The Agency Bias in Creativity Evaluations: The Role of Implicit Beliefs about Creativity

Abstract

Although past research has suggested that older workers are stereotyped as less creative, little is known about mechanisms that underlie this belief and the conditions under which this bias is likely to occur. Past research suggests that people construe creative individuals as highly agentic individuals who can produce radically different creative ideas. We suggest that these implicit beliefs about creativity would disadvantage creative evaluations of older workers as they are often perceived lacking in agency. Four studies, including experimental and archival data from Fortune 500 employees and M.B.A students, support our predictions. Study 1 analyzed archival data from M.B.A. students, finding that older targets were perceived as less innovative. Utilizing archival data from Fortune 500 employees, Study 2 found that older workers are evaluated as less creative; but this age bias in creativity evaluations occurred only when perceivers associate creativity with radical creativity. Study 3’s experiment found that an older target was perceived as less creative, even when described as producing identical output as a comparable younger target. Finally, Study 4’s experiment found that older targets were evaluated as less able to develop radically creative ideas because they were perceived as lacking in independent, diligent, and competent agency.