Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
3-2018
Abstract
Thriving in increasingly complex and ambiguous environments requires creativity andthe capability to reconcile conflicting demands. Recent evidence with Western samplessuggested that paradoxical frames, or mental templates that encourage individuals torecognize and embrace contradictions, could produce creative benefits. We extendedthe timely, but understudied, topic by studying the nuances of for whom and whycreative advantages of paradoxical frames emerge. We suggest that people endorsinga middle ground approach are less likely to scrutinize conflict and reconcile withintegrative solutions, thus receiving less creative benefits of paradoxical frames. Fivestudies that examined individual and cultural differences in middle groundendorsement support our theory. Study 1 found that paradoxical frames increasedcreativity, but failed to replicate that experienced conflict mediated the relationship in aTaiwanese sample. In both within- and between-culture analysis, we showed that thecreative advantages of thinking paradoxically and experiencing conflict emergedamong individuals who endorse lower (vs. higher) levels of middle ground (Study 2)and among Israelis whose culture predominantly endorses middle ground strategyless, but not among Singaporeans whose culture endorses middle ground more (Study3). Study 4 further demonstrated the causal role of middle ground in theparadox—conflict—creativity link. To answer "why", Study 5 situationally inducedintegrative complex thinking that sets distinctions and forms syntheses amongcontradictory elements, and found that low endorsers of middle ground performedmore creatively when they engaged integrative complex thinking to cope withparadoxes. This program of studies offers important insights on harnessing paradoxicalexperiences to catalyze creativity.
Keywords
Creativity, Culture, Integrative complex thinking, Middle ground, Paradox
Discipline
Personality and Social Contexts | Psychology | Social Psychology
Research Areas
Psychology
Publication
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Volume
114
Issue
3
First Page
443
Last Page
464
ISSN
0022-3514
Identifier
10.1037/pspp0000160
Publisher
American Psychological Association
Citation
LEUNG, Angela K. Y., LIOU, Shyhnan, MICRON-SPEKTOR, Ella, KOH, Brandon, CHAN, David, EISENBERG, Roni, & SCHNEIDER, Iris K..(2018). Middle ground approach to paradox: Within- and between-culture examination of the creative benefits of paradoxical frames. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114(3), 443-464.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/2359
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/10.1037/pspp0000160
Comments
The authors contributed equally to this work.