{"title":"The double-edged sword of stress: A systematic meta-analysis on how stress impacts creativity","authors":"Yi Huang , Rongjun Yu","doi":"10.1016/j.neubiorev.2025.106113","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The present study provides up-to-date meta-analytical estimates of the impact of experimentally induced stress on individuals’ creative performance. Using a three-level meta-analytic model, we observed an overall negative effect of stress on creativity (d = −0.20). Our analysis reveals that this relationship is nuanced, and influenced by a variety of factors. Social-evaluative threats (SETs) did not significantly affect creativity overall (d = −0.08). Specifically, tests significantly reduced creativity, while competition showed a non-significant positive trend and (expected) performance evaluation showed a non-significant negative trend. Furthermore, results showed that mild SETs (one element) slightly but not significantly increased creativity, whereas severe SETs (three elements) significantly decreased it, indicating a curvilinear relationship. Non-social stressors, including time pressure and physical stress, significantly hindered creative performance (d = −0.45), with challenging tasks also showing a negative but non-significant effect. Additionally, the impact of stress on creativity varied by age group. Children’s creativity was notably reduced by competition, physical stress, and challenging tasks, whereas adults and adolescents’ creativity appeared to benefit from competition. Adults’ creative performance was most negatively impacted by time pressure and remained relatively stable across other stressors. These findings underscore the complex and multifaceted nature of the effects of stress on creativity. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56105,"journal":{"name":"Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews","volume":"172 ","pages":"Article 106113"},"PeriodicalIF":7.5000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763425001137","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The present study provides up-to-date meta-analytical estimates of the impact of experimentally induced stress on individuals’ creative performance. Using a three-level meta-analytic model, we observed an overall negative effect of stress on creativity (d = −0.20). Our analysis reveals that this relationship is nuanced, and influenced by a variety of factors. Social-evaluative threats (SETs) did not significantly affect creativity overall (d = −0.08). Specifically, tests significantly reduced creativity, while competition showed a non-significant positive trend and (expected) performance evaluation showed a non-significant negative trend. Furthermore, results showed that mild SETs (one element) slightly but not significantly increased creativity, whereas severe SETs (three elements) significantly decreased it, indicating a curvilinear relationship. Non-social stressors, including time pressure and physical stress, significantly hindered creative performance (d = −0.45), with challenging tasks also showing a negative but non-significant effect. Additionally, the impact of stress on creativity varied by age group. Children’s creativity was notably reduced by competition, physical stress, and challenging tasks, whereas adults and adolescents’ creativity appeared to benefit from competition. Adults’ creative performance was most negatively impacted by time pressure and remained relatively stable across other stressors. These findings underscore the complex and multifaceted nature of the effects of stress on creativity. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
期刊介绍:
The official journal of the International Behavioral Neuroscience Society publishes original and significant review articles that explore the intersection between neuroscience and the study of psychological processes and behavior. The journal also welcomes articles that primarily focus on psychological processes and behavior, as long as they have relevance to one or more areas of neuroscience.