Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
12-2024
Abstract
Introduction: Research on the link between affect and creativity rests on the assumption that creativity unfolds as a stimulus-driven response to affective states. We challenge this assumption and examine whether personality dynamics moderate the relationship of positive and negative mood with creativity. Theoretical Model: According to our model, personality dynamics that generate and maintain positive affect and down-regulate negative affect energize creativity. Based on this model, we expect high creativity in response to negative mood if people engage in self-motivation and achieve a reduction in negative mood. We further derive that individual differences in action versus state orientation moderate the within-person relationship between mood and creativity. Method: We conducted an experience-sampling study and examined the relationship between mood and creativity in everyday work-life. Two-hundred-and-ten participants indicated their action-state orientation and reported their mood three times a day over five consecutive workdays. At noon of each day, we assessed self-motivation and in the evening the extent to which participants had generated novel and useful ideas during the day. Results: We observed high creativity when negative mood declined and self-motivation was high. Action-state orientation moderated the within-person relationships of positive and negative mood with creativity. Conclusion: Personality dynamics determine whether positive and negative mood result in creativity.
Keywords
action-state orientation, affect, creativity, mood, motivation, PSI theory
Discipline
Applied Behavior Analysis | Cognition and Perception | Organizational Behavior and Theory
Research Areas
Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources
Publication
Journal of Personality
Volume
92
Issue
6
First Page
1587
Last Page
1601
ISSN
0022-3506
Identifier
10.1111/jopy.12913
Publisher
Wiley
Citation
BLEDOW, Ronald; KUHNEL, Jana; and KUHL, Julius.
Personality dynamics turn positive and negative mood into creativity. (2024). Journal of Personality. 92, (6), 1587-1601.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/7408
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12913
Included in
Applied Behavior Analysis Commons, Cognition and Perception Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons
