Everyone loves a creative thinker, right? Sure they tend to be great problem solvers and excel at handling difficult tasks, but what is the downside to hiring a creative thinker? It turns out that creative thinkers are better at cheating than people less skilled in creative thinking. 
It appears that creative thinkers have a unique ability to create elaborate justifications for their unethical behavior as a result of their imagination. Think about that the next time your most creative employee calls in sick to work with an elaborate story.
Clearly, though, the implications are much greater than a few unnecessary sick days. The idea that creative thinkers are more adept at cheating raises questions about how dangerous those employees could be in an ethical business dilemma. In other words, just because a creative thinker can create a great justification for unethical behavior, will they take that risk?
According to the study, the answer is unfortunately yes:
‘The results from the current paper indicate that, in fact, people who are creative or work in environments that promote creative thinking may be the most at risk when they face ethical dilemmas.’
So, how do you manage the risk of potential unethical behavior from a creative thinker when there are so many benefits to having them on your team? What would you do?
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Seriously? I missed the boat somewhere. Could have managed to avoid the decision making anguish in sticky situations I feel if I’d only known this. There surely is a secondary component this research missed.
Sandy- You’re totally right. This is a very overly simplistic view of the correlation between creative thinking and cheating, but it’s a great conversation starter and it has been on my mind for a few days.
Here’s a little personal anecdote that got me thinking about my own creative thinking. I would characterize myself as someone who makes slight creative improvements on other people’s ideas, but not someone who can create something out of nothing. In art, I’m more of a copycat artist than anything else.
So, here is how my low-to-mid level creative thinking affects my lying/cheating ability. When I was applying for grad school, I was required to go to St. Louis for my final interview. It was during a really busy time at the insurance company I worked for, and knew it would be difficult to ask for time off. So, I decided to tell my boss I needed the day off to go to a wedding. My boss quickly responded “Really, a wedding on Wednesday?” OOPS! I turned bright red, apologized and told him the real story. He laughed and still let me take the day off. I was definitely not thinking creatively in that situation.
Years before that while I was in undergrad, I was heading to my calculus final, which I knew would not go well. I’d taken calculus in high school and done fairly well so I was over-confident at the beginning of the semester. I went to that class 3 times all year long (and no, I’m not joking). I showed up on syllabus day, mid-term day, and the final. I did well on the mid-terms because it was all a review of what I’d already learned in high school, but when I was trying to teach myself the content from the 2nd half of the semester, I knew I was in over my head. On the way to class that day, I joked that if the situation were dire, I would just fake a panic attack to get out of the final. She laughed and bet me $50 that I wouldn’t do it. Note: I never lose a bet. So, when I received the test I went question by question and realized I couldn’t even start to answer a single one I went into fake panic attack mode. Since I actually suffer from panic attacks this was not a stretch for me. Long story short- I caused quite a stir in the 250 person auditorium, avoided having an ambulance called thanks to my quick acting friend who was in on the scheme, and both of us got the opportunity to re-take the final. I know that’s a long story, but it gave me some context for when I’m good at lying, and that’s based on replicating previous experience. I am not imaginative enough to create a story that has never happened before, and interestingly enough I wouldn’t say that I excel at creative thinking…
What about you, Sandy? Do you have any personal anecdotes that could give context to this study?
Your creative thinking probably appeared around the age of 3. I came home and found almost every toy you owned scattered all over the living room. The look on my face must have shown total shock because without me saying a word you responded….”A bomb blew up but it’s okay. I didn’t get hurt.”