Tolerance of Ambiguity and the Creative Action: To Engage and Endure

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of ambiguity tolerance in the self‐regulation of creative action. First, it traces the conceptual and methodological efforts in developing the construct and describes individual differences in tolerance—intolerance of ambiguity. Then, it examines the empirical studies relating ambiguity tolerance to creative thinking skills, creative performance, motivation for creativity, personality, and creative achievements. The reviewed body of evidence suggests that tolerance of ambiguity strengthens creative motivation, associates with originality, meaning construction, and redefinition skills, and fosters occupational creativity. Third, the paper explores the role of ambiguity tolerance in creative self‐regulation. The conceptual analysis proposes that tolerance of ambiguity is a personal resource to meet the demands of creative work at different levels of complexity—completing a project, pursuing continued creative activity, and growing one's creative enterprise. More specifically, ambiguity‐tolerant individuals tend to engage in intrinsically motivated exploration and experimentation, be open to the process, and playfully approach their tasks. They can endure the discomfort of recurrent encounters with ambiguity throughout the creative process. Furthermore, they may cope with novel, uncertain, contradictory, and complex settings and experiences that one faces in their lifetime dedication to creativity. This comprehensive conceptual framework combines various research perspectives and integrates the individual, social, and developmental aspects of creative self‐regulation. Although a tentative theoretical construction, it identifies mechanisms and processes related to ambiguity tolerance, whose empirical examination will further support expanding research on creative self‐regulation.