The effects of negative and positive mood and type of use on creativity

Creativity is a topic that has been researched in the psychology literature for a long time. In particular, factors affecting creativity are one of the most exciting topics for researchers. Among these factors affecting creativity, one of the most widely studied variables is mood. Although there are many theories that positive and negative moods increase creativity, the effect of negative mood is weaker in experimental studies. The present study aimed to explain this situation. In many definitions of creativity and empirical studies examining the effect of mood on creativity, creativity is considered a positive way. However, creativity also has a dark side. There are many outputs that have negative results but are highly creative. Therefore, considering creativity in a positive sense while examining the effect of negative mood on creativity may lead to misinterpretations. In this context, two studies were carried out within the scope of the current research. The Turkish validity and reliability study of a scale measuring malevolent creativity was conducted in the first study. Within the scope of the second study, two different types of creativity, normal and malevolent, as well as two different mood conditions, positive and negative, were examined. As expected, creativity increases with negative mood when the type of creativity use is malevolent. On the other hand, creativity is the highest in the case of positive mood and positive use. Flexibility plays a mediator role between the type of use and creativity. These findings were discussed within the framework of the relevant literature, and new perspectives were brought to the theoretical interpretations in the literature.