Developmental Investigation of Positive Mood Effects on Cognitive Flexibility and Its Relationship to Creativity

Positive mood and cognitive flexibility are known to enhance creativity. The present study examines this important issue in the age range of 8 to 12 years, assuming that positive mood is likely to promote creativity by affecting cognitive flexibility.

The study population included all female students aged 8 to 12 years in districts 4 and 8 of Tehran. From the research population, 60 people in two age groups of 8 to 10 (8/80 ± 0/76) and 10 to 12 (11/20 ± 0/76) years were selected by available sampling method. After randomly placing individuals in research groups based on the induced mood and age, individuals were assessed using the computerized version of Wisconsin Card Sorting (1948) and the Torrance Creative Thinking (1974) test. The collected data were analyzed using independent t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient, Mann-Whitney U and Hayes mediator regression model (2018).

Regression model analysis confirmed the mediating role of cognitive flexibility between mood and creativity, where positive mood improves individuals' cognitive flexibility and thereby enhances performance in creativity test.

The findings of this study as evidence of the importance of mood on the level of cognitive flexibility and creative performance in children emphasized the need to consider this issue in educational settings with the aim of creating and strengthening creative thinking in children.