The Relationship Between Creative Potential And Morality: Association Patterns And Psychological Mechanisms

Creativity and morality are both important forces driving technological progress and social development.On the one hand,creativity in moral domain is beneficial to social welfare;on the other hand,lots of moral problems with the development of technology need to be solved creatively.It looks like the combination of creativity and morality is always promising.However,creativity is associated with “unconventional”and “breaking the rules”,and in contrast,morality reflects “traditional” and “following the rules”.In this way,creativity is in conflict with morality.Thus,what is the relationship between creativity and morality? A review of related research over the past30 years suggests that the answer to this question is far from satisfactory.This is manifested as follows:(1)different scholars hold different views on this,and even there are contradictions;(2)there are conflicts between theoretical inferences and empirical research results;(3)the psychological mechanisms that affect the relationship are still unclear.In view of this,this study,which selects creative potential as an indicator of individual creativity and college students as the research object,aims to examine the relationship between creative potential and morality and its association patterns and psychological mechanism,in an attempt to answer the following four research questions:(1)What is the pattern of the relationship between creative potential and moral reasoning?(2)Does creative potential contribute to general moral problemsolving? What factors affect the relationship?(3)Does creative potential also contribute to moral dilemma problem-solving? What factors affect the relationship?(4)Is there an association of creative potential and moral behavior? What factors influence this association?This study consists of six studies in four parts.The first part aims to examine the relationship between creative potential,creative behavior,and moral reasoning.Study1 asked participants to complete two tests of creative potential,including an Alternate Uses Task(AUT)and a Realistic Presented Problems(RPP);two creative behavior scales,including the Inventory of Creative Activities and Achievements(ICAA)and the Malevolent Creative Behavior Scale(MCBS);one moral reasoning test,the Defining Issues Test 2,which includes four indicators,Personal Interest schema,Maintaining Norms schema,Postconventional schema,and N2 scores(referring to the extent which an individual prefers Postconventional schema and rejects Personal Interest schema).The results showed that creative potential was negatively correlated with Maintaining Norms schema,and positively correlated with Postconventional schema and N2 scores;in contrast,creative behavior was not significantly correlated with four indicators of moral reasoning.The first part indicates individuals with high creative potential make moral judgment based on principles of fairness and full reciprocity(i.e.,post-conventional reasoning),and are more inclined to make the best moral choices.The second and third part is carried out on this basis,exploring whether creative potential can help individuals generate better solutions to moral problems.The second part includes 2 studies,and aims to examine the relationship between creative potential and general moral problem-solving,as well as the mediating effect of moral justification and the moderating effect of empathy.In study 2a,participants were asked to complete AUT,moral justification task,and benevolent and malevolent problem-solving task.In study 2b,participants were asked to complete the Runco Ideational Behavior Scale(RIBS),the Interpersonal Reactivity Index-C(IRI-C),and the benevolent and malevolent problem-solving task.The results showed that creative potential was positively correlated with the number and originality of benevolent/malevolent problem-solving.In addition,Study 2a found that moral justification mediated the relationship between creative potential and the number and effectiveness of benevolent/malevolent problem-solving.Study 2b found that empathy moderated the relationship between creative potential and benevolent/malevolent problem-solving.Specifically,creative potential was only associated with increased effectiveness of benevolent problem-solving in low empathy conditions,but not in high empathy conditions;the creative potential was only associated with decreased harmfulness of malevolent problem-solving in high empathy conditions,but not in low empathy conditions.The third part includes 2 studies,and aims to examine the relationship between creative potential and moral dilemma problem-solving,as well as the mediating effect of moral orientation and the moderating effect of empathy.In these two studies,participants were asked to complete the AUT,RIBS,the Measure of Moral Orientation(only in study 3a),IRI-C(only in study 3b),and the moral dilemma,social dilemma,and personal dilemma problem-solving tasks.The results showed that creative potential was positively correlated with the originality,effectiveness,and number(i.e.,the number of solutions of both effectiveness and ethicality)of moral/social dilemma problem-solving,and originality of personal dilemma problem-solving.In addition,study 3a found that moral justice mediated the relationship between creative potential and the effectiveness of moral dilemma problem-solving;moral care mediated between creative potential and the effectiveness and number of social dilemma problem-solving.Study 3b found that empathy moderated the relationship between creative potential and moral/social dilemma problem-solving.Specifically,creative potential was only associated with increased effectiveness and number of moral/social dilemma problemsolving in low empathy conditions,but not in high empathy conditions.Studies in the first three parts suggest that creative potential contributes to higher levels of moral reasoning,general moral problem-solving,and moral dilemma problemsolving.On this basis,the fourth part extends the results to the behavioral dimension.In study 4,participants were asked to complete RIBS at first,then read donation materials and finish state empathy(including state affective and state cognitive empathy),donation intention,donation behavior,and a benevolent problem-solving task based on donation materials.The results showed that state empathy moderated the relationship between creative potential and benevolent problem-solving,in the same association patterns as the results in study 2b.There was no significant correlation between creative potential and moral behavior,but state cognitive empathy moderated the relationship between creative potential and moral behavior.Specifically,creative potential was only associated with increased donation intention/behavior in low cognitive empathy conditions,but not in high cognitive empathy conditions.Based on the results of six studies,the main conclusions of this study are as follows:(1)Creative potential is associated with higher level of moral reasoning;in contrast,creative behavior(i.e.,ICAA,MCBS)is not directly associated with moral reasoning.(2)Creative potential contributes to moral problem-solving(including benevolent,malevolent,moral dilemma,social dilemma,and personal dilemma problem-solving).(3)Creative potential promotes benevolent and malevolent problem-solving due to higher moral justification.(4)Creative potential promotes moral dilemma problemsolving due to lower moral justice,and promotes social dilemma problem-solving due to higher moral care.(5)Empathy moderates the relationship between creative potential and moral problem-solving.Specifically,compared with individuals with high empathy,the creative potential of individuals with low empathy contributes to benevolent,moral dilemma,and social dilemma problem-solving;compared with individuals with low empathy,the creative potential of individuals with high empathy impairs malevolent problem-solving.(6)State cognitive empathy moderates the relationship between creative potential and moral behavior.Specifically,compared with individuals with high state cognitive empathy,the creative potential of individuals with low state cognitive empathy promotes moral behavior.Theoretically,this study provides preliminary accounts for the relationship between creative potential and moral reasoning,moral problem-solving,and moral behavior,and their association patterns and underlying psychological mechanisms,thus expanding the research on the association of creativity and morality.In particular,this study identified that creative potential not only contributes to moral reasoning and moral problem-solving,but also compensates for the negative effects of lack of empathy,which provide a new perspective for related researches.The practical implications of this study: relevant conclusions contribute to providing some new strategies for moral education,such as enhancing students’ ability of moral reasoning and moral problem solving by developing their creative potential,and through empathy interventions to promote the positive effect of creative potential on moral problem-solving,moral behavior,and so on.