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.     

Racial Diversity, Gender Equality, and SES Diversity in Christian Congregations: Exploring the Connections of Racism, Sexism, and Classism in Multiracial and Nonmultiracial Churches

We explore the possibility that racially inclusive churches are also more inclusive in SES and supportive of gender equality. We used the Lilly Survey of Congregations to compare SES diversity and attitudes toward female leadership between multiracial and nonmultiracial churches. Findings indicate that multiracial churches promote SES diversity, but not necessarily gender equality. The relationship is straightforward as it concerns SES diversity, as multiracial churches are more likely to exhibit SES diversity than nonmultiracial churches. However, we found that a good deal of the propensity of multiracial churches to support gender equality is tied to the size of cities in which they are located. Further, theology acts as a suppressor variable in that conservative multiracial churches are less supportive of gender equality than other conservative churches, while progressive multiracial churches are more supportive of gender equality than other progressive churches.     

Exploring the Interactions between Asian Culture (Confucianism) and Creativity

According to Csikszentmihalyi (1988), creativity is a very complex interaction among a person, a field, and a culture. In keeping with this approach, a look at Asian culture in relation to its impact on creativity is in order. While people may vary in their native capacity for creativity, it is in the individual's interaction with the macrocosm where creative expression can be found. Therefore, this paper will explore the four principles of Confucianism, and how they compare to creativity research in order to discover how Asian culture influences creativity; and what we can do to enhance our students' creative capacity.     

The effect of goal activation on the evaluation of hybrid products1

A hybrid product (i.e. a multifinal means) is connected with goals relevant to the key functionalities best served by the product categories constituting the product. Given that single‐ or multiple‐category inference for a hybrid product can be elicited in individuals, we propose that single‐ (vs. multiple‐) category inference can lead to a relatively higher preference for the hybrid product if only one of the key focal goals that the hybrid product can satisfy is activated. We also explore whether the evaluation of a hybrid product in single‐category inference will reflect valuation and/or devaluation effects if only one of multiple key focal goals attached to the hybrid product is active.