The Necessity of Others is The Mother of Invention: Intrinsic and Prosocial Motivations, Perspective Taking, and Creativity

Although many scholars believe that intrinsic motivation fuels creativity, research has returned equivocal results. Drawing on motivated information processing theory, we propose that the relationship between intrinsic motivation and creativity is enhanced by other-focused psychological processes. Perspective taking, as generated by proso-cial motivation, encourages employees to develop ideas that are useful as well as novel. In three studies, using both field and lab data, we found that prosocial motiva-tion strengthened the association between intrinsic motivation and independent cre-ativity ratings. In our second and third studies, perspective taking mediated this moderating effect. We discuss theoretical implications for creativity and motivation. As work becomes increasingly dynamic, uncer-tain, and knowledge-based, organizations depend on creative ideas from employees (George, 2007). Scholars and practitioners share a strong interest in understanding the psychological forces that moti-vate creativity—the production of ideas that are