Creativity Under Surveillance: The Role of Social Risk-taking and Intrinsic Motivation in Online Creativity

Participants (n = 99) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions in a 2 x 2 factorial design that crossed visual surveillance with expected evaluation. Participants in the surveillance condition were told that their computer’s screen would be remotely observed as they worked, along with as a live video and audio feed. Participants in the evaluation group were told that their work would be evaluated later by experts. Risk-taking perception and intrinsic motivation were assessed through a self-report instrument. In contrast to prior literature, the study did not find an effect of surveillance or evaluation-expectation on creativity or intrinsic task motivation. Social risk-taking was found to have an indirect positive relationship with creativity mediated through intrinsic motivation. The findings are discussed in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, the growth of remote work, and other possible confounding variables including race and socioeconomic status.

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