Lin Wei-Lun, Tsai Ping-Hsun, Lin Hung-Yu, Chen Hsueh-Chih
a Department of Psychology , Fo Guang University , Jiaosi Shiang , Yilan County , Taiwan.
Cogn Emot. 2014;28(5):834-44. doi: 10.1080/02699931.2013.854195. Epub 2013 Nov 18.
Cognitive flexibility is proposed to be one of the factors underlying how positive emotions can improve creativity. However, previous works have seldom set up or empirically measured an independent index to demonstrate its mediating effect, nor have they investigated its mediating role on different types of creative performances, which involve distinct processes. In this study, 120 participants were randomly assigned to positive, neutral or negative affect conditions. Their levels of cognitive flexibility were then measured by a switch task. Finally, their creative performances were calibrated by either an open-ended divergent thinking test or a closed-ended insight problem-solving task. The results showed that positive emotional states could reduce switch costs and enhance both types of creative performances. However, cognitive flexibility exhibited a full mediating effect only on the relationship between positive emotion and insight problem solving, but not between positive emotion and divergent thinking. Divergent thinking was instead more associated with arousal level. These results suggest that emotions might influence different creative performances through distinct mechanisms.
认知灵活性被认为是积极情绪能够提高创造力的潜在因素之一。然而，以往的研究很少建立或实证测量一个独立的指标来证明其中介作用，也没有研究其在不同类型的创造性表现（涉及不同过程）上的中介作用。在本研究中，120名参与者被随机分配到积极、中性或消极情绪条件下。然后通过一个转换任务来测量他们的认知灵活性水平。最后，通过开放式发散思维测试或封闭式顿悟问题解决任务来校准他们的创造性表现。结果表明，积极情绪状态可以降低转换成本并提高两种类型的创造性表现。然而，认知灵活性仅在积极情绪与顿悟问题解决之间的关系中表现出完全中介作用，而在积极情绪与发散思维之间则没有。相反，发散思维与唤醒水平的关联更大。这些结果表明，情绪可能通过不同的机制影响不同的创造性表现。
