Creativity and task perception

Daniela Grieco, Patrick Llerena and Anne-Gaëlle Maltese
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Anne-Gaëlle Maltese: CLERSÉ - Centre Lillois d’Études et de Recherches Sociologiques et Économiques - UMR 8019 - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique

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Abstract: This paper explores how individuals perceive open versus closed tasks in creative contexts and how this perception influences their choice between tasks. The experiment has a 2 × 2 design, where we give the possibility (or not) to choose between tasks, and vary the incentive scheme (flat payment vs. performance-based incentives). We find that subjects perceive a task as more open the lower the goal clarity and the more they feel free to explore. Additionally, we show that the likelihood of choosing an open task increases with the perceived freedom to explore, while it decreases with goal clarity, particularly when incentives in place. The effects of self-selection on creative performance are then investigated.

Keywords: Self-selection; Constraints; Perception; Closed task; Open task; Creativity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-01
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Published in Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2026, 241, pp.107355. ⟨10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107355⟩

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Journal Article: Creativity and task perception (2026)
Working Paper: Creativity and Task Perception (2025)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05514241

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2025.107355

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