The Effect Of Emotion On Malevolent Creativity

The present study aimed to investigate the effect of emotion on malevolent creativity by carding the three dimensions of emotion (i.e. valence, arousal, and regulatory focus). We aimed to answer these three scientific questions. Whether does negative emotion affect malevolent creativity? Whether does negative emotion of different regulatory focus have different effect on malevolent creativity? Whether could regulating negative emotion reduce malevolent creativity?In experiment 1, we explore the effect of natural emotion on malevolent creative performance. We measured aggression trait, natural emotion and malevolent creativity in daily life, and used negative situational task to assess malevolent creativity. The results showed that the whole arousal of emotion could facilitate individuals generate more original malicious ideas. In experiment 2a, we explore the effect of induced emotion on malevolent creativity. We induced emotion by using emotional pictures, did pre-test and pro-test of arousal and valence, and measured creativity in daily life (other scales and task as same as experiment 1). The results showed that the valence and arousal of induced emotion did interact on malevolent creativity. That is to say, compared to high arousal positive emotion, high arousal negative emotion could cause more originality of performance in malevolent creativity task; and compared to high arousal positive emotion, low arousal positive emotion could facilitate more original malicious ideas. In experiment 2b, we explore the difference effect of approach focus and avoidance focus of negative emotion on malevolent creativity. We induced negative emotion by using film section, and did pre-test and pro-test of emotion (other scales and task as same as experiment 2a). The results showed that there was no difference between the effect of approach focus and avoidance focus of high arousal negative emotion on malevolent creativity. In experiment 3. we explore the effect of regulating negative emotion on reducing malevolent creativity. Participants learned a regulation strategy to regulate the following emotion which would be induced by negative emotional film, and did pre-test and pro-test of emotion (other scales and task as same as experiment 2a). The results showed that the cognitive reappraisal strategy had better regulating outcomes, but the expressive suppression strategy could reduce the originality of malevolent creativity.These results of the four experiments suggested that high arousal negative emotion could promote malevolent creativity and the regulatory focus of it had no different effect on malevolent creativity. Regulating negative emotion by expressive suppression strategy, while compared to cognitive reappraisal, could reduce the originality of malevolent creativity.