Journal
ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND HUMAN DECISION PROCESSES
Volume 139, Issue -, Pages 63-75Publisher
ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1016/j.obhdp.2017.01.005
Keywords
Task switching; Creativity; Fixation; Divergent thinking; Convergent thinking; Problem solving
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Whereas past research has focused on the downsides of task switching, the present research uncovers a potential upside: increased creativity. In two experiments, we show that task switching can enhance two principal forms of creativity divergent thinking (Study 1) and convergent thinking (Study 2) in part because temporarily setting a task aside reduces cognitive fixation. Participants who continually alternated back and forth between two creativity tasks outperformed both participants who switched between the tasks at their discretion and participants who attempted one task for the first half of the allotted time before switching to the other task for the second half. Importantly, Studies 3a-3d reveal that people overwhelmingly fail to adopt a continual-Switch approach when incentivized to choose a task switching strategy that would maximize their creative performance. These findings provide insights into how individuals can switch on creativity when navigating multiple creative tasks. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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