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Expectation Can Improve Creativity: It's Not Magic!

Expectation Can Improve Creativity: It's Not Magic!

In his book, The Expectation Effect, David Robson produces a wealth of research to demonstrate that our expectations have remarkable power to influence the mind and the body. People who believe ageing brings wisdom live longer than those who do not. Lucky charms really can improve the performance of athletes. Even when people know that the pill they are taking is a placebo, their health benefits.

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The Expectation Effect

A team from the Weizmann Institute in Israel told a group of people that a sniff of cinnamon could help them to come up with more original ideas. These participants then took a standard test of creativity in which they had to generate original uses for common household objects. They scored much higher on this test than the control group who also took a sniff of cinnamon but without any indication that this might help them. It was not the smell of the spice which improved creativity. It was the expectation.

It appears that any activity or icebreaker can improve creativity in your brainstorm meeting provided that you tell people in advance that it will help. For example: Start Your Meeting with a Big Lie.

Paul Sloane
Featured Uplyrn Expert
Paul Sloane
Keynote Conference Speaker, Visiting Lecturer, Author
Subjects of Expertise: Lateral Thinking, Problem Analysis Skills, Innovation Leadership Skills
Featured Uplyrn Expert
Paul Sloane
Keynote Conference Speaker
Visiting Lecturer
Author

Subjects of Expertise

Lateral Thinking
Problem Analysis Skills
Innovation Leadership Skills

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