Paradox and problem construction: Improving creativity through paradoxical thinking

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
pp. 11997
Author(s):  
Roni Reiter-Palmon ◽  
Salvatore Leone ◽  
Emanuel Schreiner
Keyword(s):  
Problem Construction ◽  
Paradoxical Thinking

scholarly journals The paradoxical thinking ‘sweet spot’: The role of recipients’ latitude of rejection in the effectiveness of paradoxical thinking messages targeting anti-refugee attitudes in Israel

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 266-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boaz Hameiri ◽  
Orly Idan ◽  
Eden Nabet ◽  
Daniel Bar-Tal ◽  
Eran Halperin
Keyword(s):  
Attitude Change ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Social Judgment ◽  
Sweet Spot ◽  
Identity Threat ◽  
Social Judgment Theory ◽  
African Refugees ◽  
Paradoxical Thinking ◽  
Refugees And Asylum Seekers

The current research examined whether for a message that is based on the paradoxical thinking principles—i.e., providing extreme, exaggerated, or even absurd views, that are congruent with the held views of the message recipients—to be effective, it needs to hit a ‘sweet spot’ and lead to a contrast effect. That is, it moderates the view of the message's recipients. In the framework of attitudes toward African refugees and asylum seekers in Israel by Israeli Jews, we found that compared to more moderate messages, an extreme, but not too extreme, message was effective in leading to unfreezing for high morally convicted recipients. The very extreme message similarly led to high levels of surprise and identity threat as the extreme message that was found to be effective. However, it was so extreme and absurd that it was rejected automatically. This was manifested in high levels of disagreement compared to all other messages, rendering it less effective compared to the extreme, paradoxical thinking, message. We discuss these findings’ practical and theoretical implications for the paradoxical thinking conceptual framework as an attitude change intervention, and for social judgment theory.

scholarly journals Which Divergent Thinking Index is More Associated with Problem Construction Ability? The Role of Flexibility and Task Nature

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed M. Abdulla Alabbasi
Keyword(s):  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Sixth Graders ◽  
Creative Potential ◽  
Problem Construction ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Verbal Tasks ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Fertile Area ◽  
And Task

Problem construction and divergent thinking (DT) are considered to be indicators of creative potential. Previous studies, with different goals, suggest a positive correlation between problem construction and DT. However, none of these works have explicitly examined which index of DT is more associated with problem construction. The current investigation examined the association between problem construction and three main indexes of DT: fluency, flexibility, and originality. It also tested whether such a relation differs based on task nature (verbal versus figural). The sample consisted of 90 sixth graders who completed three tests: (a) a verbal DT test, (b) a figural DT test, and (c) a problem construction test. Correlational analysis showed that flexibility was highly correlated with problem construction in the verbal DT test, whereas originality was highly correlated with problem construction in the figural test. The association between problem construction and verbal versus figural DT significantly differed in all DT indexes. This finding suggests that figural and verbal tasks assess DT in a different way, which was confirmed by a canonical correlation analysis. Finally, results of a multiple regression analysis showed that verbal DT significantly explained 59% of the variance in fluency scores in problem construction and 60% in originality scores in problem construction. Meanwhile, figural DT explained 8% to 9% of the variability in fluency and originality scores in problem construction. As suggested by experts in the field of problem construction, the role of flexibility in problem construction is a fertile area to be considered in future studies.

Global minimum test problem construction

1982 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 353-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Y. Sung ◽  
J. B. Rosen
Keyword(s):  
Test Problem ◽  
Global Minimum ◽  
Problem Construction

scholarly journals Talking into (non)existence: Denying or constituting paradoxes of Corporate Social Responsibility

2017 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 668-691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jochen Hoffmann
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Social Responsibility ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Organizational Research ◽  
Proactive Management ◽  
Paradoxical Thinking ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
Academic Discourses

Organizations can be understood as sites of persistent tensions between equally legitimate claims. In other words, organizations may be paradoxical. However, paradoxes do not pre-exist as a matter of fact. This article investigates how dominant academic discourses either constitute or deny potential paradoxes of Corporate Social Responsibility. It follows the theoretical perspective of CCO – Communication Constitutes Organizations and, more specifically, a ventriloqual approach. Academics are like ventriloquists, they breath life into dummies who establish theoretical figures that may or may not support paradoxical thinking in organizational research. The qualitative meta-analysis shows that potential Corporate Social Responsibility paradoxes are primarily talked into nonexistence. Managerial ventriloquists reject Corporate Social Responsibility tensions in the interests of organizational consistency and harmony. Critical ventriloquists accept tensions, but assume their causes lie in gaps between rhetoric and practice. The preferred figure is not a paradoxical one, but that of organizational hypocrisy. Overall, non-paradoxical approaches dominate; they, in turn, ventriloquize their creators, thereby limiting the scope of future research. A communicative perspective is instead open to the constitution of Corporate Social Responsibility paradoxes. It enables practitioners to engage in a proactive management of organizational tensions and encourages scholars to reflect on the constituted nature of academic discourses.

Paradoxical Thinking Interventions: A Paradigm for Societal Change

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Boaz Hameiri ◽  
Daniel Bar-Tal ◽  
Eran Halperin
Keyword(s):  
Societal Change ◽  
Paradoxical Thinking

From Paradoxical Thinking to Practicing Sustainable Business: The Role of a Business Collective Organization in Supporting Entrepreneurs

2019 ◽  
pp. 108602661988510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara B. Soderstrom ◽  
Kathryn L. Heinze
Keyword(s):  
Field Study ◽  
Multiple Goals ◽  
Shared Resources ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Sustainable Entrepreneurship ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Paradoxical Thinking ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
Social Environmental

Individual entrepreneurs committed to sustainability experience paradoxes: interdependencies and conflict between social, environmental, and economic goals. Whereas prior research focuses on direct responses to paradoxes, we examine multi-level dynamics between organizations and individuals in responding to sustainability paradoxes. Using a 20-month qualitative field study of sustainable food entrepreneurs in Detroit, we investigated how a business collective organization, FoodLab, enabled entrepreneurs to move from paradoxical thinking to practicing sustainable business. Our findings suggest that while individuals may struggle to address multiple goals of sustainability alone, business collective organizations provide a coordinating mechanism that amplifies their efforts. Through guardrails that facilitate the co-creation of shared resources for members, organizations can minimize cognitive and practical barriers of sustainable entrepreneurship.

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