Whether Social Schema Violations Help or Hurt Creativity Depends on Need for Structure.

Goclowska, Malgorzata A.; Baas, Matthijs; Crisp, Richard J.; De Dreu, Carsten K.W.

Abstract

Although people and events that disconfirm observers’ expectancies can increase their creativity, sometimes such social schema violations increase observers’ rigidity of thought and undermine creative cognition. Here we examined whether individual differences in the extent to which people prefer structure and predictability determine whether social schema violations facilitate or hamper creativity. Participants in Study 1 formed impressions of a schema-inconsistent female mechanic (vs. a schema-consistent male mechanic). Following schema-inconsistent rather than -consistent information, participants low (high) in need for structure showed better (impeded) creative performance. Participants in Study 2 memorized a series of images in which individuals were placed on a schema-inconsistent (vs. consistent) background (e.g., an Eskimo on the desert vs. on a snowy landscape). Following schema-inconsistent imagery, participants low (high) in need for structure increased (decreased) divergent thinking.

Citation

Goclowska, M. A., Baas, M., Crisp, R. J., & De Dreu, C. K. (2014). Whether Social Schema Violations Help or Hurt Creativity Depends on Need for Structure. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40(8), 959-971. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167214533132

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 30, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Apr 29, 2014
• Publication Date: 2014-08
• Deposit Date: Aug 23, 2017
• Journal: Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
• Print ISSN: 0146-1672
• Electronic ISSN: 1552-7433
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 40
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 959-971
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167214533132