Do people really become more creative when they get a raise?

Surely you have already thought about becoming one much more effective in the workplace, if you would the employer gave a raise. Because he doesn't give it to you, your brain resists and doesn't produce creative ideas. A little of money, a little music. You believe that an employer can pay for your ideas?

This question was asked by economists Gary Charness and Daniela Grieco, who in their studies Creativity and incentives recalled a competition from 1860 in which innovators had to develop a cheaper substitute for butter and thus margarine was created. From there, they got the idea to do research on the topic of whether monetary compensation stimulates intrinsic motivations, making people more creative.

Economists designed "closed" and "open” the creative tasks it solved 328 participants.

Closed tasks included some restrictions – participants had to use certain keywords create stories or get to exactly a certain number using mathematical formulas. Open tasks on the other hand, they demanded that participants describe new innovations or future futuristic society.

Some participants were told they would their ideas quickly reviewed, and to some that they will be evaluated by the participants. Each person received for their participation 5 dollars (approx. 4.50 euros), and the best idea was awarded with 9 dollars (approx. 8 euros).

Charness and Grieco found that monetary incentive does not necessarily lead to more creative ideas, when it comes to open tasks. Humans will become more creative if we feel like it offered more money to perform closed tasks, which have certain limitations.

It is also interesting that the two economists found that participants who knew that they would be evaluated by other individuals, have more creative ideas – this proves that creativity is not only important money, but also what others think about our work.