Affective States and Creativity

Affective states play a key function in creative performance, such that both positive and negative feelings can foster, or inhibit, creativity due to their information processing and motivational correlates. In this chapter, we survey and integrate theory and empirical research in this field, identifying core and robust findings focused on the association of affect with creativity, and unanswered questions requiring deeper investigation. Based on this work, we finally propose several valuable directions for future research.