Do Multicultural Experiences Make People More Creative? If So, How?

• Main Authors: CHIU, Chi-Yue, LEUNG, Angela K. Y.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2007
• Subjects: multicultural experience; creativity; Multicultural Psychology
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/537; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/soss_research/article/1536/viewcontent/Multicultural_Experiences_2007_InMind.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

MacDonalds' Rice-burger in Asia; Starbucks’ Coffee Mooncake in Singapore; Disneyland Yin-Yang Mickey Mouse Cookies in Hong Kong; Lay's Peking Duck Flavored Potato Clip … The list can go on. What is common in all these examples is that they are all novel product ideas created by integrating seemingly non-overlapping cultural or product ideas from Eastern and Western cultures. Combining seemingly non-overlapping ideas from different cultures is an example of creative conceptual expansion, a term in cognitive psychology that refers to the process of extending the conceptual boundaries of an existing concept by synthesizing it with other seemingly irrelevant concepts (Ward, Smith, & Vaid , 1997). Creative conceptual expansion is an ordinary process that produces extraordinary, creative results (Wan & Chiu, 2002; Ward, 2001).