Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Regulatory focus mediates the association between parenting behaviors and creativity among Chinese adolescents

  • Published:
Current Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Based on the close association between parenting behaviors, regulatory focus, and creativity demonstrated by previous literature, we posited that regulatory focus plays a mediating role between parenting behaviors and creativity. This study explored the relationship between parenting behaviors and creativity, with specific attention paid to the mediating role of regulatory focus. A total of 680 middle school students completed the questionnaires on parental autonomy support, parental psychological control, and regulatory focus and a verbal task from the Torrance tests of creative thinking. The correlation analysis revealed that parental autonomy support and promotion focus positively correlated with all creativity indexes (i.e., fluency, flexibility, originality, and total score), while parental psychological control and prevention focus negatively correlated with all creativity indexes. Further, the path model analysis suggested that promotion focus positively predicted creativity, while prevention focus negatively predicted creativity. In addition, parental autonomy support positively predicted creativity through the mediation of both promotion focus and prevention focus, while parental psychological control negatively predicted creativity through prevention focus. The mediation effect analysis revealed that all the mediation effects were significant. In general, regulatory focus plays a mediating effect in the relationship between parenting behaviors and creativity. Our findings supplement previous research by revealing the mediating effect of regulatory focus in the parenting behaviors-creativity link, and highlight the importance of environmental variables, such as family support, on the development of adolescents’ creativity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amabile, T. M. (1985). Motivation and creativity: Effects of motivational orientation on creative writers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48(2), 393–399.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amabile, T. M. (2018). Creativity in context: update to the social psychology of creativity. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amabile, T. M., & Pillemer, J. (2012). Perspectives on the social psychology of creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 46(1), 3–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baas, M., De Dreu, C. K. W., & Nijstad, B. A. (2011). When prevention promotes creativity: the role of mood, regulatory focus, and regulatory closure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(5), 794–809.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barber, B. K., Xia, M., Olsen, J. A., McNeely, C. A., & Bose, K. (2012). Feeling disrespected by parents: Refining the measurement and understanding of psychological control. Journal of Adolescence, 35(2), 273–287.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barbierik, L., Bačíková-Šléšková, M., Orosová, O., & Benka, J. (2022). Autonomy support, psychological control, basic psychological needs and the drive for thinness among early adolescents. Ceskoslovenska Psychologie, 66(3), 212–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartholomew, K. J., Ntoumanis, N., Ryan, R. M., Bosch, J. A., & Thogersen-Ntoumani, C. (2011). Self-determination theory and diminished functioning: the role of interpersonal control and psychological need thwarting. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 1459–1473.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bashir, S., Amin, H., & Batool, S. B. (2020). Creative abilities of students and teaching for creativity; a comparative study of public and private schools of Lahore city. Journal of Arts & Social Sciences, 7(2), 35–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bermejo, R., Prieto, M. D., Fernández, M. C., Soto, G., & Sainz, M. (2013). A cognitive-creative profile of emotional talent. Journal of New Approaches in Educational Research, 2(1), 12–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bittner, J. V., & Heidemeier, H. (2013). Competitive mindsets, creativity, and the role of regulatory focus. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 9(2), 59–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1989). Single sample cross-validation indices for covariance structures. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 24(4), 445–455.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cacioppo, M., Pace, U., & Zappulla, C. (2013). Parental psychological control, quality of family context and life satisfaction among italian adolescents. Child Indicators Research, 6(1), 179–191.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, C. K., Jiang, B. C., & Hsu, K. Y. (2005). An empirical study of industrial engineering and management curriculum reform in fostering students’ creativity. European Journal of Engineering Education, 30(2), 191–202.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, P., Zhang, J., Xu, N., Zhang, K., & Xiao, L. (2021). The relationship between need for cognition and adolescents’ creative self-efficacy: The mediating roles of perceived parenting behaviors and perceived teacher support.Current Psychology,1–14.

  • Cho, G. S. (2016). A study on the effects of perceived parenting attitudes on regulatory focus among college students: mediating the effects of ego-resiliency. Korean Journal of Child Studies, 37(5), 19–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooper, R. B., & Jayatilaka, B. (2006). Group creativity: the effects of extrinsic, intrinsic, and obligation motivations. Creativity Research Journal, 18(2), 153–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costa, S., Cuzzocrea, F., Gugliandolo, M. C., & Larcan, R. (2016). Associations between parental psychological control and autonomy support, and psychological outcomes in adolescents: the mediating role of need satisfaction and need frustration. Child Indicators Research, 9(4), 1059–1076.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cox, M. J., & Paley, B. (1997). Families as systems. Annual Review of Psychology, 48(1), 243–267.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cubukcu, E., & Cetintahra, G. (2010). Does analogical reasoning with visual clues affect novice and experienced design students’ creativity? Creativity Research Journal, 22(3), 337–344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darling, N., & Steinberg, L. (1993). Parenting style as context: an integrative model. Psychological Bulletin, 113(3), 487–496.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1987). The support of autonomy and the control of behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53(6), 1024–1037.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Facilitating optimal motivation and psychological well-being across life’s domains. Canadian Psychology, 49(1), 14–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2012). Motivation, personality, and development within embedded social contexts: An overview of self-determination theory. In R. M. Ryan (Ed.), Oxford library of psychology. The Oxford handbook of human motivation (pp. 85–107) Oxford University Press.

  • Doğruyol, B. (2008). The impact of parental control and support on the development of chronic self-regulatory focus, M. S. Thesis. Ankara: The Middle East Technical University.

  • Fearon, D. D., Copeland, D., & Saxon, T. F. (2013). The relationship between parenting styles and creativity in a sample of jamaican children. Creativity Research Journal, 25(1), 119–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernández-Abascal, E. G., & Díaz, M. D. M. (2013). Affective induction and creative thinking. Creativity Research Journal, 25(2), 213–221.

    Google Scholar 

  • Florida, R. (2002). The rise of the creative class. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Förster, J., & Higgins, E. T. (2005). How global versus local perception fits regulatory focus. Psychological Science, 16(8), 631–636.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Friedman, R. S., & Förster, J. (2001). The effects of promotion and prevention cues on creativity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(6), 1001–1013.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gray, M. R., & Steinberg, L. (1999). Unpacking authoritative parenting: reassessing a multidimensional construct. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61(3), 574–587.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hamstra, M. R. W., Bolderdijk, J. W., & Veldstra, J. L. (2011). Everyday risk taking as a function of regulatory focus. Journal of Research in Personality, 45(1), 134–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hare, A. L., Szwedo, D. E., Schad, M. M., & Allen, J. P. (2015). Undermining adolescent autonomy with parents and peers: the enduring implications of psychologically controlling parenting. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 25(4), 739–752.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harrington, D. M., Block, J. H., & Block, J. (1987). Testing aspects of Carl Rogers’s theory of creative environments: child-rearing antecedents of creative potential in young adolescents. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(4), 851–856.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Herman, A., & Reiter-Palmo, R. (2011). The effect of regulatory focus on idea generation and idea evaluation. Psychology of Aesthetics Creativity and the Arts, 5(1), 13–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, E. T. (1997). Beyond pleasure and pain. American Psychologist, 52(12), 1280–1300.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, E. T., Friedman, R. S., Harlow, R. E., Idson, L. C., Ayduk, O. N., & Taylor, A. (2001). Achievement orientations from subjective histories of success: Promotion pride versus prevention pride. European Journal of Social Psychology, 31(1), 3–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, E. T., & Silberman, I. (1998). Development of regulatory focus: Promotion and prevention as ways of living. In J. Heckhausen, & C. S. Dweck (Eds.), Motivation and self-regulation across the life span (pp. 78–113). Cambridge University Press.

  • Israel-Fishelson, R., Hershkovitz, A., Eguíluz, A., Garaizar, P., & Guenaga, M. (2021). A log-based analysis of the associations between creativity and computational thinking. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 59(5), 926–959.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jin, X., Wang, L., & Dong, H. (2016). The relationship between self-construal and creativity — Regulatory focus as moderator. Personality and Individual Differences, 97, 282–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keller, J. (2008). On the development of regulatory focus: the role of parenting styles. European Journal of Social Psychology, 38(2), 354–364.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, K. H. (2006). Can we trust creativity tests? A review of the Torrance tests of creative thinking (TTCT). Creativity Research Journal, 18(1), 3–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lam, T. W. H., & Chiu, C. Y. (2002). The motivational function of regulatory focus in creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 36(2), 138–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, M., Gao, J., Wang, Z., & You, X. (2016). Regulatory focus and teachers’ innovative work behavior: the mediating role of autonomous and controlled motivation. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 14(1), 42–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lin, H. (2008). The predictors of regulatory focus and the effect of regulatory fit on persuasion, M.A. Thesis. Beijing: Capital Normal University.

  • Lindell, M. K., & Whitney, D. J. (2001). Accounting for common method variance in cross-sectional research designs. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(1), 114–121.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Linkiewich, D., Martinovich, V. V., Rinaldi, C. M., Howe, N., & Gokiert, R. (2021). Parental autonomy support in relation to preschool aged children’s behavior: examining positive guidance, negative control, and responsiveness. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 26(3), 810–822.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Maccoby, E. E., & Martin, J. A. (1983). Socialization in the context of the family: parent–child interaction. Handbook of Child Psychology, 4(4), 643–691.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manian, N., Strauman, T. J., & Denney, N. (1998). Temperament, recalled parenting styles, and self-regulation: testing the developmental postulates of self-discrepancy theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(5), 1321–1332.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Manikandan, D. (2014). Creativity, parenting style and stress: an interactive perspective. Indian Journal of Health and Well-being, 5(9), 1106–1108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moglia, P. (1987). Family environment and creative families: Associations and interactions between social climate and four types for creativity. Dissertation Abstracts International, 49(12-B), 5528.

  • Niu, W. (2007). Individual and environmental influences on chinese student creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 41(3), 151–175.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien, R. M. (2007). A caution regarding rules of thumb for variance inflation factors. Quality and Quantity, 41, 673–690.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olszewski, P., Kulieke, M., & Buescher, T. (1987). The influence of the family environment on the development of talent: a literature review. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 11(1), 6–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plucker, J. A., Beghetto, R. A., & Dow, G. T. (2004). Why isn’t creativity more important to educational psychologists? Potentials, pitfalls, and future directions in creativity research. Educational Psychologist, 39(2), 83–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Jeong-Yeon Lee, & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pomerantz, E. M., & Wang, Q. (2009). The role of parental control in children’s development in western and east asian countries. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(5), 285–289.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prabhu, V., Sutton, C., & Sauser, W. (2008). Creativity and certain personality traits: understanding the mediating effect of intrinsic motivation. Creativity Research Journal, 20(1), 53–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ren, F., Li, Y., & Zhang, J. (2017). Perceived parental control and chinese middle school adolescents’ creativity: the mediating role of autonomous motivation. Psychology of Aesthetics Creativity & the Arts, 11(1), 34–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers, C. R. (1954). Towards a theory of creativity. ETC: A Review of General Semantics, 11, 249–260.

    Google Scholar 

  • Runco, M. A. (1993). Creativity, causality, and the separation of personality and cognition. Psychological Inquiry, 4(3), 221–224.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. New York: Guilford Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sacramento, C. A., Fay, D., & West, M. A. (2013). Workplace duties or opportunities? Challenge stressors, regulatory focus, and creativity. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 121(2), 141–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Semin, G. R., Higgins, T., de Montes, L. G., Estourget, Y., & Valencia, J. F. (2005). Linguistic signatures of regulatory focus: how abstraction fits promotion more than prevention. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89(1), 36–45.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Silk, J. S., Morris, A. S., Kanaya, T., & Steinberg, L. (2003). Psychological control and autonomy granting: opposite ends of a continuum or distinct constructs? Journal of Research on Adolescence, 13(1), 113–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, J. L., Wagaman, J., & Handley, I. M. (2009). Keeping it dull or making it fun: Task variation as a function of promotion versus prevention focus. Motivation and Emotion, 33(2), 150–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soenens, B., & Vansteenkiste, M. (2010). A theoretical upgrade of the concept of parental psychological control: proposing new insight on the basis of self-determination theory. Developmental Review, 30(1), 74–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., Luyten, P., Duriez, B., & Goossens, L. (2005). Maladaptive perfectionistic self-representations: the mediational link between psychological control and adjustment. Personality and Individual Differences, 38(2), 487–498.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soenens, B., Vansteenkiste, M., & Petegem, S. V. (2015). Let us not throw out the baby with the bathwater: applying the principle of universalism without uniformity to autonomy-supportive and controlling parenting. Child Development Perspectives, 9(1), 44–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang, D., & Wen, Z. (2020). Statistical approaches for testing common method bias: problems and suggestions. Journal of Psychological Science, 43(1), 215–223.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tehseen, S., Ramayah, T., & Sajilan, S. (2017). Testing and controlling for common method variance: a review of available methods. Journal of Management Sciences, 4(2), 142–168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torrance, E. P. (1974). Torrance tests of creative thinking: directions manual and scoring guide (verbal test, form B). Princeton, N. J.: Personnel Press, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Torrance, E. P. (1981). Empirical validation of criterion-referenced indicators of creative ability through a longitudinal study. Creative Child and Adult Quarterly, 6, 136–140.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vansteenkiste, M., & Ryan, R. M. (2013). On psychological growth and vulnerability: Basic psychological need satisfaction and need frustration as a unifying principle. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 23(3), 263–280.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaughn, L. A. (2017). Foundational tests of the need-support model: a framework for bridging regulatory focus theory and self-determination theory. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43(3), 313–328.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Q., Pomerantz, E. M., & Chen, H. (2007). The role of parents’ control in early adolescents’ psychological functioning: a longitudinal investigation in the United States and China. Child Development, 78(5), 1592–1610.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, L., Cui, Y., Wang, X., Wang, J., Du, K., & Luo, Z. (2021). Regulatory focus, motivation, and their relationship with creativity among adolescents. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 666071.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Q., Chan, H. W., & Lin, L. (2012). Antecedents of chinese parents’ autonomy support and psychological control: the interplay between parents’ self-development socialization goals and adolescents’ school performance. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41(11), 1442–1454.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wechsler, S. (2006). Validity of the Torrance tests of creative thinking to the brazilian culture. Creativity Research Journal, 18(1), 15–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wei, S., Teo, T., Malpique, A., & Lausen, A. (2022). Parental autonomy support, parental psychological control and chinese university students’ behavior regulation: the mediating role of basic psychological needs. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 735570.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, J., McLeod, B., Sigman, M., Hwang, W., & Chu, B. (2003). Parenting and childhood anxiety: theory, empirical findings, and future directions. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry, 44(1), 134–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu, J., Gao, Q., Wang, J., & Ding, X. (1981). Torrance tests of creative thinking (verbal form B): Guidance and research manual. Taipei: Yuan Liu press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xue, C. (2017). On the origins of chronic regulatory focus: The role of socioeconomic status, M. A. Thesis. New Haven: Yale University.

  • Yeh, Y. C. (2004). The interactive influences of three ecological systems on R & D employees’ technological creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 16(1), 11–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoon, C. H. (2017). A validation study of the Torrance tests of creative thinking with a sample of korean elementary school students. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 26, 30–58.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yue, L. (2019). The relationship between parenting behavior and middle school students’ creativity: The mediating role of cognitive needs M. A. Thesis. Shandong: Shandong Normal University.

  • Zhang, J., Zhang, M., Zhang, S., & Ren, F. (2015). The genetic basis of creativity in dopamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine pathway and the moderating effect of family environment. Advances in Psychological Science, 23(9), 1489–1498.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, L., Qiao, L., Che, X., Xu, M., Chen, Q., Yang, W., Qiu, J., & Yang, D. (2020). Volumetric evidence of the mediating role of mental imagery in episodic memory effect on divergent thinking. Current Psychology, 39, 1138–1148.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This work was supported by Beijing Social Science Fund Project [18JYB013].

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, China

    Ling Wang, Zilin Wang, Qing Liu, Tao Li, Yueqi Shi & Zheng Luo

Authors
  1. Ling Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zilin Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Qing Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Tao Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yueqi Shi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Zheng Luo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Ling Wang contributed to the design of the study. Qing Liu contributed to the participants recruit and organized the survey. Zilin Wang and Yueqi Shi organized the database. Qing Liu, Tao Li, and Zheng Luo performed the statistical analysis. Ling Wang, Zilin Wang, and Tao Li wrote sections of manuscript. All authors contributed to manuscript revision and approved the submitted version.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ling Wang.

Ethics declarations

We declare that we do not have any commercial or associative interest that represents a conflict of interest in connection with the work submitted.

Conflict of interest

There is no conflict of interest in the present study.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Wang, L., Wang, Z., Liu, Q. et al. Regulatory focus mediates the association between parenting behaviors and creativity among Chinese adolescents. Curr Psychol 42, 30461–30471 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-04071-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-04071-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation