Disentangling the Relationship Between Mindfulness and Creativity: The Role of Conceptual and Experimental Creative Methods

Abstract

Prior research has indicated that mindfulness has the potential to enhance individuals' functioning in many ways. However, explorations of its relationship with creativity have elicited contrasting results that remain unresolved, and the underlying processes of this relationship remain unclear. In the present research, we examine whether and how conceptual and experimental creative problem-solving methods function as mechanisms linking mindfulness and creativity. We test our theoretical model in three studies: two survey-based studies (the first with online crowd-workers, the second with employees from Italian and Croatian small- and medium-sized enterprises) and an experiment conducted at a Slovenian university. The results indicate that conceptual creative methods mediate the positive relationship between mindfulness and creativity, such that higher mindfulness leads to greater use of conceptual methods, which in turn enhances creativity. Experimental creative methods do not mediate this relationship, indicating that mindfulness does not enhance creativity through increased use of experimental methods. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory and practice.