How does emotion influence different creative performances? The mediating role of cognitive flexibility

Abstract

Cognitive flexibility is proposed to be one of the factors underlying how positive emotions can improve creativity. However, previous works have seldom set up or empirically measured an independent index to demonstrate its mediating effect, nor have they investigated its mediating role on different types of creative performances, which involve distinct processes. In this study, 120 participants were randomly assigned to positive, neutral or negative affect conditions. Their levels of cognitive flexibility were then measured by a switch task. Finally, their creative performances were calibrated by either an open-ended divergent thinking test or a closed-ended insight problem-solving task. The results showed that positive emotional states could reduce switch costs and enhance both types of creative performances. However, cognitive flexibility exhibited a full mediating effect only on the relationship between positive emotion and insight problem solving, but not between positive emotion and divergent thinking. Divergent thinking was instead more associated with arousal level. These results suggest that emotions might influence different creative performances through distinct mechanisms.

Functional neuroimaging correlates of thinking flexibility and knowledge structure in memory: Exploring the relationships between clinical reasoning and diagnostic thinking

“…Furthermore, our results suggest that during clinical reasoning the mPFC may work in tandem with the parahippocampal gyrus to enhance social perception, empathy and mentalizing, which may facilitate making appropriate judgments about fMRI correlates of the DTI patient health (Vollm et al 2006). In fact, prior neuroimaging research suggests that the vmPFC may be strongly influenced by emotional saliency during reasoning (Goel & Dolan 2003), so our findings could be construed to depict the impact of affective processes during analytic reasoning rather than creativity; however, there is some evidence that cognitive flexibility mediates of emotional and creative thinking (Lin et al 2014).…”

The buffering role of political skill on the relationship of interpersonal conflict and project performance through negative emotion as a mediator

“…The effect of interpersonal conflict on project performance by Lessing the dysfunctional effect is the focus of research. In the past researches, a contingency approach was used to examine the interpersonal conflict (Huang, 2012;Lin et al, 2014). It is established by the likelihood view of the effects of interpersonal/social conflict that the way and amount of the effects will depend on the impact of related factors (Huang, 2012;Lin et al, 2014).…”

“…In the past researches, a contingency approach was used to examine the interpersonal conflict (Huang, 2012;Lin et al, 2014). It is established by the likelihood view of the effects of interpersonal/social conflict that the way and amount of the effects will depend on the impact of related factors (Huang, 2012;Lin et al, 2014). The moderating role of objective positioning on the relationship between clashes "Interpersonal/social conflict" and "Team performance" is explored by Huang (2012).…”

Low Arousing Positive Affect Broadens Visual Attention and Alters the Thought-Action Repertoire While Broadened Visual Attention Does Not

“…On the one hand some studies induced positive emotions and observed broadening effects, among others, on memory by increasing memory for the central and peripheral details (Yegiyan and Yonelinas, 2011), on visual attention shown by longer peripheral fixation time in an eye tracking experiment (Wadlinger and Isaacowitz, 2006), or on cognitive flexibility indicated by lower switch costs between tasks (Lin et al, 2014). Furthermore, building effects of positive emotions with regard to three different personal resources could be observed performing a path analysis of a questionnaire study conducted among army wives (Dolphin et al, 2015).…”