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Creative thinking is an indispensable cognitive skill that is becoming increasingly important. In the present research, we tested the impact of games on creativity and emotions in a between-subject online experiment with four conditions (N = 658). (1) participants played a simple puzzle game that allowed many solutions (priming divergent thinking); (2) participants played a short game that required one fitting solution (priming convergent thinking); (3) participants performed mental arithmetic; (4) passive control condition. Results show that divergent and convergent creativity were higher after playing games and lower after mental arithmetic. Positive emotions did not function as a mediator, even though they were also heightened after playing the games and lower after mental arithmetic. However, contrary to previous research, we found no direct effect of emotions, creative self-efficacy, and growth- vs. fixed on creative performance. We discuss practical implications for digital learning and application settings.
Creative thinking is an indispensable cognitive skill that is becoming increasingly important. In the present research, we tested the impact of games on creativity and emotions in a between-subject online experiment with four conditions (N = 658). (1) participants played a simple puzzle game that allowed many solutions (priming divergent thinking); (2) participants played a short game that required one fitting solution (priming convergent thinking); (3) participants performed mental arithmetic; (4) passive control condition. Results show that divergent and convergent creativity were higher after playing games and lower after mental arithmetic. Positive emotions did not function as a mediator, even though they were also heightened after playing the games and lower after mental arithmetic. However, contrary to previous research, we found no direct effect of emotions, creative self-efficacy, and growth- vs. fixed on creative performance. We discuss practical implications for digital learning and application settings.
How games spoil creativity
(2020)
The demand for a creative workforce is every growing and effective measures to improve individual creativity are searched for. This study analyzes the possibility to use games as a prime for a creative mindset. Two short entertainment games, plus a no-game-comparison condition were set up in three versions of an online-study, along with two creativity tasks and scales to assess the individual creative mindset (fixed-vs-growth, creative self-efficacy and affect). Results indicate priming effects of the games, but in the opposite intended direction: gaming diminished the creative test performances. Those playing the games reported more ideas in the open-ended creative problem task, but those answers were of less quality and they solved less closed-problem items compared to those not playing. An impact of further mindset differences could be ruled out.