Social influences on creativity: Threat, group affiliation, and norms

This research addresses a contradiction in the creativity literature. On one hand, studies show that threat and stress can undermine individuals' creative performance by disrupting cognitive processes critical to creativity. On the other hand during times of threat (e.g. war) creative products and innovations continue to emerge. To reconcile this apparent contradiction I propose that creativity be viewed as an inherently social phenomenon occurring within the tension between individual and group. Further, I argue that group norms play a critical role in the emergence of creativity by supporting or suppressing individual creative expression. Also, although there is considerable evidence that threat influences how individuals respond to their ingroup and its norms, in the context of creative behavior how threat and norms interact is somewhat ambiguous.;Two predictions were tested regarding this interaction. According to social identity theory, threat should encourage norm consistent behavior, enhancing creativity when norms encourage individualism and undermining creative performance when norms discourage individual expression. The group affiliation model, however, predicts that the presence of threat fosters a closer association between the individual and the group, reducing the motivation to create regardless of the prevailing norms.;In Study 1 participants were cued into either an individualistic or collectivistic norms environment that was either under threat or not. The results show that men primed with individualist norms were more creative than those primed with collectivist norms, but this effect was not evident in women, and was eliminated by threat.;In Study 2 the goal of the creative behavior was varied, and was either altruistic or for self-benefit. Study 2 corroborated Study 1 in that there was evidence for the influence of group norms on creative behavior. Regarding the influence of the goal of the creative effort, participants in the individualist condition performed better when others, and not the self, were to benefit from their creative efforts, and vice versa for those in the collectivist condition.;Both studies confirmed the importance of group norms on creative behavior, although this influence can be somewhat variable and is undermined by threat and the presence of self-interest in a collectivist environment.