Abstract
With the ever-changing social environment, individual creativity is
facing a severe challenge induced by stress. However, little is known
about the physiological mechanisms by which acute stress affects
creative cognitive processing. The current study explored the effects of
neuroendocrine response on creativity under stress and its underlying
cognitive flexibility mechanisms. The Enzyme-Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay
was used to assess salivary cortisol, which acted as a marker of
stress-induced activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)
axis. Eye blink rate (EBR) and pupil diameter were measured as
respective indicators of dopamine and noradrenaline released by
activation of the sympathetic-adrenal medullary (SAM) axis. The
Wisconsin Card Task (WCST) measured cognitive flexibility, while the
Alternative Uses Task (AUT) and the Remote Association Task (RAT)
measured separately divergent and convergent thinking in creativity.
Results showed higher cortisol increments following acute stress
induction in the stress group compared to the control group. Ocular
results showed that the stress manipulation significantly increased EBR
and pupil diameter compared to controls, reflecting increased SAM
activity. Further analysis revealed that stress-released cortisol
impaired the originality component of the AUT by increasing perspective
errors of the WCST. Serial mediation analyses showed that both EBR and
pupil diameter were also associated with increased perspective errors
leading to poor originality on the AUT. These findings confirm that
physiological arousal under stress can impair divergent thinking through
the regulation of different neuroendocrine pathways, in which the
deterioration of flexible switching plays an important mediating role.