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Connecting the dots within: creative performance and identity integration
Chi-Ying Cheng1, Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks, Fiona Lee
1School of Social Sciences, Singapore Management University, Singapore, 178903, Republic of Singapore. cycheng@smu.edu.sg
Psychological Science
|December 17, 2008
Summary
Higher identity integration, the compatibility between social identities, boosts creativity by enabling access to diverse knowledge. This was observed in Asian Americans and female engineers, enhancing their creative problem-solving skills.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Creativity Research
Background:
- Social identity theory explains how group memberships shape self-concept.
- The creative-cognition approach links cognitive processes to creative thinking.
- Identity integration, the perceived compatibility between social identities, is a key factor in psychological well-being and performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between identity integration and creative performance.
- To explore how perceived compatibility between social identities influences creativity in specific contexts.
- To examine the role of knowledge domain accessibility in mediating the effect of identity integration on creativity.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted, drawing on social identity theory and the creative-cognition approach.
- Study 1 involved Asian Americans performing a creative task (dish development) with varied ingredient availability.
- Study 2 involved female engineers performing a creative task (product design) with user-targeting variations.
Main Results:
- Higher identity integration predicted greater creative performance in tasks requiring knowledge from multiple identity domains.
- Asian Americans with higher identity integration showed increased creativity when both Asian and American ingredients were available.
- Female engineers with higher identity integration were more creative in product design for female users.
Conclusions:
- Perceived compatibility between social identities (identity integration) is positively associated with creative performance.
- Psychological management of multiple social identities enhances creativity by increasing access to relevant knowledge domains.
- Findings highlight the importance of considering identity integration in understanding and fostering creativity.
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