Capturing, clarifying, and consolidating the curiosity-creativity connection
Abstract The cognitive-motivational concepts of curiosity and creativity are often viewed as intertwined. Yet, despite the intuitively strong linkage between these two concepts, the existing cognitive-behavioral evidence for a curiosity-creativity connection is not strong, and is nearly entirely bas...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2022-09-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-19694-4 |
| _version_ | 1798036461747961856 |
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| author | Wilma Koutstaal Kara Kedrick Joshua Gonzalez-Brito |
| author_facet | Wilma Koutstaal Kara Kedrick Joshua Gonzalez-Brito |
| author_sort | Wilma Koutstaal |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The cognitive-motivational concepts of curiosity and creativity are often viewed as intertwined. Yet, despite the intuitively strong linkage between these two concepts, the existing cognitive-behavioral evidence for a curiosity-creativity connection is not strong, and is nearly entirely based on self-report measures. Using a new lab-based Curiosity Q&A task we evaluate to what extent behaviorally manifested curiosity—as revealed in autonomous inquiry and exploration—is associated with creative performance. In a preregistered study (N = 179) we show that, as hypothesized, the novelty of the questions that participants generated during the Curiosity Q&A Task significantly positively correlated with the originality of their responses on a divergent-thinking task (the conceptually-based Alternative Uses Task). Additionally, the extent to which participants sought out information that was implicitly missing in the presented factual stimuli ("gap-related information foraging") positively correlated with performance on two predominantly convergent-thinking tasks (the Remote Associates Task and Analogy Completion). Question asking, topic-related information foraging, and creative performance correlated with trait-based "interest-type" curiosity oriented toward exploration and novelty, but not with "deprivation-type" curiosity focused on dispelling uncertainty or ignorance. Theoretically and practically, these results underscore the importance of continuing to develop interventions that foster both creative thinking and active autonomous inquiry. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:13:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b6911f3052ff4409848823610755d96e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T21:13:15Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-b6911f3052ff4409848823610755d96e2022-12-22T04:02:56ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-09-0112111310.1038/s41598-022-19694-4Capturing, clarifying, and consolidating the curiosity-creativity connectionWilma Koutstaal0Kara Kedrick1Joshua Gonzalez-Brito2Department of Psychology, University of MinnesotaDepartment of Psychology, University of MinnesotaDepartment of Psychology, University of MinnesotaAbstract The cognitive-motivational concepts of curiosity and creativity are often viewed as intertwined. Yet, despite the intuitively strong linkage between these two concepts, the existing cognitive-behavioral evidence for a curiosity-creativity connection is not strong, and is nearly entirely based on self-report measures. Using a new lab-based Curiosity Q&A task we evaluate to what extent behaviorally manifested curiosity—as revealed in autonomous inquiry and exploration—is associated with creative performance. In a preregistered study (N = 179) we show that, as hypothesized, the novelty of the questions that participants generated during the Curiosity Q&A Task significantly positively correlated with the originality of their responses on a divergent-thinking task (the conceptually-based Alternative Uses Task). Additionally, the extent to which participants sought out information that was implicitly missing in the presented factual stimuli ("gap-related information foraging") positively correlated with performance on two predominantly convergent-thinking tasks (the Remote Associates Task and Analogy Completion). Question asking, topic-related information foraging, and creative performance correlated with trait-based "interest-type" curiosity oriented toward exploration and novelty, but not with "deprivation-type" curiosity focused on dispelling uncertainty or ignorance. Theoretically and practically, these results underscore the importance of continuing to develop interventions that foster both creative thinking and active autonomous inquiry.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-19694-4 |
| spellingShingle | Wilma Koutstaal Kara Kedrick Joshua Gonzalez-Brito Capturing, clarifying, and consolidating the curiosity-creativity connection Scientific Reports |
| title | Capturing, clarifying, and consolidating the curiosity-creativity connection |
| title_full | Capturing, clarifying, and consolidating the curiosity-creativity connection |
| title_fullStr | Capturing, clarifying, and consolidating the curiosity-creativity connection |
| title_full_unstemmed | Capturing, clarifying, and consolidating the curiosity-creativity connection |
| title_short | Capturing, clarifying, and consolidating the curiosity-creativity connection |
| title_sort | capturing clarifying and consolidating the curiosity creativity connection |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-19694-4 |
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