Creativity in Scientific Research: Multidisciplinarity Fosters Depth of Ideas Among Scientists in Electronic "Brainwriting" Groups.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the potential benefits of multidisciplinarity among agri-food researchers working in small groups to generate ideas to stimulate innovation in the context of a laboratory project. BACKGROUND: Research on the role of multidisciplinarity in scientific research teams remains limited, particularly regarding the generation of ideas to innovate in a real laboratory project, and on a task with a real challenge for innovation. METHOD: Researchers and agri-food research staff were assigned to small groups of either multidisciplinary or unidisciplinary composition to produce ideas on a cross-cutting theme for an innovative laboratory project using an electronic "brainwriting" application. RESULTS: A greater depth in idea generation (number of ideas per category) was observed in the multidisciplinary condition than in the unidisciplinary condition. CONCLUSION: The main benefits of this study were to experimentally examine the effects of multidisciplinarity in small scientific research groups on the production of ideas in a field study conducted on the premises of an agri-food laboratory. APPLICATION: This study provides advice on how to promote innovative projects by stimulating ideation processes, which includes constructing small multidisciplinary groups and using an electronic "brainwriting" technique.

Stay at home! When personality profiles influence mental health and creativity during the COVID-19 lockdown.

With the COVID-19 outbreak, the population was suddenly forced to "stay at home". Although research suggests that social isolation affects health and wellbeing, reactions may vary depending on individuals. The current study assessed the relationships between personality variables (preference for solitude and Big Five personality), mental health (anxiety, stress, loneliness), and creativity, and tried to determine whether the identified personality profiles affect individuals' mental health and creativity. French respondents (N = 430) filled in an online questionnaire during the first lockdown in Spring 2020. The results showed that the preference for solitude and personality variables of the Big Five predicted individuals' mental health and creativity. Moreover, a cluster analysis revealed three profiles of individuals: "Affiliation", "Emotionally Stable Lonely" and "Emotionally Unstable Lonely". Results showed that individuals with "Affiliation" and "Emotionally Unstable Lonely" profiles expressed higher stress and anxiety, and the latter performed better on a divergent creative thinking task. By contrast, those with an "Emotionally Stable Lonely" profile expressed a lower level of loneliness, and performed better on a creative insight task. These findings reveal the importance of personality profiles in psychological reactions during lockdowns. With this knowledge, health professionals could develop appropriate interventions to accompany high-risk individuals in situations of social isolation. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-01885-3.

Work-From-Home During COVID-19 Lockdown: When Employees' Well-Being and Creativity Depend on Their Psychological Profiles.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, governments implemented successive lockdowns that forced employees to work from home (WFH) to contain the spread of the coronavirus. This crisis raises the question of the effects of mandatory work from home on employees' well-being and performance, and whether these effects are the same for all employees. In the present study, we examined whether working at home may be related to intensity, familiarity with WFH, employees' well-being (loneliness at work, stress, job satisfaction, and work engagement) and creativity ('subjective' and 'objective'). We also examined whether the psychological profile of employees, combining preference for solitude and associated personality variables from the Big Five, may influence the effects of WFH. The data were collected via an online survey from November 13th to December 15th 2020 among 946 employees from various organizations during the second lockdown in France. In addition to identifying two distinctive psychological profiles for employees having to WFH, results revealed that those with a "Solitary" profile reported higher loneliness at work, higher levels of stress, and lower levels of job satisfaction and work engagement than those with an "Affiliative" profile. It was also found that employees with a "Solitary" profile perceived themselves as less creative and produced objectively fewer ideas than individuals with an "Affiliative" profile. The present study suggests the necessity to distinguish the profiles of teleworkers and to offer a stronger support for the less affiliative employees when working from home.

Revisiting the Effects of Gender Diversity in Small Groups on Divergent Thinking: A Large-Scale Study Using Synchronous Electronic Brainstorming.

Numerous studies have examined the effects of gender diversity in groups on creative performance, and no clear effect has been identified. Findings depend on situational cues making gender diversity more or less salient in groups. A large-scale study on two cohorts (N = 2,261) was conducted among business students to examine the impact of the gender diversity in small groups on divergent thinking in an idea-generation task performed by synchronous electronic brainstorming. Participants were automatically randomized in three- or four-member groups to generate ideas during 10 min on a gendered or neutral task. Then, five categories of groups where the proportion of men/women in groups varied from three/four men to three/four women were compared to examine creative performance on three divergent thinking measures (fluency, flexibility, and originality). A Multivariate Generalized Linear Mixed Model (mGLMM) showed greater fluency in all-women groups than in other groups (except mixed-gender groups composed of two men and two women), and more specifically "solo" groups composed of a single woman/man among a majority of men/women. For flexibility and originality, the superiority of all-women groups was found only in comparison to "solo" groups composed of a single woman. As gender differences are more salient in "solo" groups than in other groups faultlines may appear in groups, leading to a deleterious impact on creative performance.

Socio-Emotional Competencies and School Performance in Adolescence: What Role for School Adjustment?

There is growing evidence in the literature of positive relationships between socio-emotional competencies and school performance. Several hypotheses have been used to explain how these variables may be related to school performance. In this paper, we explored the role of various school adjustment variables in the relationship between interpersonal socio-emotional competencies and school grades, using a weighted network approach. This network approach allowed us to analyze the structure of interrelations between each variable, pointing to both central and mediatory school and socio-emotional variables within the network. Self-reported data from around 3,400 French vocational high school students were examined. This data included a set of interpersonal socio-emotional competencies (cognitive and affective empathy, socio-emotional behaviors and collective orientation), school adjustment measures (adaptation to the institution, school anxiety, self-regulation at school, and self-perceived competence at school) as well as grades in mathematics and French language. The results showed that self-regulation at school weighted the most strongly on the whole network, and was the most important mediatory pathway. More specifically, self-regulation mediated the relationships between interpersonal socio-emotional competencies and school grades.

Cultural Diversity in Couples and Collective Performance: Using a Culture-Based Memory Game to Measure Transactive Memory.

Transactive memory refers to the way people in close relationships use each other's memories as extensions of their own to improve their collaborative performance. Although pioneer research has been conducted among close couples, no studies have examined the effects of the cultural composition of couples on transactive memory. The goal of this study was to extend research about the positive impact of cultural diversity on team performance to mixed- (French-Moroccan) and same-culture couples (French-French, Moroccan-Moroccan). Thirty heterosexual couples aged from 22 to 55 years (M = 42.25 years and SD = 8.15) performed a culture-based memory game with cards depicting French and Moroccan culture. The order in which the pairs of cards was found is thought to reflect the efficiency of transactive memory. Results revealed that collective performance was better in mixed French-Moroccan couples than in same-culture couples but only for the French culture cards. These findings suggest that cultural diversity in couples has an impact on transactive memory and should be taken into consideration.

Social comparison orientation moderates the effects of group membership on the similarity-attraction relationship.

The present study examined how the similarity-attraction relationship is affected by a combination of the tendency to compare oneself to other people (Social Comparison Orientation, SCO) and group membership. We expected that high-SCO individuals would prefer similar to dissimilar others only when the target belonged to their in-group and was relevant for the evaluation of their self-concept. It was also expected that among low-SCO individuals who are more certain about the self and less concerned about "being evaluated," a main effect of attitude similarity would appear, regardless of the group membership of the target. Results partially support these predictions and suggest that further research should be carried out into the combined effects of individual and group variables in the attraction literature.

Social comparison and affect: a study among elderly women.

The author investigated how elderly women who recently moved to senior centers reacted in comparison to same-age persons who were either better off or worse off than were the former. The author expected 2 individual difference variables related to uncertainty about oneself-sense of control and social comparison orientation-to interact with social comparison direction to produce affect. Contrary to this expectation, the author observed only main effects of social comparison direction on affect. The results indicated that downward comparison produced more negative affect (and less positive affect) than did upward comparison, independently of participants' individual differences. The results provide some useful information on the social psychology of aging.

Social dominance orientation, prejudice, and discrimination: a new computer-based method for studying discriminatory behaviors.

A number of studies have shown that the scale of social dominance orientation (SDO), used to measure the degree of preference for inequality among social groups, is a predictive measure of social and political attitudes toward stigmatized outgroups. However, the relationship between SDO and discrimination has received little attention. The main goal of this study was to assess the validity of a new computer-based method used to measure discriminatory behaviors in a laboratory setting. An additional goal was to test the mediating role of prejudice in the relation between SDO and discrimination. The results provide a first validation of this new method and demonstrate that the effect of SDO on discrimination is mediated by prejudice.

Does social dominance generate prejudice? Integrating individual and contextual determinants of intergroup cognitions.

Social dominance orientation (SDO) has been proposed as an important variable in the explanation of prejudice. We distinguish between three conceptualizations of SDO: SDO as a personality trait (personality model), SDO as a moderator of the effects of situational variables (Person x Situation model), and SDO as a mediator of the effect of social position on prejudice (group socialization model [GSM]). Four studies (N = 1.657) looking at the relations between social positions, SDO, and prejudice in a natural setting and in a laboratory setting provide strong support for the GSM. In contrast to previous correlational findings, there is evidence of a cause (dominant social position), an effect (prejudice increases), and a mediator (SDO). These results suggest new perspectives on the integration of individual and contextual determinants of prejudice.