Positive affect and creativity: Symptom of psychopathology or component of creative process?

Affect and Creativity at Work

Administrative Science Quarterly ◽

10.2189/asqu.2005.50.3.367 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 50 (3) ◽

pp. 367-403 ◽

Cited By ~ 891

Author(s):

Teresa M. Amabile ◽

Sigal G. Barsade ◽

Jennifer S. Mueller ◽

Barry M. Staw

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Data ◽

Positive Affect ◽

Creative Process ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Daily Diaries ◽

Creative Thought ◽

Incubation Periods ◽

Time Lagged ◽

The Relationship ◽

Qualitative Analyses

This study explored how affect relates to creativity at work. Using both quantitative and qualitative longitudinal data from the daily diaries of 222 employees in seven companies, we examined the nature, form, and temporal dynamics of the affect-creativity relationship. The results indicate that positive affect relates positively to creativity in organizations and that the relationship is a simple linear one. Time-lagged analyses identify positive affect as an antecedent of creative thought, with incubation periods of up to two days. Qualitative analyses identify positive affect as a consequence of creative thought events, as well as a concomitant of the creative process. A preliminary theory of the affect-creativity cycle in organizations includes each of these links and proposes mechanisms by which they may operate.

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An Overview of the Creative Process in the Treatment of Stuttering

Perspectives on Fluency and Fluency Disorders ◽

10.1044/ffd11.1.3-a ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 3-5

Author(s):

Jennifer Barber Watson

Keyword(s):

Creative Process

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Idiographic Dynamics of Positive Affect in GAD

European Journal of Psychological Assessment ◽

10.1027/1015-5759/a000580 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 36 (3) ◽

pp. 500-509

Author(s):

Hannah G. Bosley ◽

Devon B. Sandel ◽

Aaron J. Fisher

Keyword(s):

Positive Affect ◽

Structural Equation ◽

Alternative Hypothesis ◽

Equation Model ◽

Aggregated Data ◽

Regulatory Strategy ◽

Constant State ◽

Automatic Search ◽

Time Lagged ◽

Exploratory Procedure

Abstract. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is associated with worry and emotion regulation difficulties. The contrast-avoidance model suggests that individuals with GAD use worry to regulate emotion: by worrying, they maintain a constant state of negative affect (NA), avoiding a feared sudden shift into NA. We tested an extension of this model to positive affect (PA). During a week-long ecological momentary assessment (EMA) period, 96 undergraduates with a GAD analog provided four daily measurements of worry, dampening (i.e., PA suppression), and PA. We hypothesized a time-lagged mediation relationship in which higher worry predicts later dampening, and dampening predicts subsequently lower PA. A lag-2 structural equation model was fit to the group-aggregated data and to each individual time-series to test this hypothesis. Although worry and PA were negatively correlated in 87 participants, our model was not supported at the nomothetic level. However, idiographically, our model was well-fit for about a third (38.5%) of participants. We then used automatic search as an idiographic exploratory procedure to detect other time-lagged relationships between these constructs. While 46 individuals exhibited some cross-lagged relationships, no clear pattern emerged across participants. An alternative hypothesis about the speed of the relationship between variables is discussed using contemporaneous correlations of worry, dampening, and PA. Findings suggest heterogeneity in the function of worry as a regulatory strategy, and the importance of temporal scale for detection of time-lagged effects.

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Dispositional Properties of Metaphor

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000234 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 38 (3) ◽

pp. 175-188 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Adam K. Fetterman ◽

Brian P. Meier ◽

Michael D. Robinson

Keyword(s):

Positive Affect ◽

Food Preferences ◽

Self Control ◽

Taste Preferences ◽

Conceptual Metaphor Theory ◽

Prosocial Motivation ◽

Sweet Food ◽

Metaphor Theory ◽

Sweet Foods ◽

Dispositional Properties

Abstract. Metaphors often characterize prosocial actions and people as sweet. Three studies sought to explore whether conceptual metaphors of this type can provide insights into the prosocial trait of agreeableness and into daily life prosociality. Study 1 (n = 698) examined relationships between agreeableness and food taste preferences. Studies 2 (n = 66) and 3 (n = 132) utilized daily diary protocols. In Study 1, more agreeable people liked sweet foods to a greater extent. In Study 2, greater sweet food preferences predicted a stronger positive relationship between daily prosocial behaviors and positive affect, a pattern consistent with prosocial motivation. Finally, Study 3 found that daily prosocial feelings and behaviors varied positively with sweet food consumption in a manner that could not be ascribed to positive affect or self-control. Altogether, the findings encourage further efforts to extend conceptual metaphor theory to the domain of personality processes, in part by building on balance-related ideas.

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Social and Temporal Comparisons as Moderators of Psychological Resources Associations With Wellbeing

Journal of Individual Differences ◽

10.1027/1614-0001/a000193 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 37 (2) ◽

pp. 96-104 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hasida Ben-Zur

Keyword(s):

Life Satisfaction ◽

Positive Affect ◽

Subjective Wellbeing ◽

Social Comparisons ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Psychological Resources ◽

Low Levels ◽

Age Range ◽

General Wellbeing

Abstract. The current study investigated the associations of psychological resources, social comparisons, and temporal comparisons with general wellbeing. The sample included 142 community participants (47.9% men; age range 23–83 years), who compared themselves with others, and with their younger selves, on eight dimensions (e.g., physical health, resilience). They also completed questionnaires assessing psychological resources of mastery and self-esteem, and three components of subjective wellbeing: life satisfaction and negative and positive affect. The main results showed that high levels of psychological resources contributed to wellbeing, with self-enhancing social and temporal comparisons moderating the effects of resources on certain wellbeing components. Specifically, under low levels of mastery or self-esteem self-enhancing social or temporal comparisons were related to either higher life satisfaction or positive affect. The results highlight the role of resources and comparisons in promoting people’s wellbeing, and suggest that self-enhancing comparisons function as cognitive coping mechanisms when psychological resources are low.

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