The wellspring of creativity? Using divergent‐thinking tasks to understand creative characteristics

Abstract

Creativity and innovation go hand in hand, and understanding sources of creativity will expand organizational innovative capacity. This study explores the impact that characteristics have on creativity using divergent‐thinking experiments. I hypothesize that their influence stems from their effect on the experiences individuals acquire throughout life based on preferences, opportunities, and constraints. I find that gender, socioeconomic background, and exposure to other cultures are associated with personal experiences. In turn, experience is positively associated with greater creativity. I also explore creative style and its impact on creativity and find that having an experimental creative style positively correlates with creativity.

Experiments on creativity and work design

“… 8 8 Dutcher and Rodet (2020a, 2020b) and Rodet (2020) find supporting evidence of this using individual and team‐based experiments. …”

Mathematical Creative Thinking-Ethnomathematics based Test: Role of Attitude toward Mathematics, Creative Style, Ethnic Identity, and Parents’ Educational Level

“…However, recent studies have recognized that creativity can be developed and nurtured in all students through close interactions and supportive environments (Behnamnia et al, 2020;Kim et al, 2016;Renzulli & Reis, 2021). Studies have also shown that creative style influences creativity and that a diverse range of creative styles contribute to innovative CT in various contexts (Chen et al, 2015;Rodet, 2021) and influence approaches to problem solving and academic and career achievement (Ee et al, 2007;Mkpanang, 2016;White & Shah, 2011). These previous studies explored the relationship between MCT and these factors separately; however, there exists a research gap regarding their combined impact on MCT.…”

The creative class in China: Heterogeneity and its regional determinants

“…In reality, the creative occupations are indeed based on individuals' ability to transfer and apply knowledge and skills rather than their educational attainment simply. It is argued that the creative class is spatially distributed unevenly and frequently presents different traits and propensity of climate across countries or regions (Asheim & Hansen, 2009; Boschma & Fritsch, 2009; Rodet, 2021; Yu et al, 2013; Zhang et al, 2021). Therefore, the real question is why and to what extend the creative class is distributed unevenly across regions and in which context the creative class can (or cannot) boost regional economic growth.…”