Prosocial Motivation and Creativity in the Arts and Sciences: Qualitative and Quantitative Evidence

A small but growing body of research suggests that prosocial motivation (i.e., the desire to act for the benefit or welfare of others) may enhance creativity. Most of the relevant research on this topic, however, has focused on creativity in business or everyday life settings. The present studies are the first to examine the nature and potential role of prosocial motivation in the arts and sciences specifically. This project used a qualitative-to-quantitative approach to anchor its operationalization of prosocial motivation in the lived experiences of creators. Study 1, a qualitative study of 56 professional artists and scientists, provided a rich list of self-reported conscious motivations (including prosocial) for creative work in these two domains. Study 2, a cross-sectional study of 972 graduate students in artistic and scientific fields, validated a new self-report scale based on results of Study 1. Factor analyses revealed three types of motivation (prosocial, emotional, intellectual) and one process (sense of audience). Study 2 also showed that associations between these variables and outcomes related to creativity and well-being differed between the arts and sciences. Taken together, results of these studies confirm that prosocial motivation is an important but understudied aspect of creative work. They also highlight the promise of bridging different areas of research in psychology in order to provide a comprehensive examination of potential antecedents and outcomes of creative behavior.