2012年1月31日 星期二

The relations of gender and personality traits on different creativities: A dual-process theory account.

Authors:
Lin, Wei-Lun
Hsu, Kung-Yu
Chen, Hsueh-Chih (陳學志)
Wang, Jenn-Wu
Source: Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Dec 12, 2011.

Abstract:
In the present study we examine the ways in which gender and personality traits are related to divergent thinking and insight problem solving. According to the dual-process theory account of creativity, we propose that gender and personality traits might influence the ease and choice of the processing mode and, hence, affect 2 creativity measures in different ways. Over 300 participants' responses on the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (Chen, 2006), HEXACO Personality Inventory (Ashton & Lee, 2009; Lee & Ashton, 2004), Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (Yu, 1993), and performance while conducting insight-problem tasks, are collected. The results show that Openness was positively correlated with divergent thinking performance, whereas Emotionality was negatively correlated with insight problem-solving performance. Women performed better on divergent thinking tests, whereas men's capabilities were superior on insight problem tasks. Furthermore, Openness exhibited a mediating effect on the relationships between gender and divergent thinking. The relationships among gender, personality, and creative performance, as well as the implications of these findings on cultural differences and real-field creativity, are discussed.

2012年1月30日 星期一

Dean Keith Simonton 新書:Great Flicks Scientific Studies of Cinematic Creativity and Aesthetics

Description


詳細內容請點選 Oxford University Press

What does it take to make a great motion picture? What do we even mean by cinematic greatness? What is more important: movie awards, critical acclaim, or box office success? Who has the biggest impact: the writer, the director, or the actors? Scientific research has provided some provocative answers.

This review of cinematic creativity and aesthetics is confined to scientific studies carried out by a multidisciplinary group of researchers. Do great films receive both shiny trophies and five stars? Chapter 2 concentrates on movie awards, including the Oscars and Golden Globes, and how those awards relate to critical acclaim. How do the dramatic awards compare with the visual, technical, and music awards? Chapter 3 studies more closely how these awards cluster together and which of these clusters best predict cinematic success. How does box office compare with critical evaluations and movie awards? Chapter 4 adds a new consideration, namely the film's financial performance.

The following four chapters focus on specific contributions to a film's impact: Chapter 5 covers the script (including writers), Chapter 6 the director (or "auteur"), Chapter 7 the actors (especially gender differences), and Chapter 8 the music (both scores and songs). Chapter 9 addresses the question of whether the same cinematic factors that make some films great also make other films bad: Are bombs the exact opposite of masterpieces? The book closes with an epilogue on future directions in scientific studies of cinematic creativity and aesthetics. What do researchers need to do if we want a complete understanding of what it takes to create a powerful cinematic experience?

This volume will be invaluable to anyone interested in film, including any aficionado who is open to a scientific approach, and researchers in the areas of creativity, aesthetics, and cultural economics. The reported research comes from many disciplines, including psychology, sociology, economics, management, marketing, communications, journalism, broadcasting, history, musicology, and statistics.

2012年1月16日 星期一

杜格利殊:創造力不足

(iBall.hk)上輪英超聯賽作客曼城慘吞3蛋後,利物浦在上周六回師主場迎戰史篤城,結果與對手互交白卷下完場,賽後領隊杜格利殊對賽果感失望,也承認球隊遇上創造力及把握力不足的問題。

首循環作客史篤城,利物浦以0:1敗走;上周六的次循環,雙方易地而戰,結果紅軍還是無法報卻首循環的一箭仇。綜觀今仗雙方進攻都相當疲弱,利物浦數字上雖有壓倒性的優勢,埋門次數足足是史篤城的5倍(15:3),不過命中目標的次卻一樣各有一次,而且控球時間也接近7成的情況下,最終只得互交白卷下完場,這反映了紅軍在蘇亞雷斯禁賽下,球隊攻力大受削弱。

對於無法在主場取勝,杜格利殊當然感到失望,並指出球隊今季於主場連番失分是球隊最近成績下滑的原因,也承認球隊確實出現問題。

「我們應該在比賽中創造更多的機會,然後好好把握擊敗史篤城,可惜我們做不到,比賽中我們有兩次很好的破門機會,像這樣的比賽,你得好好把握。」今仗是利物浦今季第7次在主場失分,換言之,紅軍至今於主場共失掉了14分,而且在主場的得球數字也是前列6支球隊之中最少的。

「球隊的防線看來頗為鞏固,史篤城只在上半場有過一次射門,之後也再沒有了,可惜我們就是表現得不夠好,所以未能將他們擊倒。」

Do transformational leaders enhance their followers' daily work engagement?

Author(s): Tims, Maria; Bakker, Arnold B. ; Xanthopoulou, Despoina

Source:
LEADERSHIP QUARTERLY Volume: 22 Issue: 1 Pages: 121-131

Abstract: This diary study investigated whether and how supervisors' leadership style influences followers' daily work engagement. On the basis of leadership theories and the job demands-resources model, we predicted that a transformational leadership style enhances employees' work engagement through the mediation of self-efficacy and optimism, on a day-to-day basis. Forty-two employees first filled in a general questionnaire, and then a diary survey over five consecutive workdays. The results of multilevel analyses offered partial support for our hypotheses. Daily transformational leadership related positively to employees' daily engagement, and day-levels of optimism fully mediated this relationship. However, daily self-efficacy did not act as a mediator. These findings expand theory and previous research by illuminating the role of transformational leaders in fostering employee work engagement.

Leadership behaviors and group creativity in Chinese organizations: The role of group processes

Author(s): Zhang, Ann Yan; Tsui, Anne S. ; Wang, Duan Xu
Source: LEADERSHIP QUARTERLY Volume: 22 Issue: 5 Pages: 851-862

Abstract: In seeking to understand the factors contributing to work group creativity in Chinese organizations, we explored the roles of two different leadership styles (transformational and authoritarian) that Chinese leaders play in group creativity through influencing internal group processes, i.e., collective efficacy and knowledge sharing among group members. We tested our hypotheses with a sample of 163 work groups involving 973 employees in twelve Chinese companies. We found transformational leadership to relate positively but authoritarian leadership to relate negatively to group creativity, mediated by both collective efficacy and knowledge sharing among members within the group. We discuss the implications of these findings for research on group leadership, group creativity and cross-cultural management.

2012年1月10日 星期二

Creativity, trust and systematic processes in product development

  • by Anna Brattström,
  • Hans Löfsten,
  • Anders Richtnér

Abstract

This paper addresses the challenge of striking a balance between, on one hand, mitigating uncertainty through the existence of systematic processes and structures and, on the other, stimulating creativity through allowable variation in work processes and structures. Both objectives are fundamental aspects of product development work. Our main finding is that both objectives can be achieved simultaneously. We introduce trust as a mediating variable. We show first, that being systematic in the processes for obtaining information and applying explicit organizational rules and structures in product development work creates an atmosphere of trust in the organization. Second, we show that trust increases creativity. The paper contributes to an understanding of how and why trust is important in product development organizations and of how trust can be actively managed. Above all, the paper contributes to the understanding of how uncertainty and creativity should be managed in organizations conducting product development.