Curiosity made the cat more creative: Specific curiosity as a driver of creativity

Publication date: January 2019Source: Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Volume 150Author(s): Lydia Paine Hagtvedt, Karyn Dossinger, Spencer H. Harrison, Li HuangAbstractThe present research examines the causal relationship between specific curiosity and creativity. To explicate this relationship, we introduce the concept of idea linking, a cognitive process that entails using aspects of early ideas as input for subsequent ideas in a sequential manner, such that one idea is a stepping stone to the next. Study 1 demonstrated the causal effect of specific curiosity on creativity. Study 2, a field study of artisans selling handmade goods online, found that experiencing specific curiosity predicts greater next-day creativity. Study 3 demonstrated idea linking as a mechanism for the effect of specific curiosity on creativity. Study 4 further established the impact of idea linking on creativity, finding that it boosted creativity beyond the well-established intervention of brainstorming. We discuss specific curiosity as a state that fuels creativity through idea linking and idea linking as a novel technique for creative idea generation.

Source: Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes - November 7, 2018 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research