Could this simple trick make you more creative?

Do you think you are creative? If you think you are, chances are your levels of creativity will rise. That's according to a new study by researchers at University of Maryland, which suggests that stereotypes are an important factor when it comes to explaining why some people can enhance their creativity more than others.

The study, called the Creative Stereotype Effect, approaches creativity as something that can be increased or decreased depending on our mindset. More specifically: adapting a stereotype can improve divergent thinking, which is a key indicator of creative thought.

The study asked participants to imagine themselves as either an eccentric poet or a rigid librarian.

"Of course, we as researchers do not believe that librarians are, in reality, rigid and uncreative," the study reads. "However, this stereotype, which seems to be generally held by undergraduate students – so much so that a quick Google search reveals multiple websites and blogs produced by librarians dedicated to dispelling it – was precisely the type of stereotype we wanted to draw on."

Creativity as a driver for economic and social development

How is creativity connected to global economic development? A 2015 study by the Martin Prosperity Institute, titled the Global Creativity Index 2015, presents a new model of economic development. It calls this the “3Ts” – talent, technology and tolerance – and ranks 139 nations on each of these pillars, as well as their overall measure. The three dimensions are described as follows:

1. Technology – Research and development investment, and patents per capita
2. Talent – Share of adults with higher education and workforce in the creative class
3. Tolerance – Treatment of immigrants, racial and ethnic minorities, gays and lesbians

Source of country ranking: Martin Prosperity Institute

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