Annotated Bibliography
1. Fear Becomes the Unintended Consequence of Creativity/Innovation
Campbell, Kenneth D. “Fear Becomes the Unintended Consequence of Creativity/Innovation.” Journal of Leadership Studies, vol. 9, no. 3, Fall 2015, pp. 60–61. Business Source Ultimate, doi:10.1002/jls.21407.
In this article by Kenneth Campbell, he discusses how fear can inhibit one’s creativity. He focuses on the concept that human beings like stability and consistency. Creativity, innovation and change produce uncertainty about the future, leading us to feel anxious or stressed, unconsciously producing fear. Campbell also discusses the fear that generates in the workplace between leaders and employees. He says the pressure to develop creativity and innovation within organizations creates stress from three different perspectives: the psychological pressure to produce creative ideas, the fear of the effects if the innovation is not as productive as expected, and the anxiety of prior success with expectations for future success. He talks specifically about the fear of failure, and how it leads to an increased probability of failure.
This article provided me with reliable, non-biased information to help answer my research question about the fears that prevent us from being creative. I was able to gain knowledge about the emotions behind fear itself, as well as, the fear of uncertainty and the fear of failure.
2. Research on Correlation on Self-Confidence and Creativity
Kang, Hyo Jin, and Boyeun Kim. “Research on Correlation of Self-Confidence and Creativity.” Journal of Digital Convergence, vol. 17, no. 6, June 2019, pp. 381–388. Business Source Ultimate, doi:10.14400/JDC.2019.17.6.381.
This article looks at the correlation between self-confidence and creativity. Brendan Patrick Blowers, a creative consultant and theater director, has claimed that “creativity is a natural state of mind for all humans, and self-doubt is a tether that will keep one’s creativity down.” Statements like this suggest that there is a positive correlation between confidence and creativity. In addition, the core belief in the book Creative Confidence by David and Thomas Kelley is believing in your ability to create change in the world around you. This "belief in ability to create change" can be equated to confidence. Another theory discussed that shows a link between self-confidence and creativity is the Hierarchy of Needs theory by Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist. Maslow has theorized that the needs lower down in the hierarchy must be satisfied before individuals can attend to needs higher up. Therefore, in order for one to feel the need of self-actualization, the need to express oneself creatively, he needs to fulfil the need of feeling accomplished and gain self-confidence.
Although the study conducted in this journal concludes there is no direct correlation between confidence and creativity, there is enough evidence to suggest these theories may still be true. I believe lack of self-confidence comes from both the fear of failure and fear of being judged, which are holding us back from being creative.
3. Do Victims of Supervisor Bullying Suffer from Poor Creativity? Social Cognitive and Social Comparison Perspectives.
Jiang, Wan, et al. “Do Victims of Supervisor Bullying Suffer from Poor Creativity? Social Cognitive and Social Comparison Perspectives.” Journal of Business Ethics, vol. 157, no. 3, July 2019, pp. 865–884. Business Source Ultimate, doi:10.1007/s10551-017-3660-x.
This article focuses on bullying in the workplace and the effect it has on employee creativity. Creativity is defined as the development of useful and novel ideas of products, practices, or procedure and improves organization vital innovation, productivity, and survival. Bullying causes fear, stress, anxiety and depression, and may lead to many other negative consequences. When supervisors use severe, unethical, and hostile verbal and nonverbal attack, pressure, or embarrassment to bully employees, employee creativity ends up getting killed. They hold creativity and originality back for severe self-doubt and fear of rocking the boat. Abusive supervision influences followers’ attitudes and behaviors causing abused employees to suffer from psychological burnout, depression, emotional exhaustion, and low commitment. According to Kahneman, a 2002 Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, employees may become risk averse or risk seeking depending on the context created by their leaders. So, if employees are working in constant fear, they may become risk averse which hinders their intuition, fast thinking, and creativity, but creating an ethical, safe, and secure environment may greatly excite creativity and help organizations improve performance, competitiveness, and corporate financial success.
In addition to the workplace, I think the evidence in this article can be applied to a school or even home environment. Lots of children are bullied in school and even experience abuse at home and this fear is hindering their creativity. No matter the environment, if stimulants to creativity decrease and obstacles increase, innovation will suffer.
4. Why Reject Creative Ideas? Fear as a Driver of Implicit Bias Against Creativity.
Lee, Young Soo, et al. “Why Reject Creative Ideas? Fear as a Driver of Implicit Bias Against Creativity.” Creativity Research Journal, vol. 29, no. 3, Jul-Sep 2017, pp. 225–235. Academic Search Premier, doi:10.1080/10400419.2017.1360061.
This article discusses how high-uncertainty emotions, such as fear, can cause biases against creativity, and ultimately lead to the depreciation of creative ideas. Being creative is inherently a risky behavior and individuals who experience fear will perceive more uncertainty and will be less tolerant with the possibility of uncertainty and risk, thereby developing strong biases against creative ideas. In addition to the fear of uncertainty, the fear of receiving negative reactions is also one of the most significant concerns that discourages people from communicating creative ideas.
Although this article contained extra information that was unnecessary for my research, it still provided more evidence showing that fear of uncertainty, failure, and social rejection are some of the main reasons that people reject creative ideas despite their positive belief toward creativity.
5. To create without losing face: The effects of face cultural logic and social-image affirmation on creativity.
Miron-Spektor, Ella, et al. “To Create without Losing Face: The Effects of Face Cultural Logic and Social-Image Affirmation on Creativity.” Journal of Organizational Behavior, vol. 36, no. 7, Oct. 2015, pp. 919–943. Business Source Ultimate, doi:10.1002/job.2029.
This article describes how face, the positive social image that individuals want to maintain in the presence of others, can get in the way of creativity. Creativity is usually valued and desired, but people who are concerned with their face may be reluctant to engage in creativity due to the thought that new ideas may seem weird, uncertain, and risky, and therefore could result in being ridiculed or rejected. In addition to studying this theory among individuals, they also looked at the cultural logic of face. All of this research suggests that individuals who were more afraid of risking their social image and being negatively evaluated by others were less willing to engage in innovation, and generated fewer and less creative ideas when interacting with others. Similarly, individuals concerned with face were less willing to share knowledge out of fear of being wrong and being seen by others as ignorant. They were also less likely to ask questions and search for feedback because they were afraid of being embarrassed by others.
I think this article is very relevant to our generation and its lack of creativity. We have become so worried about our image and how others view us that we are becoming afraid of being original. This supports my research question and proves that fear of social rejection is playing a big factor in preventing creativity.
6. What stops creative employees to implement ideas? Individual culture value orientation perspective
Wang, Hongli. “What Stops Creative Employees to Implement Ideas? Individual Culture Value Orientation Perspective.” Journal of Organizational Change Management, vol. 30, no. 6, 2017, pp. 872–887. Emerald Insight, doi: 10.1108/JOCM-10-2016-0199.
In addition to idea generation, this article focuses on how a creative idea translates into idea implementation. According to this article, there are two main reasons why employees “stop to implement their creative ideas.” First, they may be uncertain about whether management will endorse their suggestions. Second, they may fear that they would suffer negative repercussions and cause risk among relationships with colleagues. Therefore, employees may only be likely to implement their creative ideas if they expect their creativity to make a difference and are to be associated with little personal and relational risk.
I didn’t find significant new evidence in this article, rather information that reiterated that fears like uncertainty, failure, and social rejection contribute to the lack of creative ideas both generated and implemented.
Synthesis
I think the sources that I have found through the annotated bibliography have set me up for a good start to my research essay to answer the question, “what fears hold us back from being creative?” I think I have the evidence to focus and expand on three main points being the fear of failure, the fear of uncertainty, and the fear of social rejection.
I feel as if my articles present a diverse set of topics and information that ultimately conclude to a lot of the same reasons behind our lack of creativity. I think having this variety of evidence will allow me to prove my point and convince the reader from different perspectives. I believe my research thus far is multi-dimensional, covering creativity individually, socially, and in the workplace. Because of this, I can show how this truly does affect everyone and how a lot of these fears can be connected. Overall, I am pleased with the research I have conducted so far and feel confident in starting my research essay.