I’ve blogged about this before, but I figure I should link to the appropriate study.
Key concept: When a creative task is portrayed as originating from far rather than a close location…we provide more creative responses.
Abstract (Via Science Direct)
Recent research [Förster, J., Friedman, R. S., & Liberman, N. (2004). Temporal construal effects on abstract and concrete thinking: Consequences for insight and creative cognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 177–189] has identified temporal distance as a situational moderator of creativity. According to Construal Level Theory [Liberman, N., Trope, Y., & Stephan, E. (2007). Psychological Distance. In E. T. Higgins & A. W. Kruglanski (Eds.), Social psychology: A handbook of basic principles (pp. 353–381). New York: Guilford Press], temporal distance is just one case of the broader construct of psychological distance. In the present research, we investigated the effect of another dimension of psychological distance, namely, spatial distance, on creative cognition and insight problem solving. In two studies, we demonstrate that when the creative task is portrayed as originating from a far rather than close location, participants provide more creative responses (Study 1) and perform better on a problem solving task that requires creative insight (Study 2). Both theoretical and practical implications of this finding are discussed.
Related posts:
- Why A Good Friend Has the Same Effect As a Warm Fire
- Financial Lessons in Mass Deception
- [Oh No!] Five Myths About Our Land of Opportunity
- What Is The Zeigarnik Effect? The Effects of Dissonance Produced by Incomplete Tasks
- Jim Chanos Presentation: Ten Lessons from the Financial Crisis that investors will soon forget
- Who triggers the black sheep effect?
- Money Giveth, Money Taketh Away The Dual Effect of Wealth on Happiness
- Analysts Get SAD Too: The Effect of Seasonal Affective Disorder on Stock Analysts’ Earnings Estimates
- Video: Funding the Big Idea: Lessons from an Investor
- Poker and the Endowment Effect