Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Nazarbayev University
Published online: 07 Jul 2014.
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Creativity is behind all the advances made by humankind and is the basis for the
improvement of society in various fields of human performance. The cognitive
components of creativity have been extensively studied since the middle of the
last century (Guilford, 1959; Mednick, 1962). However, the role of other noncognitive components of creativity, particularly affect, has only begun to be
recognized and researched in the field of psychology in recent years (see Baas,
De Dreu, & Nijstad, 2008; Batey & Furnham, 2006).
Traditionally, affect1 has been generally identified as a contaminant and a
distraction of reason and as an obstacle to creative thinking in particular. Today,
this view has been displaced by various arguments and evidence. On the one
hand, creativity has been linked to both cognitive and non-cognitive components
(Batey & Furnham, 2006; Sanchez-Ruiz, 2011). On the other, there is evidence
that affect plays an important role in cognition (e.g., Bush, Luu, & Posner, 2000;
Le Doux, 1989) and may be a source of motivation for creativity and stimulus
selection as well as their interpretation, in addition to altering creative performance: facilitating, inhibiting or guiding it in one way or another (Baas et al.,
2008; Davis, 2009).
Despite the research efforts over the past decades placed on studying the role
of affective processes in creativity, such a role remains inconclusive. This
situation can mostly be attributed to the theoretical confusion surrounding the
terms creativity and affect, to the multifaceted nature of both constructs and
to the multiple indicators that have been used to assess them. Thus, various
studies have provided evidence that creativity and affect interrelate differently
depending on the facets being considered for their conceptualization and the
forms and instruments employed in their evaluation (e.g., Sanchez-Ruiz,
Hernndez-Torrano, Prez-Gonzlez, Batey, & Petrides, 2011; Zenasni &
Lubart, 2008, 2009). In this regard, a critical and comprehensive review that
gathers the most important contributions made to date in this area will greatly
contribute to the elucidation of the role that certain forms of affect (e.g.,
emotions, affective facets, emotional states) may play in individuals creative
performance and expressions.
The aim of this paper is to contribute to the conceptual debate surrounding the
relationship between creativity and affect. To this end, a review of the most
relevant approaches in the study of the relationship between the two constructs
is presented, from traditional perspectives within psychology (i.e., psychoanalytic,
humanist and cognitive) to the most current ones, which link creativity and
emotionality in the sense of emotional states and traits, and consider creativity
as motivating tension. In addition, some of the most promising perspectives
developed over recent years are presented, which are based on integrative models
of creativity and affect and could provide new clues about the complex relationship between the two constructs.
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core relational theme for anxiety would be uncertainty, threat. According to Feist
(1999), uncertainty and threat happen when creators are faced with a problem that
can cause anxiety in some way. Then imbalance or tension arises from something
which is not resolved during the moments previous to a creative insight. Thus, not
only do creative individuals not abandon the race when faced with obstacles
(Feist, 2010), but they take advantage of such obstacles.
In the moments during and immediately after the insight, the emotions experienced are more related to happiness and relief, and the core relational theme
would be equivalent to a reasonable progress towards achieving a goal. Thus, we
would expect that creators feel pride and happiness associated with an increase in
self-esteem and probably, more in the long-term, related to social recognition
(Feist, 1994).
Runco (1999) stresses the importance of tension as a creative engine. His
theory can be classified as a cognitive-emotional theory of creativity. This theory
holds some parallels with Feists as it suggests that tension and negative affect are
precedents of creative thinking. Runco argues that some tension and anxiety
during the educational, professional and cultural development of the individual
can sometimes be the source of creative endeavours. Thus, marginalization,
trauma and other imbalances can lead to changing perspective, questioning
established reality, and ultimately enhancing personal growth through creativity.
However, according to Runco, tension should be understood, not only as the
result of objective experiences and specific stressors but also how those experiences are interpreted. For this reason, the author refers to top-down processes that
originate in cognition and lead to experiencing the abovementioned tensions.
Thus, creative individuals develop a way to confront the creative process as a
source of both pleasure and tension, a mixture of positive and negative affect.
Runco assumes that this tension creates an imbalance, and this in turn intrinsically
motivates the individual to compensate for this imbalance, conflict or specific
trauma and face new challenges.
Recent lines of research: affective states and traits and creativity
Creativity and emotional states
The inclusion of affective states into the study of creativity has allowed us to
analyse how internal and transient psychological mechanisms affect the creative
performance of individuals. With some exceptions (e.g., To, Fisher, Ashkanasy, &
Rowe, 2012), experimental research into affective states and creativity has traditionally used induction procedures, where researchers present participants with
different stimuli to induce a specific emotional state (e.g., a video, gift,
information).
One of the most controversial debates in the study of the relationship between
affective states and creativity has focused on the influence of the valence or
hedonic tone of affective states on creative performance. According to their
valence, states can be positive (e.g., happy, relaxed, joy) or negative (e.g.,
anger, anxiety, sadness). On the one hand, a large amount of studies have
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shown that positive emotions foster creativity (e.g., Forgas, 2000). On the other,
there are studies that indicate that positive states may inhibit creativity, while
negative states may favour it (e.g., George & Zhou, 2002).
Scientists are currently considering other variables that may moderate the
influence of affective states on creative performance. In a recent meta-analysis,
Baas et al. (2008) highlighted the role that the variable activation plays in the
relationship between creativity and affective states. Thus, the study showed that
positive states that do not involve any activation (e.g., relaxation) may have no
effect on creativity, while negative states that entail some sort of activation (e.g.,
anger) may lead to greater creative production. Based on this premise, De Dreu,
Baas, and Nijstad (2011) have proposed a dual model to explain how the
mechanisms of valence and activation of affective states together influence creativity. The proposal hypothesizes that creativity can be achieved by following two
routes. One of the routes is cognitive flexibility, manifested in the use of a large
number of diverse and inclusive cognitive categories; and the other route is
persistence and perseverance, manifested in a greater number of ideas and points
of view within a relatively low number of cognitive categories, which is the result
of a prolonged effort and great commitment of time to the task. Thus, positive
emotions could facilitate the first route, favouring cognitive flexibility, whereas
negative affective states facilitate the second route, encouraging perseverance and
effort towards generating innovative solutions (To et al., 2012).
Another recent meta-analysis indicates that the relationship between creativity
and affective states depends not only on their valence but also on contextual
factors (Davis, 2009). Thus, the reasons for a given affective state (i.e., attribution), the intensity of the affective state and the characteristics of the task used to
assess creativity, influence the creativity-affect relationship.
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a negative relationship between the two constructs. Finally, studies have failed to
find a statistically significant relationship between Agreeableness and creativity
(see Batey & Furnham, 2006; Chvez-Eakle, Eakle, & Cruz-Fuentes, 2012, for a
review of studies on the relationships between creativity and personality traits).
Promising approaches to the study of the creativity-affect relationship
The trait emotional intelligence as a framework for research
In recent years, various facets of personality have been incorporated into the
theory of trait emotional intelligence (EI), a comprehensive framework established
to assess the affective and emotional functioning of individuals. Trait EI has been
defined as a constellation of emotion-related self-perceptions and dispositions
located at the lower levels of personality hierarchies (Petrides, Prez-Gonzlez, &
Furnham, 2007, p. 26). The trait EI domain covers a total of 15 personality facets
categorized into four main factors: Well-being, Self-Control, Emotionality and
Sociability (Petrides, 2010; see Table 1 for a brief description of the facets).
Because trait EI gathers together numerous personality facets related to the
affective and emotional processing of the individual, it is an interesting construct
to analyse when studying the affect-creativity relationship. To date there have
been some studies providing preliminary results on the relationship between
Table 1. Factors and brief description of the facets of the emotional intelligence trait.
Factors and Facets
Well-being
Self-esteem
Trait happiness
Trait optimism
Self-control
Emotion regulation
Stress management
Impulsiveness (low)
Emotionality
Emotional perception (self and
others)
Emotional expression
Relationships
Trait empathy
Sociability
Social awareness
Emotional management (other)
Assertiveness
Adaptability*
Self-motivation*
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creativity and affective facets adopting the trait EI theory framework. Overall,
these studies show that the relationship is neither uniform nor unidirectional and
found different mediators.
Firstly, the relationship between creativity and trait EI depends on the creativity indicator and the instrument used to assess creativity. Thus, there is no solid
evidence of a relationship between the overall trait EI and indicators of creative
behaviour (e.g., Zenasni & Lubart, 2009), although an association between some
trait EI factors, divergent thinking and a creative personality has been reported
(e.g., Sanchez-Ruiz et al., 2011).
Secondly, studies have obtained different results depending on the emotional
dimensions assessed. Variables such as Sociability seem to be closely related to
creativity, and especially to creative personality. However, others such as Wellbeing, Self-control and Emotionality appear to be related to creativity indicators
depending on the domain of analysis (e.g., Zenasni & Lubart, 2008).
Thirdly, it has been shown that the relationship between creativity and trait EI
depends on the area or domain of knowledge. For example, Sanchez-Ruiz et al.
(2011) showed that the variables Emotionality and Self-control have a differential
effect on the prediction of divergent thinking in the areas of arts, science and
social studies. Along the same lines, Baer and Kaufman (2005) argue that trait EI
is relevant in all areas of human functioning, although it may play a greater
creative role in the area of empathy/communication than in the mathematicalscientific area (p. 161).
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significant efforts made to date in this regard. This model suggests that creativity
can be evaluated with respect to three dimensions that can be arranged in a
4 4 3 matrix. The level dimension refers to who is the focus of the evaluation
(i.e., an individual, team, organization or culture). The facet dimension refers to
what is the focus of the evaluation (i.e., a person, process, product or environment). The focus dimension is related to how creativity is evaluated (i.e., objective
test, self-assessment, or raters evaluation). This model suggests that there are at
least 48 different ways to assess the construct of creativity. Individual creativity
can be measured using a divergent thinking test that assesses fluency; the creative
process of a team could be assessed through information provided by members
that come from outside the team; the influence of the environment on an organizations creativity can be assessed by a panel of judges; creative products or
artifacts created by a culture (e.g., the Romans) could also be judged by experts in
the field.
Personality traits
Affective processes
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Cognitive capacities
Divergent thinking
- Free association
- Scanning ability
- Breadth of attention deployment
- Fluency of thought
Curiosity
Preference for challenge
Preference for complexity
Sensitivity to problems
- Problem identification
- Problem finding
Self-confidence
- Tolerance of failure
Curiosity
Intrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation
Risk taking
Curiosity
Transformation capabilities
- Ability to shift sets
- Cognitive flexibility
- Reorganisation of information
Insight abilities
- Use of analogies
Intrinsic motivation
Cognitive integration of affection
- Adaptive regression
- Ability to control affect
Evaluative ability
- Critical thinking techniques
control affect. Emotional regulation and self-control have been associated with
more scientific than artistic creativity (Sanchez-Ruiz et al., 2011).
General conclusions
This paper provides a review of the scientific literature examining the relationship
between creativity and affect. The critical analysis has focused on theoretical
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Firstly, the broadness of the term affect, which includes concepts such as
emotion, feeling and mood, requires a clear conceptual definition that will determine the specific scientific framework. In this sense, the trait EI theory brings to
the study of the relationship between creativity and affect a comprehensive framework for analysing some of the affective and emotional aspects of individuals that
have traditionally been associated with creative behaviour (Petrides, 2010). In
particular, research on trait EI and divergent thinking has demonstrated how
certain emotional dimensions (e.g., Sociability) are closely related to creativity,
while others (e.g., Well-being) do not appear to be related to the construct
(Sanchez-Ruiz et al., 2011). Likewise, the incorporation of trait EI to the study
of the relationship between creativity and affect has shown that specific emotional
states and traits can act as facilitators (or inhibitors) of creativity in certain
domains but not in others. For example, in the study carried out by SanchezRuiz et al. (2011), a number of trait EI facets were related to creativity in different
ways for each domain. In particular, Self-control was related to Divergent
Thinking in the total sample. A more detailed analysis identified that this relationship was more intensely evident in art students, but was not seen in students of
Natural and Social Sciences (where the trend was reversed). These findings are
consistent with Runcos theory, albeit only for the Arts domain. One explanation
could be that people in this area perceive themselves as creative by definition.
Some studies have shown that individuals in the Arts domain often hold the idea
of tension and conflict as an implicit theory of creativity (Romo & Alfonso,
2003). Thus, these individuals were more likely to behave creatively to try to
satisfy their own image of creative people in tension. This idea is in line with
other studies (Feist, 1998), which have demonstrated a differential relation (specifically for the Arts group) in dimensions of Self-control and Emotionality.
Secondly, the diversity of approaches to studying creativity has greatly hampered the interpretation of the results of various studies and lines of research on
creativity to date. Accordingly, some studies have begun to incorporate different
measures and instruments allowing for a systematic analysis of the multifaceted
nature of the construct in relationship with affectivity and emotionality. In general,
these studies have shown that various indicators of creativity relate differently
with affective and emotional variables (Kaufmann & Vosburg, 1997; Kaufmann,
2003; Sanchez-Ruiz et al., 2011). In light of these results, it seems important to
start considering holistic models which will allow for a comprehensive examination of how the relationship between affect and the different creativity dimensions
occurs. In this regard, proposals such as the one put forward by Batey (2012), and
presented in this paper, offer potential benefits in the assessment of the creativityaffect relationship in at least two directions. First, these models can serve as a
structure to organize the findings from various studies on the creativity-affect
relationship, helping to compare results based on the methods used to assess
creativity. Second, these proposals can act as a platform from which to explore
new relationships between the two constructs. To date, most research in this area
has examined the connection between affect and creativity from an individual
approach focusing on person, process and product facets by using objective
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evidence and self-report instruments (e.g., De Dreu et al., 2011; Feist, 1998, 1999;
To et al., 2012; Zenasni & Lubart, 2008, 2009). Studies that incorporate other
levels in the evaluation of creativity such as group, organization and culture;
facets such as environment or assessment approaches such as the evaluation of
third parties, could shed interesting new light on the conceptual and empirical
debate on the relationship between creativity and affect.
Third, Russs (2011) integrative model is an extraordinary proposal for determining the role of affectivity in the creative sphere considering the relationships
that occur between affective states, cognitive mechanisms and personality traits
involved in the creative process. Additionally, this model could be used to clarify
the interrelationships among the different components of the model and to determine which specific affective processes are important in creativity and in what
way they are important.
In summary, this review shows that the challenge of studying the relationship
between creativity and affect seems to originate mainly in the multifaceted nature
of both constructs and the many numbers of ways they have been defined and
assessed. Future studies researching the relationship between creativity and affect
could gather new data by approaching the problem using integrators and heuristics
models for the systematic collection of empirical evidence. Only the accumulation
of research in this direction will reveal the multiple variables and dimensions
involved in the complex relationship between creativity and affect.
Note
1.
In this work affectivity and emotionality are considered interchangeable when referring to a dimension or aspect of individual personality. However, we believe that
affect and emotion, in singular, are distinct concepts. Many authors argue that affect
is a broad term that encompasses emotions and emotional states, and that emotion
does not usually have a long duration and has a specific trigger (e.g., see Ekman &
Davidson, 1994; Matthews, Deary, & Whiteman, 2003).
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Bienestar
Autoestima
Felicidad rasgo
Optimismo rasgo
Autocontrol
Control emocional
Manejo del estrs
Impulsividad (baja)
Emocionalidad
Percepcin emocional (uno mismo claros acerca de sus propios sentimientos y los de
y otros)
los dems.
Expresin emocional
capaces de comunicar sus emociones a otros.
Relaciones
capaces de tener relaciones personales plenas.
Empata rasgo
capaces de tomar la perspectiva de otros.
Sociabilidad
Conciencia social
agentes sociales con excelentes capacidades
comunicativas.
Manejo emocional (otros)
capaces de influir en los sentimientos de otros.
Asertividad
directos, francos y dispuestos a defender sus
derechos.
Adaptabilidad*
Automotivacin*
Al recoger todas las facetas de la personalidad que tienen que ver con el
mundo afectivo y emocional del individuo, la IE rasgo se convierte en un
constructo interesante para analizar la relacin creatividad-afecto. Hasta la fecha
se han realizado algunos estudios que ofrecen resultados preliminares sobre la
relacin entre creatividad y facetas afectivas en el marco de la teora de la IE
rasgo. A nivel general, estos estudios evidencian que la relacin no es uniforme ni
unidireccional, sino que vara dependiendo de distintos mediadores.
En primer lugar, la relacin entre creatividad e IE rasgo depende del indicador
de creatividad y del instrumento utilizado para evaluar la creatividad. As, no se
ha encontrado una evidencia slida sobre la relacin entre IE rasgo global y
algunos indicadores de comportamiento creativo (e.g., Zenasni y Lubart, 2009),
aunque s se ha encontrado una asociacin entre IE rasgo, pensamiento divergente
y personalidad creativa (e.g., Sanchez-Ruiz et al., 2011).
En segundo lugar, se han obtenido resultados diferentes dependiendo de las
dimensiones emocionales consideradas en el estudio. Variables como la sociabilidad parecen guardar una estrecha relacin con la creatividad, especialmente con
la personalidad creativa. Sin embargo, variables como bienestar, autocontrol y
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Rasgos de personalidad
Tolerancia a la ambigedad
Apertura a la experiencia
Tolerancia a la ambigedad
Independencia de juicio
Valores no convencionales
Curiosidad
Preferencia por los retos
Preferencia por la complejidad
Procesos afectivos
Acceso a pensamientos de
contenido afectivo
- Procesos de pensamiento
primarios
- Fantasa afectiva en el juego
Capacidades cognitivas
Pensamiento divergente
- Asociacin libre
- Capacidad de seleccin y
bsqueda
- Despliegue de amplitud
atencional
- Fluidez de pensamiento
Capacidades de transformacin
- Capacidad de modificar series
- Flexibilidad cognitiva
- Reorganizacin de la
informacin
Autoconfianza
- Tolerancia al fracaso
Curiosidad
Motivacin intrnseca
Motivacin intrnseca
Toma de riesgos
Curiosidad
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Motivacin intrnseca
Integracin cognitiva del afecto
- Regresin adaptativa
- Capacidad de controlar el afecto
Capacidad evaluativa
- Tcnicas de pensamiento
crtico
Conclusiones generales
Este trabajo ofrece una revisin sobre la literatura cientfica que ha examinado la
relacin entre creatividad y afecto. Se han analizado desde un posicionamiento
crtico las contribuciones tericas de diferentes perspectivas psicolgicas sobre el
tema hasta los estudios empricos que en las ltimas dcadas han adoptado una
perspectiva sistemtica en el estudio de la relacin entre ambos constructos.
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Nota
1. En este trabajo se consideran intercambiables la afectividad y emocionalidad referidas a una dimensin o aspecto de la personalidad del individuo. No obstante,
consideramos que afecto y emocin, en singular, son conceptos distintos.
Numerosos autores sostienen que afecto es un trmino amplio que engloba las
emociones y los estados emocionales, y que la emocin, a diferencia, suele tener
una duracin breve y un desencadenante especfico (e.g., ver Ekman y Davidson,
1994; Matthews, Deary, y Whiteman, 2003).
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