The effect of intrinsic motivation and environmental cues on social creativity

ABSTRACT

Motivation is key to the generation of creative ideas, intrinsic motivation is the core driving force of creativity. Researchers believe that individuals with higher intrinsic motivation will produce higher novelty and flexibility. Creativity may also be influenced by environmental cues, which are objects in the environment that individuals can use to solve problems. This study investigated the influence of intrinsic motivation and environmental cues on social creativity and whether there is an interaction effect of intrinsic motivation and environmental cues on the process of electronic brainstorming (EBS). The results showed that individuals generated more ideas (both in quantity and type) when presented with more cues. In this process, the influence of the number of cues on the fluency and flexibility of social creativity was regulated by intrinsic motivation. The more novel the cues, the higher the overall level of originality of the ideas generated by participants. In this process, the influence of the novelty of cues on the effectiveness and fluency of social creativity was regulated by intrinsic motivation. This study offers a fresh theoretical perspective on the complicated relationship between intrinsic motivation and creativity. Furthermore, it provides empirical evidence to inform training on social creativity for university students.

KEYWORDS:

• Social creativity
• intrinsic motivation
• environmental cues
• electronic brainstorming
• creative ideas

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China [grant number BBA180080].

Notes on contributors

Xiaoqing Ma

Xiaoqing Ma is a master student in the School of Psychology at CCNU. Her research interests include group creativity and interpersonal interaction.

Zhi Bie

Zhi Bie is a master student in the School of Psychology at CCNU. Her research interests include group creativity and interpersonal interaction.

Chun Li

Chun Li is a PhD student of the School of Psychology at CCNU. Her research interests include creativity and online interpersonal interaction.

Chuanhua Gu

Chuanhua Gu is a professor in the School of Psychology at Central China Normal University (CCNU). His research interests include creativity and cyberpsychology.

Qianqian Li

Qianqian Li is a master student in the School of Psychology at CCNU. Her research interests include group creativity and interpersonal interaction.

Yuanyuan Tan

Yuanyuan Tan is a master student in the School of Psychology at CCNU. Her research interests include group creativity and interpersonal interaction.

MengYuan Tian

Mengyuan Tian is a master student in the School of Psychology at CCNU. Her research interests include group creativity and interpersonal interaction.

Cuiying Fan

Cuiying Fan is a professor in the School of Psychology at Central China Normal University (CCNU). Her research interests include Mental health education and development.