Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T02:26:53.789Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

1 - Experimental Methods in the Study of Emotions and Creativity

from Part I - Methods in the Study of Creativity and Emotions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 February 2023

By
Matthijs Baas
Edited by
Zorana Ivcevic ,
Jessica D. Hoffmann  and
James C. Kaufman
Zorana Ivcevic
Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut
Jessica D. Hoffmann
Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut
James C. Kaufman
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
Get access

Summary

Creativity researchers often use experiments to better understand the relation between emotion and creativity. This requires the effective induction of emotional states and suitable measures of creativity. This chapter reviews the requirements and possibilities for the design of experiments that examine the effect of emotion on creativity. After briefly reviewing the terms affect, mood, and emotions, this chapter describes and evaluates existing affect elicitation procedures, along with general methodological considerations. This chapter also briefly discusses how the reversed link can be studied using experimental research: How creative thinking may alter affective experience. In doing so, this chapter provides methodological and practical guidelines for designing experimental research into the relation between emotion and creativity.

Keywords

experimental methodmood inductionaffectmoodemotions
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity and Emotions , pp. 11 - 29
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akinola, M., & Mendes, W. B. (2008). The dark side of creativity: Biological vulnerability and negative emotions lead to greater artistic creativity. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(12), 1677–1686. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167208323933CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ashby, F. G., Isen, A. M., & Turken, A. U. (1999). A neuropsychological theory of positive affect and its influence on cognition. Psychological Review, 106, 529-550. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.106.3.529Google Scholar
Baas, M., De Dreu, C. K. W., & Nijstad, B. A. (2008). A meta-analysis of 25 years of research on mood and creativity: Hedonic tone, activation, or regulatory focus? Psychological Bulletin, 134, 739–756. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012815Google Scholar
Baas, M., De Dreu, C. K. W., & Nijstad, B. A. (2011a). When prevention promotes creativity: The role of mood, regulatory focus, and regulatory closure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, 794–809. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022981Google Scholar
Baas, M., De Dreu, C. K. W., & Nijstad, B. A. (2011b). Creative production by angry people peaks early on, decreases over time, and is relatively unstructured. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 47, 1107–1115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2011.05.009Google Scholar
Baer, J. (1997). Gender differences in the effects of anticipated evaluation on creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 10(1), 25–31. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326934crj1001_3CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bledow, R., Rosing, K., & Frese, M. (2013). A dynamic perspective on affect and creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 56(2), 432–450. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.0894Google Scholar
Boyes, M. E., Clarke, P. J., & Hasking, P. A. (2020). Relationships between dispositional and experimentally elicited emotional reactivity, intensity, and perseveration. Personality and Individual Differences, 152, 109573. 10.1016/j.paid.2019.109573Google Scholar
Bradley, M. M., & Lang, P. J. (2000). Affective reactions to acoustic stimuli. Psychophysiology, 37, 204–215. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-8986.3720204Google Scholar
Brenner, E. (2000). Mood induction in children: Methodological issues and clinical implications. Review of General Psychology, 4, 264–283. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.4.3.264Google Scholar
Byron, K., Khazanchi, S., & Nazarian, D. (2010). The relationship between stressors and creativity: A meta-analysis examining competing theoretical models. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(1), 201. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017868Google Scholar
Carson, S. H., Peterson, J. B., & Higgins, D.M. (2005). Reliability, validity, and factor structure of the creative achievement questionnaire. Creativity Research Journal, 17(1), 37–50. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326934crj1701_4Google Scholar
Carter, L. E., McNeil, D. W., Vowles, K. E., et al. (2002). Effects of emotion on pain reports, tolerance and physiology. Pain Research and Management, 7(1), 21–30. https://doi.org/10.1155/2002/426193Google Scholar
Chermahini, S. A., & Hommel, B. (2012). Creative mood swings: divergent and convergent thinking affect mood in opposite ways. Psychological Research, 76(5), 634–640. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00426–011-0358-zGoogle Scholar
Chirico, A., Ferrise, F., Cordella, L., & Gaggioli, A. (2018). Designing awe in virtual reality: An experimental study. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 2351. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02351Google Scholar
Clapham, M.M. (2000–2001). The effects of affect manipulation and information exposure on divergent thinking. Creativity Research Journal, 13, 335–350. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326934CRJ1334_11Google Scholar
Cretenet, J., & Dru, V. (2009). Influence of peripheral and motivational cues on rigid–flexible functioning: Perceptual, behavioral, and cognitive aspects. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 138(2), 201–217. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015379Google Scholar
Davis, M. A. (2009). Understanding the relationship between mood and creativity: A meta-analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 108(1), 25–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2008.04.001Google Scholar
De Dreu, C. K. W., Baas, M., & Nijstad, B. A. (2008). Hedonic tone and activation in the mood-creativity link: Towards a dual pathway to creativity model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 94, 739–756. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.94.5.739Google Scholar
Duclos, S. E., Laird, J. D., Schneider, E., et al. (1989). Emotion-specific effects of facial expressions and postures on emotional experience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57, 100–108. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.1.100Google Scholar
Estrada, C. A., Isen, A. M., & Young, M. J. (1994). Positive affect improves creative problem solving and influences reported source of practice satisfaction in physicians. Motivation and Emotion, 18(4), 285–299. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02856470CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Felnhofer, A., Kothgassner, O. D., Schmidt, M., et al. (2015). Is virtual reality emotionally arousing? Investigating five emotion inducing virtual park scenarios. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 82, 48–56. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2015.05.004Google Scholar
Fernández-Abascal, E. G., & Díaz, M. D. M. (2013). Affective induction and creative thinking. Creativity Research Journal, 25(2), 213–221. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2013.783759Google Scholar
Filipowicz, A. (2006). From positive affect to creativity: The surprising role of surprise. Creativity Research Journal, 18(2), 141–152. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326934crj1802_2Google Scholar
Flack, W. F., Jr., Laird, J. D., & Cavallaro, L. A. (1999). Separate and combined effects of facial expressions and bodily postures on emotional feelings. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 203–217. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(199903/05)29:2/3<203::AID-EJSP924>3.0.CO;2-8Google Scholar
Fodor, E. M., & Carver, R. A. (2000). Achievement and power motives, performance feedback, and creativity. Journal of Research in Personality, 34(4), 380–396. https://doi.org/10.1006/jrpe.2000.2289Google Scholar
Fong, C. T. (2006). The effects of emotional ambivalence on creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 49(5), 1016–1030. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2006.22798182Google Scholar
Friedman, R. S., & Förster, J. (2002). The influence of approach and avoidance motor actions on creative cognition. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 41–55. https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.2001.1488Google Scholar
Friedman, R. S., & Förster, J. (2010). Implicit affective cues and attentional tuning: An integrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 875–893. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020495Google Scholar
Frijda, N. H. (1986). The Emotions. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Frijda, N. H. (1993). Moods, emotion episodes, and emotions. In Lewis, M. & Haviland, J. M. (Eds.), Handbook of Emotions (pp. 381–403). Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Gasper, K., & Middlewood, B. L. (2014). Approaching novel thoughts: Understanding why elation and boredom promote associative thought more than distress and relaxation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 52, 50–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2013.12.007Google Scholar
Gerrards-Hesse, A., Spies, K., & Hesse, F. W. (1994). Experimental inductions of emotional states and their effectiveness: A review. British Journal of Psychology, 85, 55–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1994.tb02508.xGoogle Scholar
Gilet, A. L., & Jallais, C. (2011). Valence, arousal and word associations. Cognition and Emotion, 25(4), 740–746. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2010.500480Google Scholar
Gross, J. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 271–299. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.2.3.271Google Scholar
Harmon-Jones, E., Amodio, D. M., & Zinner, L. (2007). Social psychological methods of emotion elicitation. In Allen, J. J. B. & Coan, J. A. (Eds.), The Handbook of Emotion Elicitation and Assessment. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hutchinson, J. C., Sherman, T., Martinovic, N., & Tenenbaum, G. (2008). The effect of manipulated self-efficacy on perceived and sustained effort. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 20(4), 457–472. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200802351151Google Scholar
Isen, A. M. (2000). Positive affect and decision making. In Lewis, M. & Haviland-Jones, J. M. (Eds.), Handbook of Emotions (2nd ed., pp. 417–435). Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Isen, A. M., Daubman, K. A., & Nowicki, G. P. (1987). Positive affect facilitates creative problem solving. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 1122–1131. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.52.6.1122Google Scholar
Ivcevic, Z., & Hoffmann, J. D. (2019). Emotions and creativity: From process to person and product. In Kaufman, J. C. & Sternberg, R. S. (Eds.), Cambridge Handbook of Creativity (pp. 273–295). Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Izard, C. E., & Ackerman, B. P. (2000). Motivational, organizational, and regulatory functions of discrete emotions. In Lewis, M. & Haviland-Jones, J. M. (Eds.), Handbook of Emotions (2nd ed., pp. 253–264). Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Joseph, D. L., Chan, M. Y., Heintzelman, S. J., Tay, L., Diener, E., & Scotney, V. S. (2020). The manipulation of affect: A meta-analysis of affect induction procedures. Psychological Bulletin, 146(4), 355. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000224CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaufmann, G., & Vosburg, S. K. (2002). The effects of mood on early and late idea production. Creativity Research Journal, 14(3-4), 317–330. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326934CRJ1434_3CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kenealy, P. M. (1986). The Velten mood induction procedure: A methodological review. Motivation and Emotion, 10, 315–335. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00992107Google Scholar
Kuijsters, A., Redi, J., de Ruyter, B., & Heynderickx, I. (2016). Inducing sadness and anxiousness through visual media: Measurement techniques and persistence. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1141. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01141Google Scholar
Lerner, J. S., & Keltner, D. (2000). Beyond valence: Toward a model of emotion-specific influences on judgment and choice. Cognition and Emotion, 14, 473–493. https://doi.org/10.1080/026999300402763Google Scholar
Leung, A. K.-y., Liou, S., Qiu, L., et al. (2014). The role of instrumental emotion regulation in the emotions–creativity link: How worries render individuals with high neuroticism more creative. Emotion, 14(5), 846–856. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036965Google Scholar
Loomis, J. M., Blascovich, J. J., & Beall, A. C. (1999). Immersive virtual environment technology as a basic research tool in psychology. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, and Computers, 31, 557–564. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03200735CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Martin, M. (1990). On the induction of mood. Clinical Psychology Review, 10, 669–697. https://doi.org/10.1016/0272-7358(90)90075-LCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nummenmaa, L., & Niemi, P. (2004). Inducing affective states with success-failure manipulations: A meta-analysis. Emotion, 4, 207–214. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.4.2.207Google Scholar
Phillips, L. H., Bull, R., Adams, E., & Fraser, L. (2002). Positive mood and executive function: Evidence from Stroop and fluency tasks. Emotion, 2(1), 12–22. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.2.1.12Google Scholar
Polivy, J., & Doyle, C. (1980). Laboratory induction of mood states through the reading of self-referent mood statements: Affective changes or demand characteristics? Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 89, 286–290. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.89.2.286Google Scholar
Ritter, S. M., & Ferguson, S. (2017). Happy creativity: Listening to happy music facilitates divergent thinking. PloSone, 12(9), e0182210. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0182210Google Scholar
Robson, C., & McCartan, K. (2016). Real World Research (4th ed.). WileyGoogle Scholar
Roseman, I. J., Wiest, C., & Swartz, T. S. (1994). Phenomenology, behaviors, and goals differentiate discrete emotions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(2), 206. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.67.2.206Google Scholar
Rottenberg, J., Ray, R. R., & Gross, J. J. (2007). Emotion elicitation using films. In Allen, J. J. B. & Coan, J. A. (Eds.), The Handbook of Emotion Elicitation and Assessment. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Rowe, G., Hirsh, J. B., & Anderson, A. K. (2007). Positive affect increases the breadth of attentional selection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104(1), 383–388. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0605198104Google Scholar
Russell, J. A., & Barrett, L. F. (1999). Core affect, prototypical emotional episodes, and other things called emotion: Dissecting the elephant. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(5), 805–819. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.76.5.805Google Scholar
Shalley, C. E. (1995). Effects of coaction, expected evaluation, and goal setting on creativity and productivity. Academy of Management Journal, 38(2), 483–503. https://doi.org/10.5465/256689Google Scholar
Siemer, M. (2001). Mood-specific effects on appraisal and emotion judgments. Cognition and Emotion, 15, 453–485. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930126083Google Scholar
Snyder, H. T., Hammond, J. A., Grohman, M. G., & Katz-Buonincontro, J. (2019). Creativity measurement in undergraduate students from 1984–2013: A systematic review. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 13(2), 133–143. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000228Google Scholar
Tan, C. S., & Qu, L. (2015). Stability of the positive mood effect on creativity when task switching, practice effect, and test item differences are taken into consideration. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 49(2), 94–110. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.56CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Topolinski, S., & Deutsch, R. (2012). Phasic affective modulation of creativity. Experimental Psychology, 59, 302–310. https://doi.org/10.1027/1618-3169/a000159CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Torrance, E. P. (1966). Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Personnel Press.Google Scholar
Velten, E. (1968). A laboratory task for induction of mood states. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 6, 473–482. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(68)90028-4Google Scholar
Verduyn, P., Van Mechelen, I., Tuerlinckx, F., Meers, K., & Van Coillie, H. (2009). Intensity profiles of emotional experience over time. Cognition and Emotion, 23(7), 1427–1443. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699930902949031Google Scholar
Wu, X., Guo, T., Tan, T., et al. (2019). Superior emotional regulating effects of creative cognitive reappraisal. Neuroimage, 200, 540–551. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.06.061Google Scholar
Zeelenberg, M., & Pieters, R. (2004). Beyond valence in customer dissatisfaction: A review and new findings on behavioral responses to regret and disappointment in failed services. Journal of Business Research, 57, 445–455. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0148–2963(02)00278-3Google Scholar
Ziv, A. (1976). Facilitating effects of humor on creativity. Journal of Educational Psychology, 68(3), 318–322. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.68.3.318Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×