IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/osf/osfxxx/pz9yx.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Human Creativity: Functions, Mechanisms and Social Conditioning

Author

Listed:
  • De Dreu, Carsten
  • Nijstad, Bernard A.

    (University of Groningen)

  • Baas, Matthijs

Abstract

Creativity is part and parcel of human history and enables (groups of) individuals to adapt to and shape their natural and social surroundings. Here we identify (1) core functions of creativity (“what is it for?”) in terms of its ability to solve ill-defined problems of survival and prosperity and, (2) the neurocognitive mechanisms (“how does it work?”) underlying creative production in terms of cognitive persistence and flexibility. We summarize experimental support for this Dual Pathway to Creativity Model (DPCM) from our own laboratory and that of others, and review work implicating the dopamine-innervated fronto-striatal circuitry in achieving a balance between cognitive flexibility on the one hand, and persistence on the other. We use DPCM to analyze how creativity emerges and develops across the lifespan. We show (3) how personalities and psychopathologies marked by approach (avoidance) motivation link to creativity because of enhanced capacity for flexibility (persistence), and (4) how socio-cultural factors, including psychological safety, diversity, and leadership, condition individual and group creativity. We conclude with open questions for future research, including how (5) individuals and groups move from generating to implementing creative ideas, insights, and problem solutions.

Suggested Citation

  • De Dreu, Carsten & Nijstad, Bernard A. & Baas, Matthijs, 2023. "Human Creativity: Functions, Mechanisms and Social Conditioning," OSF Preprints pz9yx, Center for Open Science.
    • Handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:pz9yx
    DOI: 10.31219/osf.io/pz9yx
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://osf.io/download/64845ed5cb70be02e1f9736a/
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.31219/osf.io/pz9yx?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James G. March, 1991. "Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 71-87, February.
    2. Sanjiv Erat & Uri Gneezy, 2016. "Incentives for creativity," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 19(2), pages 269-280, June.
    3. Oded Berger-Tal & Jonathan Nathan & Ehud Meron & David Saltz, 2014. "The Exploration-Exploitation Dilemma: A Multidisciplinary Framework," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(4), pages 1-8, April.
    4. Jascha Hoffman, 2009. "Q&A: Chemistry in the kitchen," Nature, Nature, vol. 457(7227), pages 267-267, January.
    5. Goncalo, Jack A. & Staw, Barry M., 2006. "Individualism-collectivism and group creativity," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 96-109, May.
    6. M. R. Lee & T. A. Shnitko & S. W. Blue & A. V. Kaucher & A. J. Winchell & D. W. Erikson & K. A. Grant & L. Leggio, 2020. "Labeled oxytocin administered via the intranasal route reaches the brain in rhesus macaques," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.
    7. Sanjiv Erat & Uri Gneezy, 2017. "Erratum to: Incentives for creativity," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 20(1), pages 274-275, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. repec:osf:osfxxx:pz9yx_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Emma von Essen & Marieke Huysentruyt & Topi Miettinen, 2019. "Exploration in Teams and the Encouragement Effect: Theory and Evidence," Economics Working Papers 2019-10, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    3. Emma von Essen & Marieke Huysentruyt & Topi Miettinen, 2020. "Exploration in Teams and the Encouragement Effect: Theory and Experimental Evidence," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(12), pages 5861-5885, December.
    4. Katharina Laske & Nathalie Römer & Marina Schröder, 2024. "Piece-Rate Incentives and Idea Generation – An Experimental Analysis," CESifo Working Paper Series 11594, CESifo.
    5. Dario Blanco-Fernandez & Stephan Leitner & Alexandra Rausch, 2022. "Interactions between the individual and the group level in organizations: The case of learning and autonomous group adaptation," Papers 2203.09162, arXiv.org.
    6. Glenn Dutcher & Cortney S. Rodet, 2022. "Which two heads are better than one? Uncovering the positive effects of diversity in creative teams," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 884-897, November.
    7. Haans, Richard F.J. & van Witteloostuijn, Arjen, 2024. "Does foreign language liberate or limit creativity? Three experiments on foreign language anxiety and use, and divergent and convergent thinking," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(4).
    8. Cortney S. Rodet, 2021. "The wellspring of creativity? Using divergent‐thinking tasks to understand creative characteristics," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(6), pages 1435-1453, September.
    9. Gill, David & Prowse, Victoria L., 2021. "The Creativity Premium," IZA Discussion Papers 14421, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Englmaier, Florian & Grimm, Stefan & Schindler, David & Schudy, Simeon, 2018. "The Effect of Incentives in Non-Routine Analytical Team Tasks - Evidence From a Field Experiment," Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series 71, CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition.
    11. Benslimane, Ismaël & Crosetto, Paolo & Magni-Berton, Raul & Varaine, Simon, 2023. "Intellectual property reform in the laboratory," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 204-221.
    12. Zou, Fei & Yang, Mei & Zhou, Yanju & Deng, Yaling & Xie, Baiwei, 2024. "Goal-gradient point rewards can increase consumers' willingness to purchase poverty-alleviating products," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    13. Giuseppe Attanasi & Michela Chessa & Sara Gil-Gallen & Patrick Llerena, 2021. "A survey on experimental elicitation of creativity in economics," Revue d'économie industrielle, De Boeck Université, vol. 0(2), pages 273-324.
    14. Stylianos Kavadias & Karl T. Ulrich, 2020. "Innovation and New Product Development: Reflections and Insights from the Research Published in the First 20 Years of Manufacturing & Service Operations Management," Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, INFORMS, vol. 22(1), pages 84-92, January.
    15. van Lent, Max, 2025. "Peer creativity and academic achievement," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    16. Michela Chessa & Benjamin Prissé, 2024. "The Evaluation of Creativity," GREDEG Working Papers 2024-16, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    17. Zhi Yang & Xuemin Zhou & Pengcheng Zhang, 2015. "Discipline versus passion: Collectivism, centralization, and ambidextrous innovation," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 745-769, September.
    18. de Vet, A.J., 2007. "The effects of thinking in silence on creativity and innovation," Other publications TiSEM 75a9cbd3-19ab-4f82-ad2f-5, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    19. Sands, Daniel B. & Sohn, Eunhee & Seamans, Robert, 2025. "Concept and creativity: Proof-of-concept demonstration and aviation innovation in the United States, 1894–1913," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 54(5).
    20. Thomas Görzen, 2019. "“What’s the Point of the Task?” Exploring the Influence of Task Meaning on Creativity in Crowdsourcing," Working Papers Dissertations 54, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    21. Joaquin Artes & Jennifer Graves & Meryl Motika, 2019. "Creativity under Pressure: Performance Payments, Task Type and Productivity," Working Papers 20190028, New York University Abu Dhabi, Department of Social Science, revised Oct 2019.

    More about this item

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:osf:osfxxx:pz9yx. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: OSF (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://osf.io/preprints/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.