e17: Does taking the perspectives of others influence creative thinking?
Wednesday, January 31st, 2024
18:30-19:30 GMT (Europe) • 1:30-2:30 EST (North America, Eastern)
Scientific findings across different fields have very much improved our understanding of empathy. Putting ourselves in someone else's shoes and caring about their needs and desires boosts our motivation to creatively solve problems. Empathy is an invisible bridge that connects human emotions and creative ingenuity!
This month, we aim to delve into understanding the relationship between taking the perspectives of others and Creativity!
We will use the following paper, The necessity of others is the mother of invention by Grant & Berry, as a guide for our thoughtful discussion.
Join us for this engaging first session of 2024!
This meeting has passed, but we would love for you to join us next time!
📄 Grant, A. M., & Berry, J. W. (2011):
Grant, A. M., & Berry, J. W. (2011). The necessity of others is the mother of invention: Intrinsic and prosocial motivations, perspective taking, and creativity. Academy of Management Journal, 54(1), 73–96. 10.5465/AMJ.2011.59215085 Open-source PDF Link
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Although many scholars believe that intrinsic motivation fuels creativity, research has returned equivocal results. Drawing on motivated information processing theory, we propose that the relationship between intrinsic motivation and creativity is enhanced by other-focused psychological processes. Perspective taking, as generated by prosocial motivation, encourages employees to develop ideas that are useful as well as novel. In three studies, using both field and lab data, we found that prosocial motivation strengthened the association between intrinsic motivation and independent creativity ratings. In our second and third studies, perspective taking mediated this moderating effect. We discuss theoretical implications for creativity and motivation.
👋🏼 Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you need pdfs of the articles.