over the age of 60, in the preretirement stage of their career, when compared to their younger counterparts, reported significantly lower levels of job satisfaction but higher levels of organizational and professional commitment, and they demonstrate weaker higher-order needs but stronger security needs.     

A test of Holland's theory in a population of accountants

The study examined the SDS scales and work attitudes of 1952 Canadian Chartered Accountants (Anglophones and Francophones) and Californian Certified Public Accountants. Combinations of C, E, and S were found the most frequent personality patterns, and they constitute 27.8% of the total population. Scores on these types were positively related to organizational and professional commitments, as well as to vocational satisfaction. The level of congruence was positively correlated with the vocational criteria only in the American sample. The consistency level correlated with professional commitment in the Francophone sample, whereas the differentiation score showed mixed results.     

An analysis of aftereffects in the measurement of the correction effect

Ss, under prismatic viewing, aligned a spot of light to the apparent straightahead first in the dark and then under illumination. Ss made these judgments either by controlling the spot themselves or by directing E in moving it. For both types of alignment procedures, judgments were significantly more veridical in the illuminated room (correction effect). Aftereffects, measured after both the spot alignment in the dark and in the light, were found to be significant only when S moved the stimulus. These results contradict the argument that the egocentric localization processes involved in the production of the correction effect itself are the basis of the aftereffects obtained.     

The Effects of Leader Support for Creativity and Leader Gender on Subordinate Creative Problem-Solving Performance

Ample correlational research shows that leader support for creativity is related to subordinate creativity, yet research examining the causality of this relationship experimentally is scant. Furthermore, most studies that demonstrate support for this relationship have used relatively subjective creativity measures that do not tap as effectively into the creative problem-solving process. Thus, we experimentally examined whether leader support for creativity affects subordinate creative problem-solving performance. We also examined whether this relationship depends on leader gender. We used experimental vignette methodology and a sample of 247 working adults to test these relationships. We found that high (vs. low) leader support for creativity resulted in a significantly higher number of ideas generated. Additionally, posthoc analyses showed that high (vs. low) leader support for creativity resulted in a significantly higher number of original ideas and higher number of quality ideas generated. We also found that when the leader was a woman (vs. man), average originality of ideas was significantly higher. We found no significant interactive effects of leader support for creativity and leader gender. We discuss how this study further elucidates our understanding of leader support for creativity, as well as avenues for future creativity research involving leader gender.     

The perceived vulnerability to disease scale: Cross-cultural measurement invariance and associations with fear of COVID-19 across 16 countries

Using cross-sectional data from N = 4274 young adults across 16 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, we examined the cross-cultural measurement invariance of the perceived vulnerability to disease (PVD) scale and tested the hypothesis that the association between PVD and fear of COVID-19 is stronger under high disease threat [that is, absence of COVID-19 vaccination, living in a country with lower Human Development Index (HDI) or higher COVID-19 mortality]. Results supported a bi-factor Exploratory Structural Equation Modeling model where items loaded on a global PVD factor, and on the sub-factors of Perceived Infectability and Germ Aversion. However, cross-national invariance could only be obtained on the configural level with a reduced version of the PVD scale (PVD-r), suggesting that the concept of PVD may vary across nations. Moreover, higher PVD-r was consistently associated with greater fear of COVID-19 across all levels of disease threat, but this association was especially pronounced among individuals with a COVID-19 vaccine, and in contexts where COVID-19 mortality was high. The present research brought clarity into the dimensionality of the PVD measure, discussed its suitability and limitations for cross-cultural research, and highlighted the pandemic-related conditions under which higher PVD is most likely to go along with psychologically maladaptive outcomes, such as fear of COVID-19.     

Advancing Creativity Theory and Research: A Socio-cultural Manifesto

This manifesto, discussed by 20 scholars, representing diverse lines of creativity research, marks a conceptual shift within the field. Socio-cultural approaches have made substantial contributions to the concept of creativity over recent decades and today can provide a set of propositions to guide our understanding of past research and to generate new directions of inquiry and practice. These propositions are urgently needed in response to the transition from the Information Society to the Post-Information Society. Through the propositions outlined here, we aim to build common ground and invite the community of creativity researchers and practitioners to reflect up, study, and cultivate creativity as a socio-cultural phenomenon.     

The flashing green light paradox

The traffic engineering literature shows that flashing-green intervals at the end of the green interval do not increase safety at signalized intersections, although these intervals were introduced to provide additional information that would help drivers make safe stopping or crossing decisions. The present research evaluates, in light of the engineering literature, Israeli drivers’ perceptions of the flashing green interval, knowledge of the legal meaning of flashing green, perceived safety implications of the flashing green, and behavior in its presence. The study also explores differences between Israel’s two main ethnic groups in terms of these issues. A survey was conducted among 670 Israeli drivers in order to investigate three hypotheses. The results show that, in agreement with the literature, Israeli drivers exhibit great variance in their reaction to the flashing green. As was hypothesized, it seems that most drivers support the flashing green interval despite the fact that it seems to reduce safety. The implications of these findings are discussed.