Emotions in Action: How Affective Convergence and Divergence Contribute to Team Creativity
摘要
This chapter explores the dynamic relationship between affective convergence, divergence, and team creativity. Following the convergence view, past research has primarily focused on the impact of group affective tone on team creativity. This chapter proposes that affective divergence—where team members experience varying levels of affect—plays a crucial moderating role in the relationship between group affective tone and team creativity. Drawing from both individual and group-level studies on the role of affect in creativity, the chapter integrates these insights to suggest that a balance of affective convergence and divergence creates the optimal dynamic for team creativity. Positive group affective tone enhances cognitive flexibility and cooperation for collective creativity, but excessive uniformity can lead to groupthink and hinder team creativity. Negative group affective tone may also motivate team efforts to strive for creative insights, but it can undermine team cohesion and functioning if shared too uniformly. The chapter adopts a “mean x variance” framework, explaining why moderate affective divergence interacts with positive and negative group affective tone to foster team creativity. The chapter concludes with recommendations for future research on how teams can harness both affective convergence and divergence to maximize creative outcomes. Practical implications for team leaders and members are discussed.