Publication Type

Conference Proceeding Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

8-2015

Abstract

Deviant from thecurrent literature of multiculturalism-creativity link, this paper investigateswhether individuals benefit from exposure to one but diverse culture as well asthe moderators for this relationship. Drawing upon knowledge activation theory, Study 1found that individuals raised in a diverse culture like Singapore exhibithigher creativity when primed with their culture than in the control conditions. However, this advantage disappearswhen the Singaporean cultural tendency “Kiasu”, also known as extremecompetitiveness, is recalled when individuals are primed with their culture.Study 2 further examined how the Kiasu prime, personal Kiasu tendency, and needfor cognitive closure (NFCC) interact to influence creativity. The resultsshowed that when the Kiasu mindset is primed, individual Kiasu tendencyinteracts with NFCC to influence creativity. However, when the Kiasu mindset isnot primed, only individual Kiasu tendency influences creativity. Thesefindings broaden the current understanding of how different type ofmulticultural experience benefits creativity.

Keywords

Multiculturalism, Creativity, Need for Cognitive Closure, Kiasu, Competitiveness

Discipline

Industrial and Organizational Psychology | Psychology

Research Areas

Psychology

Publication

Academy of Management Proceedings

Identifier

10.5465/AMBPP.2015.135

Publisher

Academy of Management

City or Country

Vancouver, Canada

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2015.135

Share

COinS