Geir Kaufmann

Expanding the Mood-Creativity Equation

This article picks up on the suggestion made by Mumford that the relationship of affect to creativity is an important, new trend in the field. Fuel is added to this argument by pointing to evidence indicating that tasks of creative thinking may be particularly mood sensitive. The main stream argument that positive mood unconditionally and reliably facilitates creativity is characterized as a case of premature closure. Evidence is reviewed that calls this general thesis into serious question. It is concluded that creativity is a multifaceted construct, and that different moods are differentially related to different components of creative thinking.

The Effects of Mood on Early and Late Idea Production

ABSTRACT: The hypothesis that the effects of positive and negative mood on creative problem solving may differ as a consequence of the degree of constraint on the solution space of the task was tested. Sixty-eight participants were divided into positive mood, negative mood, and control conditions. Mood was experimentally induced by showing selected film clips, and performance on four different idea production tasks was recorded across a time interval of 4 min for each task. Results showed a significant mood-production time interaction. Positive mood led to the highest number of scores in early idea production and the lowest number in late production, whereas both control and negative mood led to relatively superior task performance in late production. Alternative interpretations of the results are discussed, and suggestions for further studies are offered.

What to Measure? A new look at the concept of creativity

It is argued that the concept of creativity is too loosely defined, and too much driven from a bottom-up operationalist view. It is also argued that current popular definitions of creativity, by focusing on novelty and appropriateness, do not distinguish the concept of creativity in a satisfactory way from standard definitions of the concept of intelligence, which also focus on novelty and appropriateness as key defining features. A solution to this conceptual dilemma is offered by way of making a clear-cut distinction between novelty on the stimulus and novelty on the response side. This distinction is used as a platform for the development of a new taxonomy of different kinds of creativity and intelligent behaviour. A major feature of this new model is the distinction made between proactive and reactive creativity. Finally, the conceptual model is used as a basis for pointing out some shortcomings of existing tests of creativity and, with a practical-educational perspective in mind, some specific suggestions on the anatomy of a new kind of creativity assessment are made.

Employee Creativity and R&D: A Critical Review

Employee creativity is one of the most important components to measure a companys human capital, particularly in knowledge-intensive companies. However, the complexity of the conception of creativity means that the measurement of employee creativity has become difficult. Reflecting discussions and contributions on Creativity in R&D as presented at the 2006 R&D Management Conference held in Taiwan, this short thematic paper reviews four different and critical approaches to creativity, namely the evolutionary approach, the cross-disciplinary science approach, the social system approach and the social network approach. This paper concludes that the four approaches provide complementary contributions in understanding the measurement of creativity in an R&D context, but that the interaction of the socio-cultural context with employee creativity needs to be taken into account.

The Explorer and the Assimilator: A Cognitive Style Distinction and Its Potential Implications for Innovative Problem Solving.

Abstract Kaufmann, G. 1979. The Explorer and the Assimilator: A Cognitive Style Distinction and Its Potential Implications for Innovative Problem Solving. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 23, 101‐108. A novel cognitive style distinction is introduced: The Assimilator is presumed to be guided by a Rational (R) strategy which is seen essentially to consist in stretching established principles as far as possible in coping with novel tasks. In contrast, the Explorer spontaneously seeks novel solution alternatives, even in problem situations that are easily mastered through the application of a standard principle. The assets and liabilities of these different approaches in problem solving are discussed, with special reference to innovation. It is hypothesized that the Explorer in this respect is in a more profitable position. A modified version of Luchins Einstellung‐situation provided the empirical basis for distinguishing between Assimilators and Explorers and allowed for a validation of the the...

The Effect of Mood On Creativity in the Innovative Process

Abstract: The division of labor between the concepts of creativity and innovation is discussed. The effect of mood states on creative problem-solving as part of the process of innovation is then addressed. The prevailing notion that there exists an unconditional positive causal link between positive mood and creativity is criticized. Evidence is reviewed that shows that under certain, important conditions, positive mood may actually impair creativity, while negative and neutral moods may facilitate finding insightful and highly creative solutions to problems. A new theory of mood and creative problem-solving is developed.