Can Intercultural Experiences Foster Creativity? The Relevance, Theory and Evidence

This article focuses on the relationship between intercultural experience and creativity, with a specific focus on the idea that engagement with cultural diversity can foster creativity. Having highlighted both the need for creativity and various challenges associated with defining and measuring it, a comprehensive theoretical rationale for the potential of intercultural experiences to enhance creativity is presented. This is accompanied by a thorough review of fourteen relevant empirical studies. Overall, the article highlights a growing body of empirical data supporting the argument that intercultural experiences can enhance creativity, but also draws attention to the complexity of this process, including multiple factors which influence this relationship.