【Speaker】Roy Chua, Associate Professor of Lee Kong Chian School of Business Singapore Management University

【Topic】The Creativity Divide: A Social Sampling Account Explaining How and Why Parental Income Impairs Creativity

【Time】Thursday, October 18, 14:00-16:00

【Location】Room 513, WeiLun Building, Tsinghua SEM

【Language】English

【Organizer】Department of Leadership and Organization Management

【Abstract】Economic inequality is on the rise worldwide and dominant explanations for this trend highlight that the rich tend to become richer because of enhanced access to valued resources. This research proposes and tests a behavioral cum cognitive pathway causing those growing up in poorer environment to underperform in creativity. Drawing on prior research that investigates the effects of parental socio-economic status on behavior and cognition, we argue that despite exposure to equal educational opportunities, differences in parental income when growing up has important implications for individuals’ creativity. Results from two field surveys found that those with lower parental income when growing up interact less frequently with dissimilar others, which in turn undermines their creativity. Additionally, parental income moderates the positive effect of interacting with dissimilar others on creativity such that those with lower parental income are less able to harness the benefits of interacting with dissimilar others for their creativity. This investigation extends current understanding on how socio-economic status might reproduce itself via a creativity pathway – those from richer families grew up more creative, giving them an advantage at the workplace later in life.

Keywords: Creativity; socioeconomic status (SES); parental income; inequality