A Meta‐Analysis of the Relationship between Curiosity and Creativity

Christensen A.P., Cotter K.N., Silvia P.J.

Openness to Experience is a complex trait, the taxonomic structure of which has been widely debated. Previous research has provided greater clarity of its lower order structure by synthesizing facets across several scales related to Openness to Experience. In this study, we take a finer grained approach by investigating the item-level relations of four Openness to Experience inventories (Big Five Aspects Scale, HEXACO-100, NEO PI-3, and Woo et al.'s Openness to Experience Inventory), using a network science approach, which allowed items to form an emergent taxonomy of facets and aspects. Our results (N = 802) identified 10 distinct facets (variety-seeking, aesthetic appreciation, intellectual curiosity, diversity, openness to emotions, fantasy, imaginative, self-assessed intelligence, intellectual interests, and nontraditionalism) that largely replicate previous findings as well as three higher order aspects: two that are commonly found in the literature (intellect and experiencing; i.e., openness), and one novel aspect (open-mindedness). In addition, we demonstrate that each Openness to Experience inventory offers a unique conceptualization of the trait, and that some inventories provide broader coverage of the network space than others. Our findings establish a broader consensus of Openness to Experience at the aspect and facet level, which has important implications for researchers and the Openness to Experience inventories they use.

Kashdan T.B., Stiksma M.C., Disabato D.J., McKnight P.E., Bekier J., Kaji J., Lazarus R.

Since the origins of psychology, curiosity has occupied a pivotal position in the study of motivation, emotion, and cognition; and disciplines as far-ranging as biology, economics, robotics, and leadership. Theorists have disagreed about the basic tenets of curiosity; some researchers contend that the rewards arise when resolving ambiguity and uncertainty whereas others argue that being curious is an intrinsically pleasurable experience. Three studies were conducted to consolidate competing theories and isolated bodies of research. Using data from a community survey of 508 adults (Study 1), 403 adults on MTurk (Study 2), and a nationally representative household survey of 3,000 adults (Study 3), we found evidence for five distinct factors: Joyous Exploration, Deprivation Sensitivity, Stress Tolerance, Social Curiosity, and Thrill Seeking - forming The Five-Dimensional Curiosity Scale (5DC). Each factor had substantive relations with a battery of personality, emotion, and well-being measures. Taking advantage of this multidimensional model, we found evidence for four distinct types of curious people in Study 3 referred to as The Fascinated (28% of sample), Problem Solvers (28%), Empathizers (25%), and Avoiders (19%). Subgroups differed in their passionate interests, areas of expertise, consumer behavior, and social media use; challenging an assumption that there is a homogenous population to be discriminated on a single dimension from incurious to very curious. With greater bandwidth and predictive power, the 5DC offers new opportunities for research on origins, consequences, life outcomes, and intervention strategies to enhance curiosity.

Fredrickson B.L., Joiner T.

We reflect on our 2002 article and the impact this research report has had both within and beyond psychological science. This article was both one of the first publications to provide empirical support for hypotheses based on the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions and a product of the genesis of positive psychology. We highlight empirical and theoretical advancements in the scientific understanding of upward spiral dynamics associated with positive emotions, with particular focus on the new upward spiral theory of lifestyle change. We conclude by encouraging deeper and more rigorous tests of the prospective and reciprocal relations associated with positive emotions. Such progress is needed to better inform translations and applications to improve people’s health and well-being.

Mumford M.D., McIntosh T.

Pastor D.A., Lazowski R.A.

The term "multilevel meta-analysis" is encountered not only in applied research studies, but in multilevel resources comparing traditional meta-analysis to multilevel meta-analysis. In this tutorial, we argue that the term "multilevel meta-analysis" is redundant since all meta-analysis can be formulated as a special kind of multilevel model. To clarify the multilevel nature of meta-analysis the four standard meta-analytic models are presented using multilevel equations and fit to an example data set using four software programs: two specific to meta-analysis (metafor in R and SPSS macros) and two specific to multilevel modeling (PROC MIXED in SAS and HLM). The same parameter estimates are obtained across programs underscoring that all meta-analyses are multilevel in nature. Despite the equivalent results, not all software programs are alike and differences are noted in the output provided and estimators available. This tutorial also recasts distinctions made in the literature between traditional and multilevel meta-analysis as differences between meta-analytic choices, not between meta-analytic models, and provides guidance to inform choices in estimators, significance tests, moderator analyses, and modeling sequence. The extent to which the software programs allow flexibility with respect to these decisions is noted, with metafor emerging as the most favorable program reviewed.

Puente-Díaz R., Cavazos-Arroyo J.

Two studies examined the influence of encouragement for creativity, curiosity, harmonious passion, and autonomy support as antecedents of creative self-efficacy and imagination and divergent thinking as consequences. College students completed a battery of questionnaires. Structural equation modeling treating the variables as latent and not normally distributed was used to test our hypotheses. Results from study 1 showed a positive influence of encouragement for creativity and curiosity on creative self-efficacy. Similarly, creative self-efficacy was a positive predictor of reproductive and creative imagination. Results from study 2 showed a positive effect of harmonious passion on creative self-efficacy. Creative self-efficacy was a positive predictor of fluency and originality scores from a divergent thinking task. The theoretical and applied implications of the results were discussed.

Hardy J.H., Ness A.M., Mecca J.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that curiosity contributes to creative performance. However, empirical work linking curiosity to creativity is surprisingly lacking. To fill this gap, this study examines the effect of trait epistemic curiosity on the creative problem solving process. Participants (N = 122) responded to questionnaires assessing trait curiosity before performing in a low-fidelity simulation in which they were tasked with solving a complex marketing problem. The quality and originality of the creative solutions were then rated by three independent coders. Results revealed that diversive curiosity (i.e., epistemic curiosity associated with interest factors) had a positive influence on creative performance—an effect that was fully mediated by information seeking behavior during early-stage creative problem solving. Furthermore, diversive curiosity positively predicted ratings of both solution quality and originality beyond established predictors of creative performance (gender, personality, domain expertise, and GMA) and constructs conceptually similar to curiosity (epistemic openness to experience, need for cognition, and typical intellectual engagement). Specific curiosity (i.e., curiosity associated with deprivation factors) was unrelated to both creative problem solving and creative performance. Implications of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.

Hunter J.A., Abraham E.H., Hunter A.G., Goldberg L.C., Eastwood J.D.

The present study investigated the contributions of an overall personality taxonomy (HEXACO) and boredom proneness to creativity and curiosity. Past research has indicated that creativity and curiosity are related processes that are informed by personality variables. Prior, largely theoretical, work also suggests that the tendency to experience boredom may be linked to creativity and curiosity. In the present study, hierarchical multiple regressions were used to evaluate the role of personality and boredom proneness in the prediction of creativity and curiosity. The results confirmed the importance of personality (especially Openness to Experience) as an important predictor of creativity and curiosity. Furthermore, we found that boredom proneness was a positive predictor of curiosity in several forms once its shared variance with overall personality structure was partialled out. In addition, while the literature has found that boredom as a state triggers creativity, the results of this study indicate that boredom as a personality trait is not predictive of creativity. These findings suggest several interesting possibilities. Of note, if its inhibited qualities could be overcome, boredom proneness might be able to play a positive role in curiosity.

Amabile T.M., Pratt M.G.

Leveraging insights gained through a burgeoning research literature over the past 28 years, this paper presents a significant revision of the model of creativity and innovation in organizations published in Research in Organizational Behavior in 1988. This update focuses primarily on the individual-level psychological processes implicated in creativity that have been illuminated by recent research, and highlights organizational work environment influences on those processes. We revisit basic assumptions underlying the 1988 model, modify certain components and causal connections, and introduce four new constructs into the model: (1) a sense of progress in creative idea development; (2) the meaningfulness of the work to those carrying it out; (3) affect; and (4) synergistic extrinsic motivation. Throughout, we propose ways in which the components underlying individual and team creativity can both influence and be influenced by organizational factors crucial to innovation.

Conner T.S., DeYoung C.G., Silvia P.J.

AbstractRecent experience sampling and diary studies have shown that spending time on creative goals during a day is associated with higher activated positive affect (PA) on that day. Based on models of creativity as a tool for promoting well-being, the present study examined cross-day relationships between creative activity, affect, and flourishing. A large sample of young adults (n = 658) took part in a 13-day daily diary study. Each day, they reported how much time they spent on creative activities, daily positive and negative affect, and daily flourishing. Lagged multilevel models revealed that people felt higher activated PA and flourishing following days when they reported more creative activity than usual. The other direction – PA predicting next-day creative activity – was not supported, suggesting that the cross-day effect was specific to creative activity predicting well-being. Overall, these findings support the emerging emphasis on everyday creativity as a means of cultivating positive psychol...

Moeyaert M., Ugille M., Natasha Beretvas S., Ferron J., Bunuan R., Van den Noortgate W.

AbstractThis study investigates three methods to handle dependency among effect size estimates in meta-analysis arising from studies reporting multiple outcome measures taken on the same sample. The three-level approach is compared with the method of robust variance estimation, and with averaging effects within studies. A simulation study is performed, and the fixed and random effect estimates of the three methods are compared with each other. Both the robust variance estimation and three-level approach result in unbiased estimates of the fixed effects, corresponding standard errors and variances. Averaging effect sizes results in overestimated standard errors when the effect sizes within studies are truly independent. Although the robust variance and three-level approach are more complicated to use, they have the advantage that they do not require an estimate of the correlation between outcomes, and they still result in unbiased parameter estimates.

Celik P., Storme M., Davila A., Myszkowski N.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between individual work-related curiosity and worker innovation and to test the mediating role of worker divergent thinking. Design/methodology/approach In all, 480 participants, holding 188 different jobs, filled in a validated work-related curiosity scale and indicated their job title. Job requirements in terms of divergent thinking and innovation − derived from the Online Information Network (O*NET) database − were used as proxies for divergent thinking and innovation skills. Findings Results indicated that individual work-related curiosity was a positive predictor of worker innovation and that worker divergent thinking mediated this relationship. Research limitations/implications Individual work-related curiosity supports exploratory skills which support in turn innovation skills. Practical implications Managers could use individual work-related curiosity as a predictor of innovation skills when recruiting, training and guiding employees. Originality/value This study is the first to show an association between individual work-related curiosity and innovation skills across more than 150 different jobs.

Puryear J.S., Kettler T., Rinn A.N.

Peljko Ž., Jeraj M., Săvoiu G., Marič M.

AbstractBackground and Purpose: Despite scholarly interest in understanding the role of different determinants on entrepreneurs and their behavior, little is known about the relationship between entrepreneurial curiosity and innovativeness. This research explores the relationship between entrepreneurial curiosity, which motivates entrepreneurs to gather information about their business and innovativeness that motivate entrepreneurs to incorporate innovations into entrepreneurial processes.Design/Methodology/Approach: Participants in this study were entrepreneurs from Slovenia and USA. By using structural equation modelling, we linked the two constructs of entrepreneurial curiosity and innovativeness to test the influence.Results: Results indicate that entrepreneurial curiosity positively influences innovativeness. The results of this study indicate that at the frame of entrepreneurship psychology entrepreneurial curiosity is important for innovativeness.Conclusion: This paper links the two studied constructs and presents a valuable contribution for entrepreneurship theory; therefore, the results could be used for a further scientific research as also for practical implications.

Puente-Diaz R., Arroyo J.C.

Abstract We examined the role of task-, self- and other-approach achievement goals and enjoyment as antecedents of creative self-efficacy and the influence of creative self-efficacy on divergent thinking scores among children from Mexico. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires measuring achievement goals, creative self-efficacy, enjoyment and divergent thinking skills. We used Structural Equation Modelling to test our hypotheses, treating the variables as latent. Results showed a positive influence of other-approach achievement goals and enjoyment on creative self-efficacy. The influence of creative self-efficacy on divergent thinking scores was not significant. The implications of our results are discussed.

Li C., Hu R.

Liu Y., Wang M., Rao H.

Mutonyi B.R., Fredheim R., Slåtten T.

Jeong Y., Youn N., Im S., Staub A., Stanko M.A.

Tang S., Xu T., Jin L., Ji L., Chen Q., Qiu J.

Curiosity, an innate and intrinsic motivation to explore, makes vital contributions to learning in individuals of various ages. Epistemic curiosity centers on the drive to close information gaps and can be classified into joyous exploration and interest (I) and deprivation sensitivity (D) types. Each subtype is associated with different academic achievements, personality traits, emotions, and aspects of creativity. Building on the concept of epistemic curiosity in adults, the I- and D-type Epistemic Curiosity in Young Children (I/D-YC) scale was developed. The purpose of the present study was to validate the Chinese I/D-YC scale for preschoolers. Both exploratory factor analyses of data from 111 parents (Sample 1) and confirmatory factor analyses of data from 389 parents (Sample 2) indicated that the Chinese I/D-YC replicated the two-factor structure of the original scale. The scales’ convergent validity was examined with data from 189 parents (Sample 3) and 129 teachers (Sample 4), as its reliability and test–retest reliability was respectively examined with data from 389 to 82 parents (from sample 2). The results established the Chinese I/D-YC scale as a valid and reliable measure of epistemic curious behaviors in young Chinese children. Moreover, the cultivation of epistemic curiosity should weaken inhibition and this might enhance well-being and creativity and learning.

Tao R., Zhang H., Geng L., Li Y., Qiu J.

This study explores the relationship between creative self-efficacy and creative behavior by modulating state-level creative self-efficacy through false feedback to enhance creative performance. In Study 1, 1539 college students completed the Alternative Uses Task (AUT) to measure performance-based creativity and the Creative Achievement Questionnaire (CAQ) to assess self-reported creative achievements. The Big Five personality traits and curiosity served as covariates. Regression and correlation analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between trait-level creative self-efficacy and both creative performance measures. Experiment 2 employed a 2 × 2 between-subjects design to test the effects of false feedback (positive vs. negative) and trait-level creative self-efficacy (high vs. low) on state-level creative self-efficacy and creative behavior, using the same covariates. In Study 1, creative self-efficacy was positively correlated with both AUT and CAQ, with stronger associations for CAQ. Experiment 2 found that false feedback significantly affected state-level creative self-efficacy and the originality of creative behavior. Changes in state-level creative self-efficacy were positively correlated with originality. This study emphasizes the role of both trait and state-level creative self-efficacy in influencing creative behavior. It offers insights for enhancing creativity through feedback, with implications for educational and workplace settings.

Vaisarova J., Saguid L., Kupfer A., Goldbaum H.S., Lucca K.

Zhu F., Adomako S., Donbesuur F., Ahsan M., Shinnar R., Sadeghi A.(.

Opportunity recognition is a core concept in entrepreneurship research. However, the mechanisms by which passion influences opportunity recognition, as well as the conditions under which this relationship occurs, are not well understood. This study analyses time-lagged data from 258 entrepreneurs to explore how, when and which aspects of entrepreneurial passion influence opportunity recognition through entrepreneurial alertness. The results indicate that all three types of entrepreneurial passion – passion for inventing, passion for founding and passion for developing – enhance opportunity recognition by increasing entrepreneurial alertness. Yet, only passion for inventing and passion for developing have a direct impact on opportunity recognition. Additionally, passion for inventing and passion for founding boost entrepreneurial alertness, but only in highly dynamic environments. Conversely, the effect of passion for developing alertness remains consistent regardless of environmental conditions. Further analysis reveals that each of the three passion domains affects opportunity recognition through different dimensions of entrepreneurial alertness.

Chaudhuri S., Pickering A., Dooley M., Bhattacharya J.

Poetry is arguably the most creative expression of language and can evoke diverse subjective experiences, such as emotions and aesthetic responses, subsequently influencing the subjective judgment of the creativity of poem. This study investigated how certain personality traits—specifically openness, intellect, awe-proneness, and epistemic curiosity–influence the relationship between these subjective experiences and the creativity judgment of 36 English language poems. One hundred and twenty-nine participants rated each poem across six dimensions: clarity, aesthetic appeal, felt valence, felt arousal, surprise, and overall creativity. Initially, we obtained a parsimonious model that suggested aesthetic appeal, felt valence, and surprise as key predictors of poetic creativity. Subsequently, using multilevel analysis, we investigated the interactions between the four personality traits and these three predictors. Among the personality traits, openness emerged as the primary moderator in predicting judgments of poetic creativity, followed by curiosity and awe-proneness. Among the predictors, aesthetic appeal was moderated by all four personality traits, while surprise was moderated by openness, awe-proneness, and curiosity. Valence, on the other hand, was moderated by openness only. These findings provide novel insights into the ways individual differences influence evaluations of poetic creativity.

Adomako S., Yaw Kusi S., Ahsan M., Cowden B., Phong Nguyen N.

Xing L., Zhang W., Kan Y., Hao N.

Ma J.(., Zhang H., Tong Z.

ABSTRACTPast research holds that curiosity motivates creativity via two primary mechanisms—exploration and absorption. We propose that vitality is a more fundamental mechanism integrating them. According to the self‐determination theory, curiosity fuels vitality as it aligns with the natural inclination toward autonomy, competence, and relatedness. It is through enhanced vitality that curiosity further leads to exploration and absorption, which altogether lead to higher creativity. Considering that curiosity varies daily, we adopted a daily diary design over 10 consecutive workdays and tested the proposed effects at the within‐person level. The results confirmed that daily curiosity promotes creativity through elevated daily vitality and daily exploration and absorption. More importantly, when accounting for the effect of daily vitality, the mediating effect of exploration and absorption was no longer significant. The findings thus highlight vitality as a more fundamental mechanism responsible for the positive effect of curiosity on creativity, providing a refined understanding of how curiosity fuels creativity.

Zampetakis L.A.

ABSTRACTIn the last decade, research on the connection between curiosity and creativity has surged revealing a positive correlation. However, these findings are primarily based on cross‐sectional studies, which do not establish the direction of the relationship between creativity and curiosity. Is curiosity the driving force behind creativity, or does creativity spark curiosity? The present study addresses this question by examining the potential reciprocal associations between creativity and curiosity within‐persons using state‐of‐the‐art methodology and statistics. Self‐reported data were collected on a weekly basis from a sample of Greek entrepreneurs (N = 195, 49% female) over a 10‐week period. We used the dynamic structural equation modeling (DSEM) framework for data analyses. Results supported the positive relationship between creativity and curiosity within and between individuals. At the within‐person level, creativity and curiosity exhibited significant carry‐over effects from 1 week to the next. However, we did not find consistent evidence for cross‐lagged effects, meaning that curiosity and creativity did not directly cause changes in each other within a 1‐week period. We also found significant random effects underscoring the role of curiosity as a catalyst for creativity, particularly when individuals do not have a strong tendency for their creative levels to persist but do have a strong tendency for their curiosity levels to persist. In such cases, curiosity seems to have a more pronounced impact on shaping creative endeavors. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory and practice and suggest directions for future research.

Le Cunff A.

AbstractThis paper reviews seventy years of theoretical research and proposes systematic curiosity as an integrative tool for human flourishing with a focus on four key aspects: firstly, acknowledge curiosity’s multidimensional nature instead of harmonizing its complex taxonomy; secondly, emphasizing intentional curiosity as opposed to impulsive curiosity; thirdly, prioritizing domain-general curiosity for broader applicability across educational, organizational, and therapeutic settings; and lastly, focusing on curiosity as a developable skill rather than an innate trait. By segmenting systematic curiosity into cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components, and relating these to interactions with the self, others, and the world, the framework aims to apply across the spectrum of human experience. Furthermore, the framework encourages an exploration of various evidence-based activities for flourishing so individuals can discover the most suitable strategies for their specific context. Implications for both theory and practice are examined, limitations are discussed, and avenues for future research are suggested.

Meier M.A., Ehrengruber A., Spitzley L., Eller N., Reiterer C., Rieger M., Skerbinz H., Teuschel F., Wiemer M., Vogel S.E., Grabner R.H.