Construing creativity: The how and why of recognizing creative ideas

• Creativity theory assumes people can recognize creative ideas
• We provide theory and evidence to challenge this assumption
• Three studies show that low level construals deter creative idea recognition
• Low level construals diminish creativity ratings by promoting uncertainty feelings
• Future research should examine antecedents to creative idea recognition

While prior theory proposes that domain knowledge is the main factor that determines creativity assessments, we provide theory and evidence to suggest that situational factors can also alter what people view as creative. Specifically, we test the notion that one's current construal-level can shift what people perceive as creative. We employ three studies manipulating construal in two ways (i.e., with spatial distance and construal level mindset priming) to show that people with low-level and high-level construal orientations differ in creativity assessments of the same idea. We further show that low- and high-level construals do not alter perceptions of ideas low in creativity, and that uncertainty sometimes mediates the relationship between construal level priming and creativity assessments of an examined idea. These findings shed light on why people desire but often reject creativity, and suggest practical solutions to help organizations (e.g., journals, government agencies, venture capitalists) spot creative ideas.