A Motivational Lens Model of Person X Situation Interactions in Employee Creativity

The idea that individual creativity derives from the interaction of personal traits and the situation in which the individual operates, is one of the most prominent themes within the creativity literature. A review of the literature highlights 5 distinct interaction patterns observed in person-in-situation creativity research (trait activation, trait inhibition, trait substitution, trait channeling, and curvilinear interactions). Yet at present there is no integrative theory that can predict and explain all 5 interaction patterns. To develop such integrative theory, we propose the motivational lens model of person-in-situation creativity. The motivational lens model offers an integrative theoretical account of person-in-situation interactions through a parsimonious set of considerations: (a) whether the trait of interest is associated with intrinsic motivation for (activities conducive to) creativity or with extrinsic motivation (i.e., which can be directed toward creativity in response to extrinsic cues), (b) the extent to which the situation variable of interest reflects opportunities for creativity or expectations for creativity, and (c) whether the situation variable is linearly or curvilinearly related to opportunities or expectations. We discuss how the motivational lens model informs future creativity research and potentially person-in-situation research beyond the creativity domain.