Effects Of Mood On Creativity In Different Task Framings

Taking a view of creativity can bring new and important insights to our understanding of the both process and outcomes of creative generation. Literature shows that mood is the result of interaction of individual and environment as a important variable affecting creativity. The environmental factors such as the task framing or emotional impact take effect to the individual performance, and as an active promoter of self-development, individual also play a dynamic role on the environment. Therefore, the present study will examine the effects of mood on creativity in different task framing, and the mechanism of cognitive flexibility and cognitive persistence between mood and creativity.The present study took random sampling as the research method. In the first experiment, we investigated 146 freshmen as participants, with single factor randomized block design, examined the effects of creativity and its dimensions. In the second experiment, we investigated 238 freshmen as participants, with 5×2 multi-factor randomized block design, examined the effects of mood and task framing on creativity and its dimensions. Furthermore, we examined the mechanism of task framing between mood and creativity, the mechanisms of cognitive flexibility and cognitive persistence between mood and creativity in different task framings. In present study, we mainly took the independent samples T test, ANOVA analysis, multivariate analysis of variance as the statistical analysis and hierarchy regression.The main conclusions are as follows:1. Mood had significantly difference on creativity and its dimensions. Creativity of individuals in activating mood was higher than individuals in deactivating mood, that is to say, creativity of individuals in happy, anger and fear mood was higher than individuals in relax and sad mood.2. The interact effect of mood and task framing on creativity had significant differences. In fun task framing, individuals in happy mood got the highest score than other four moods in creativity and its dimensions. In serious task framing, creativity of individuals in anger and sad mood was higher than individuals in other three moods.3. Task framing can moderate the relationship between mood and creativity, in detail, in serious task framing, individuals in relax mood predicted creativity in negative direction, individuals in anger and fear mood predicted creativity in positive direction.4. In different task framing, cognitive flexibility partly mediated the relationship between mood and creativity. In detail, in serious task framing, cognitive flexibility partly mediated the relationship between individuals in happy mood and creativity and fluency, the relationship between individuals in relax mood and creativity and fluency.5. In different task framing, cognitive persistence partly mediated the relationship between mood and creativity. In detail, in serious task framing, cognitive persistence partly mediated the relationship between individual in anger mood and creativity , fluency and originality, the relationship between individual in fear mood and creativity , fluency and originality. In fun task framing, cognitive persistence partly mediated the relationship between individual in sad mood and creativity , fluency and originality.