Expanding the Mood-Creativity Equation

This article picks up on the suggestion made by Mumford that the relationship of affect to creativity is an important, new trend in the field. Fuel is added to this argument by pointing to evidence indicating that tasks of creative thinking may be particularly mood sensitive. The main stream argument that positive mood unconditionally and reliably facilitates creativity is characterized as a case of premature closure. Evidence is reviewed that calls this general thesis into serious question. It is concluded that creativity is a multifaceted construct, and that different moods are differentially related to different components of creative thinking.

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