The authors examine the effects of multiple goals on three different tasks (i.e., two creativity tasks and one intervening task) and the discretion to switch back and forth between tasks on creative performance. They propose that individuals' focus of attention and cognitive exhaustion may explain the hypothesized effects on incubation and subsequent creativity. Results demonstrate the highest creativity when individuals have goals for all tasks and discretion to switch between them. The results in part are explained by focus of attention and cognitive exhaustion. The authors discuss how multiple tasks'and goals' effect on creativity can lead to forced incubation.
Amabile, T.M.1996. Creativity in context. Boulder, CO : Westview.
2.
Baron, R.M., & Kenny, D.A.1986. The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic and statistical considerations . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51: 1173-1182.
3.
Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Sawyer, K.1995. Creative insight: The social dimension of a solitary moment . In R. J. Sternberg & J. E. Davidson (Eds.), The nature of insight (pp. 329-363). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
4.
Dijksterhuis, A.2004. Think different: The merits of unconscious thought in preference development and decision making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87: 586-598.
5.
Elsbach, K.D., & Hargadon, A.B.2006. Enhancing creativity through "mindless" work: A framework of workday design. Organization Science, 17: 470-483.
6.
Farmer, S.M., Tierney, P., & Kung-McIntyre, K.2003. Employee creativity in Taiwan: An application of role identity theory. Academy of Management Journal, 46: 618-630.
7.
Finke, R.A., Ward, T.B., & Smith, S.M.1992. Creative cognition: Theory, research, and applications . Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
8.
Gardner, D.G., & Cummings, L.L.1988. Activation theory and job design: Review and reconceptualization. In B. Staw & L. Cummings (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 10, pp. 81-122). Greenwich, CT: JAI.
9.
Howard-Jones, P.A., & Murray, S.2003. Ideational productivity, focus of attention and context . Creativity Research Journal, 15: 153-166.
10.
Jett, Q.R., & George, J.M.2003. Work interrupted: A closer look at the role of interruptions in organizational life. Academy of Management Review, 28: 494-507.
11.
Kazanjian, R.K., Drazin, R., & Glynn, M.A.2000. Creativity and technological learning: The roles of organization architecture and crisis in large-scale projects. Journal of Engineering and Technology Management, 17: 273-298.
12.
Konig, C.J., Buhner, M., & Murling, G.2005. Working memory, fluid intelligence, and attention are predictors of multitasking performance, but polychronicity and extraversion are not. Human Performance, 18: 243-266.
13.
Locke, E.A., & Latham, G.P.1990. A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
14.
Madjar, N., & Oldham, G.R.2006. Task rotation and polychronicity: Effects on individuals' creativity. Human Performance, 19: 117-131.
15.
Mumford, M.D.2000. Managing creative people: Strategies and tactics for innovation . Human Resources Management Review, 10: 313-351.
16.
Oldham, G.R.2003. Stimulating and supporting creativity in organizations . In S. Jackson, M. Hitt, & A. DeNisi (Eds.), Managing knowledge for sustained competitive advantage (pp. 243-273). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
17.
Oldham, G.R., & Cummings, A.1996. Employee creativity: Personal and contextual factors at work. Academy of Management Journal, 39: 607-634.
18.
Olton, R.M., & Johnson, D.M.1976. Mechanisms of incubation in creative problem solving. American Journal of Psychology, 89: 617-630.
19.
Scott, S.G., & Bruce, R.A.1994. Determinants of innovative behavior: A path model of individual innovation in the workplace. Academy of Management Journal , 37: 580-607.
20.
Sedek, G., & Kofta, M.1990. When cognitive exertion does not yield cognitive gain: Toward an informational explanation of learned helplessness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58: 729-743.
21.
Segal, E.2004. Incubation in insight problem solving. Creativity Research Journal, 16: 141-148.
22.
Shalley, C.E.1991. Effects of productivity goals, creativity goals, and personal discretion on individual creativity. Journal of Applied Psychology , 76: 179-185.
23.
Shalley, C.E.1995. Effects of coaction, expected evaluation, and goal setting on creativity and productivity. Academy of Management Journal , 38: 483-503.
24.
Shalley, C.E., & Oldham, G.R.1997. Competition and creative performance: Effects of competitor presence and visibility. Creativity Research Journal, 10: 337-345.
25.
Shalley, C.E., & Perry-Smith, J.P.2001. Effects of social-psychological factors on creative performance: The role of information and controlling expected evaluation and modeling experience. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 84: 1-22.
26.
Shalley, C.E., Zhou, J., & Oldham, G.R.2004. The effects of personal and contextual characteristics on creativity: Where should we go from here? Journal of Management , 30: 933-958.
27.
Smith, S.M., & Dodds, R.A.1999. Incubation. In M. A. Runco & S. R. Pritzker (Eds.), Encyclopedia of creativity (pp. 39-43). London: Academic Press.
28.
Sobel, M.E.1982. Asymptotic confidence intervals for indirect effects in structural equation models. In S. Leinhardt (Ed.), Sociological methodology (pp. 290-312). Washington, DC: American Sociological Association.
29.
Torrance, E.P.1974. Torrance tests of creative thinking: Directions manual and scoring guide. Lexington, MA: Personnel Press.
30.
Wallas, G.1926. The art of thought. New York: Harcourt .
31.
Wells, D.H.1996. Forced incubation. Creativity Research Journal, 83: 407-209.
32.
West, M.A., & Farr, J.L.1990. Innovation at work. In M. West & J. Farr (Eds.), Innovation and creativity at work: Psychological and organizational strategies (pp. 3-13). Chichester, UK: Wiley.
33.
Zhou, J.1998. Feedback valence, feedback style, task autonomy, and achievement orientation: Interactive effects on creative performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83: 261-276.
