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Creativity: A vital component of personal well-being

May 22, 2024
by Whitney Sanders

Dr. Jessica Hoffmann featured in the 2024 International Report on Creativity in Education

In celebration of World Creativity & Innovation Day on April 21, 2024, the BIC Corporate Foundation and the International Society for the Study of Creativity and Innovation (ISSCI) collaborated to release a new “Creativity in Education Research Report.”

Jessica Hoffmann, PhD, research scientist at the Yale Child Study Center working at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, is one of 44 researchers across 22 countries featured in this report, which aims to inspire creativity and foster innovation in educational systems worldwide. Two studies led by Hoffmann are included in the report.

In her first study, “Creativity and Connection: The Impact of inspirED with Secondary Students,” Hoffmann, and co-authors Julie McGarry and Kalee De France, introduce InspirED; a program designed to empower middle and high school students to initiate projects aimed at enhancing their school environment. The study, which involved teams of students from 22 schools, provided participants with online training, coaching, and resources to execute their projects. Dr. Hoffmann’s study offers one possible approach to strengthen skills in problem-solving, self-management, effective collaboration, and healthy technology use, which the World Economic Forum predicts will be the most highly valued skills by employers in 2025 (Schwab and Zahidi, 2020).

Post-study, students reported a heightened sense of purpose and self-awareness of the importance of emotions, while the broader school community observed improvements in school climate, including students’ perceptions of teaching quality, school pride, relationships, and emotional safety. These findings highlight the potential of school-based social-emotional learning initiatives to nurture student leadership and enhance overall well-being.

In the second study, “The Role of Originality, Distancing, and Tentative Language in Effective Cognitive Reappraisal among Adolescents,” Hoffmann and co-authors Marc Brackett, Jennifer Seibyl, Ruth Castillo Gualda, Kalee De France, and Raphael Orleck-Jetter, explore the mechanisms of cognitive reappraisal—a crucial emotion regulation strategy—among adolescents. By examining the originality and linguistic elements of reappraisals, the study aimed to identify factors contributing to perceived effectiveness in emotion regulation.

This was the first study to our knowledge simultaneously assessing three crucial components of reappraisal construction that are strongly tied to its effectiveness. Prior research has highlighted the significance of these three elements in understanding how reappraisals work: 1) the ability to generate original and innovative reappraisals (Wu et al., 2017), 2) the use of linguistic distancing (Nook et al., 2017), which encompasses both temporal distancing (i.e., using past or future tense instead of present tense) and social distancing (i.e., using second or third-person pronouns instead of first-person), and 3) the use of tentative language, characterized by uncertainty rather than certainty (Pennebaker et al., 2003). Notably, linguistic distancing involves a nuanced shift in language use, aiming to create psychological distance from the stressful situation by altering the temporal and social context in which it is described.

Participants completed a measure of emotion regulation knowledge and a measure of creative cognitive reappraisal. The findings revealed that both originality and temporally distanced language were positively associated with higher levels of perceived effectiveness in reappraisal efforts. Conversely, the use of social distancing and tentative language exhibited negative associations. Importantly, these factors remained significant even after accounting for general emotion regulation knowledge, highlighting their unique contributions to reappraisal efficacy.

As highlighted in the report, creativity is increasingly recognized as a vital component of personal well-being, life success, and professional development in the 21st century. Hoffmann et al.’s research, featured in the 2024 International Report on Creativity in Education, contributes to our understanding of innovative approaches for researchers and practitioners to embed creativity effectively in educational settings worldwide.

Submitted by Megan Happ on May 23, 2024