Curiosity made the cat more creative: Specific curiosity as a driver of creativity

Lydia Paine Hagtvedt, Karyn Dossinger, Spencer H. Harrison and Li Huang

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2019, vol. 150, issue C, 1-13

Abstract: The present research examines the causal relationship between specific curiosity and creativity. To explicate this relationship, we introduce the concept of idea linking, a cognitive process that entails using aspects of early ideas as input for subsequent ideas in a sequential manner, such that one idea is a stepping stone to the next. Study 1 demonstrated the causal effect of specific curiosity on creativity. Study 2, a field study of artisans selling handmade goods online, found that experiencing specific curiosity predicts greater next-day creativity. Study 3 demonstrated idea linking as a mechanism for the effect of specific curiosity on creativity. Study 4 further established the impact of idea linking on creativity, finding that it boosted creativity beyond the well-established intervention of brainstorming. We discuss specific curiosity as a state that fuels creativity through idea linking and idea linking as a novel technique for creative idea generation.

Keywords: Curiosity; Creativity; Idea linking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jobhdp:v:150:y:2019:i:c:p:1-13

DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2018.10.007

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