Motivation and Creativity: Effects of Motivational Orientation on Creative Writers

This study directly tested the hypothesis that intrinsic motivation is conducive to creativity and extrinsic motivation is detrimental. Chosen because they identified themselves as actively involved in creative writing, 72 young adults participated in individual laboratory sessions where they were asked to write 2 brief poems. Before writing the second poem, subjects in an intrinsic orientation condition completed a questionnaire that focused on intrinsic reasons for being involved in writing. Subjects in an extrinsic orientation condition completed a questionnaire that focused on extrinsic reasons. Those in a control condition were not given a questionnaire on reasons for writing. Although there were no initial differences between conditions on prior involvement in writing or on creativity of the first poems written, there were significant differences in the creativity of the poems written after the experimental manipulations. Poems written under an extrinsic orientation were significantly less creative than those written in the other two conditions. Implications for social-psychological and individual-difference conceptions of creativity are discussed.