Investigating the negative link between perfectionism and emotional divergent thinking

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Cognitive Science
• Creativity Research

Background:

• Perfectionism negatively impacts idea originality in Divergent Thinking (DT) tasks.
• Striving for excellence positively influences DT abilities.
• Mediating factors for these associations require clarification.

Purpose of the Study:

• Investigate mediating roles of doubts, concerns, openness, empathy, and emotions in perfectionism and excellencism's effect on DT.
• Examine an emotional DT task involving self-esteem and frustration.
• Clarify the relationship between personality traits, emotions, and creative output.

Main Methods:

• Surveyed 282 university students on perfectionism, excellencism, DT abilities, openness, empathy, and emotions.
• Conducted mediation analyses to test proposed relationships.
• Utilized an emotional DT task assessing originality of responses.

Main Results:

• Replicated negative association between perfectionism and DT abilities.
• Perfectionism linked to lower empathy and more primary negative emotions.
• Openness, empathy, positive, and secondary negative emotions positively predicted idea originality.

Conclusions:

• Excellencism, not perfectionism, fosters original idea generation.
• Empathy and openness are crucial for DT.
• Managing emotions, particularly embracing positive and secondary negative emotions, enhances creativity.