Creative Mindsets: Scale Validation in the Chinese Setting and Generalization to the Real Workplace

Abstract

Creative mindsets reflect the implicit beliefs individuals hold regarding the nature of creativity as innate (i.e., fixed mindset) or malleable (i.e., growth mindset). Karwowski (2014) developed the Creative Mindsets Scale (CMS), in which fixed and growth creative mindsets were each measured with five items. Across three studies, the current study aimed to examine its psychometric properties in Chinese settings and to explore to what extent effects of creative mindsets on creativity were generalized to the real workplace. Based on the survey data of 216 college students (Study 1) and 205 full-time employees (Study 2) in China, results consistently indicated that a twofactor structure, in which both types of creative mindsets were independent of each other, was confirmed. Measures of both types of creative mindsets were of satisfactory psychometric features in terms of reliability (internal consistency) and validity (construct, convergent, and discriminant validities). Furthermore, Study 1 provided evidence for the incremental validity of creative mindsets beyond mindsets of intelligence in explaining creative personal identity and creative self-efficacy. Based on a third independent sample consisting of 282 full-time employees from several Chinese companies, Study 3 further demonstrated that measures of creative mindsets could predict employees' creative performance as rated by their supervisors, lending additional support for their generalizability to the real workplace. Moreover, growth mindset, but not fixed mindset, was significantly related to creative performance, and such an effect was mediated by effort. The present study contributes to the creative mindset literature by cross-validating the CMS's psychometric properties in a new setting and empirically establishing the link between creative mindsets and employees' creativity in the real workplace.

The Role of Metacognitive Strategy Monitoring and Control in the Relationship between Creative Mindsets and Divergent Thinking Performance

“…Studies have suggested that various task and individual factors can influence divergent thinking performance ( Baas et al 2011 , 2015 ; Mehta et al 2012 ). Among them, the role of individuals’ creative mindsets in creative thinking is a research hotspot ( Hass et al 2016 ; Jia et al 2019 ; Karwowski 2014 ; O’Connor et al 2013 ; Zhou et al 2020 ).…”

“…These two types of creative mindsets are relatively independent dimensions, rather than two opposite poles of the same continuum ( Karwowski 2014 ; Karwowski et al 2019 ). Studies have demonstrated the different consequences of creative mindsets on creative tasks ( Hass et al 2016 ; Karwowski 2014 ; O’Connor et al 2013 ; Zhou et al 2020 ; Royston and Reiter-Palmon 2017 ). For example, O’Connor et al ( 2013 ) examined the relationship between creative mindsets and a series of creative tasks.…”

Partial measurement invariance of beliefs about teaching for creativity across U.S. and Chinese educators

“…Of note, the small but negative correlation between fixed and growth creative mindsets is consistent with a recent set of studies conducted in China (Zhou et al ., 2020) illustrating that the two are somewhat independent constructs, and not part of a continuum (see also Katz‐Buonincontro et al, 2020). In addition, we found a moderate positive correlation between growth creative mindset and creative self‐efficacy reported elsewhere (Hass et al, 2018; Katz‐Buonincontro et al, 2016).…”

“…Therefore, it is important to include both constructs in the measurement of teacher beliefs about creativity. For example, there is a robust correlation between endorsement of a growth creative mindset and self‐reported creative self‐efficacy (e.g., Karwowski, 2014; Katz‐Buonincontro et al, 2016; Zhou, Yang, & Bai, 2020). However, results of studies linking mindsets to creative behaviours have been mixed (Hass et al, 2018).…”

“…Such discussions are motivated by an increasing interest in creativity, specifically, beliefs about creativity and the creative self, in educational contexts in China (e.g., Sawyer, 2012). However, it is altogether likely that beliefs about creativity and teaching for creativity vary across cultural lines (Klassen, 2004; Runco & Albert, 2010, but see Zhou, et al ., 2020). As such, an important task is to examine the invariance of the theoretical latent structure comprising the Beliefs about Creativity Scales.…”