In the ongoing exploration of the link between emotion and cognition, one of the most significant and intriguing areas of inquiry has been that examining the relationship between mood and creativity. Here, consistent with prevailing theoretical accounts, research findings have primarily suggested that positive, relative to negative moods bolster creativity. However, in recent years, null or conflicting effects have also been reported, suggesting that the influence of mood on creativity may be considerably more complex than previously theorized. In light of this, the PI has developed a new, interactive model of the influence of mood on creativity, one that integrates and refines earlier theoretical advances to enable a more comprehensive range of predictions than do previous conceptual frameworks. According to this dual-factor model (DFM), mood influences creativity by way of its concurrent impact on both knowledge activation and motivation. More specifically, the DFM proposes that: (1) positive, relative to negative moods, enhance creativity by expanding the scope of automatic spreading activation, thereby enabling access to a more extensive body of knowledge from which to forge creative responses; and, (2) positive, relative to negative moods increase motivation, and thereby creativity on tasks framed as """"""""fun"""""""", yet decrease motivation, and thereby creativity on tasks framed as """"""""serious"""""""". Two experiments are proposed to test these major hypotheses, providing the empirical foundations for the DFM. In each experiment, mood (happy vs. sad) and task framing (fun vs. serious) will be manipulated and performance on creative (and non-creative) problem solving tasks will then be assessed. If the DFM is borne out empirically, it will serve to integrate nearly a quarter-century of theory and research on the influence of mood on creativity and thereby substantially contribute to basic knowledge regarding the link between emotion and cognition, knowledge critical to understanding the pathological effects of mood on cognitive processing in mental health disorders such as manic and unipolar depression.
| Friedman, Ronald S; Forster, Jens (2005) Effects of motivational cues on perceptual asymmetry: implications for creativity and analytical problem solving. J Pers Soc Psychol 88:263-75 |
