ORCID Identifier(s)

0009-0007-5344-777X

Graduation Semester and Year

Spring 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Logan L. Watts

Abstract

This study examined whether training individuals in abstract, concrete, or ambidextrous construal-level thinking strategies enhances creative performance and whether the effectiveness of such training is moderated by leadership style within an aptitude-treatment interaction (ATI) framework. Drawing on Construal Level Theory (CLT), participants (N = 235 undergraduate students) were randomly assigned to one of four training conditions and completed a low-fidelity planning task designed to assess creativity across three dimensions: originality, quality, and elegance. Results indicated that ambidexterity training—designed to promote flexible shifting between abstract and concrete thinking—significantly improved performance across all creativity dimensions, outperforming concrete and control (but not abstract) conditions. No support was found for predicted interactions involving pragmatic or charismatic leadership styles and construal level thinking training. However, a preliminary ATI effect emerged: individuals lower in charismatic leadership benefitted more from ambidexterity training than their higher-charisma counterparts. These findings suggest that construal-level thinking is trainable and highlight the importance of cognitive-task alignment and individual aptitude in the design of creativity-enhancing interventions.

Keywords

Construal level thinking, Creativity, Leadership style, Construal ambidexterity, Leadership training

Disciplines

Industrial and Organizational Psychology

Share

COinS
 
 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.