Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of two different types of implicit theories (entity and incremental) and personal traits on creative thinking and evaluation of creative products. Ninety university students participated in the experiment. In study 1, participants were manipulated to endorse either incremental theory of creativity or entity theory of creativity and were asked to perform TTCT test, and to evaluate their performance. Results indicated that incremental group showed higher TTCT score than those with entity theories. In study 2, incremental theorists rated hither score in product evaluation and showed higher product liking and willingness to purchase than entity theorists. In addition, participants' centrality of visual product aesthetics mediated the relationship between implicit theories and product liking as well as purchasing intention. Theoretical and practical implications and limitations of these results are discussed.