Creativity on tap? The effect of creativity anxiety under evaluative pressure
Open accessAbstract
Creative achievement is critical for education, work and wider society.Creativity anxietya distinct, generalizable form of anxiety that emerges at the prospect of having to be creative -is a newly established trait that varies between individuals and has been linked to lower creative achievement.This study tested the interaction between trait creativity anxiety and creative evaluative pressure on a well-established objective measure linked to creative ability -semantic distance.Participants performed a word association task under two instruction conditions designed to manipulate creative evaluative pressure.Participants were first instructed to respond with the first word that came to mind, before repeating the task with the added information that the task was measuring creativity.The results revealed that creative pressure increased semantic distance between cues and responses, similar to the established "be creative" effect.Critically, this "be creative" effect was reduced among participants with higher levels of creativity anxiety.The findings are hence consistent with the proposal that creativity anxiety hinders people's ability to think creatively on demand.These findings will guide further research on creativity anxiety and inform intervention strategies to unlock people's creative potential.
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In human collaboration, individuals often suppress out-of-the-box ideas due to concerns about criticism.
“in human collaboration, individuals often suppress out-of-the-box ideas due to concerns about criticism”
From From humans to AI: understanding why AI is perceived as the preferred co-creation partner (2025) · cites this paper as Bullock Muir et al., 2024
The Discussion (page unavailable) says that people with higher creativity anxiety may experience evaluation as a threat, reducing their ability to think creatively under pressure. But the study used an individual word-association task; it does not establish that people in collaborations suppress ideas because they fear criticism. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredWhen interacting with AI, weaker evaluation apprehension makes people more willing to propose unconventional ideas, thereby amplifying perceived novelty.
“when interacting with AI, evaluation apprehension (i.e., the feeling of being judged) is comparatively weaker, making people more willing to propose unconventional ideas and thereby further amplifying perceived novelty (Bullock Muir et al., 2024).”
From From humans to AI: understanding why AI is perceived as the preferred co-creation partner (2025) · cites this paper as Bullock Muir et al., 2024
The Discussion (page unavailable) reports that participants with lower creativity anxiety showed a greater increase in semantic distance when told their creativity was being assessed. That supports a limited link between anxiety about creativity and creative responses, but the study did not examine AI interactions, establish that weaker evaluation apprehension increased willingness to propose unconventional ideas, or measure perceived novelty. It also found that evaluative pressure generally increased semantic distance, rather than showing a benefit from reduced pressure. (LLM, conf=0.87)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredMany respondents reported that co-creating with AI avoids the emotional volatility, conflicts of interest, and communication barriers common in human collaboration.
“Many respondents reported that co-creating with AI avoids the emotional volatility, conflicts of interest, and communication barriers common in human collaboration (Bullock Muir et al., 2024).”
From From humans to AI: understanding why AI is perceived as the preferred co-creation partner (2025) · cites this paper as Bullock Muir et al., 2024
The Methods section describes a word-association task, and the Discussion addresses creativity anxiety under evaluative pressure. Searches for AI co-creation and human collaboration found no passage reporting respondents’ views about emotional volatility, conflicts of interest, or communication barriers. The Conflict section is an author disclosure, not evidence about collaboration. (LLM, conf=0.76)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
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- Authors
- Bullock Muir, A., Tribe, B., & Forster, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Sussex
- University of Sussex (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Forster, S.
- ORCID
- Forster, S.
- Venue
- Creativity Research Journal
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2024-03-26
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 654-663
- ISSN
- 1040-0419 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-6934
- OpenAlex
- W4393182489
- Cited by
- 6
- References
- 49
- Citations by year
- 2025: 5 · 2024: 1
- FWCI
- 2.47
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Creativity Research Journal (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Economic and Social Research Council (ES/W007320/1)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Creativity in Education and Neuroscience
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Psychological and Educational Research Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- semantic distance, word association task, creative achievement, trait anxiety, creative potential
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