Research Article
A Neuroscience-Based Empirical Study on the Effects of Positive-Negative Affect on Business Problem-Solving Creativity in Managerial Decision-Making under Uncertainty
1 Daejeon University, 2 Sungkyunkwan University
Published: January 2016 · Vol. 45 No. 4 · pp. 1147-1172
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17287/kmr.2016.45.4.1147
Full Text
Abstract
By using neuroscience methods as a main vehicle, this study aims to analyze empirically how decision-maker’s perceived positive and negative emotions affect his/her business problem-solving creativity under uncertainty. Especially, we investigate decision-maker’s cognitive processes involved in decision-making processes, and then apply neuroscience method based on EEG(Electroencephalogram) measurement. For the sake of experiments, participating subjects were divided into two groups – negative emotion induced group and positive emotion induced group. Then they were asked to conduct managerial decision-making tasks with uncertainty. Participants’ EEG signal data were collected when they perform task execution, and their BPSC(Business Problem-Solving Creativity) level was measured by creativity professionals based on their submitted FCM(fuzzy cognitive map) outputs after experiments. The results showed that there were statistically significant differences between the negative emotion induced group and the positive emotion induced group in the perspective of the decision-making tendency coping with uncertainty and the BPSC level. Furthermore, two groups – negative emotion induced group and positive emotion induced group - had also significant differences in the brain area and brainwave which were activated during the decision-making tasks. Firstly, as a hypothesis we predicted that two groups – subjects in negative emotion states and subjects in positive emotion states - would have difference of the selection tendency between certain decision-making alternative and uncertain decision-making alternative. The results showed that negative emotion induced groups had decision tendency to prefer uncertain decision-making alternative. This result supported the previous literature which addressed negative emotion take more preferably risks than positive emotion does. Secondly, regarding the BPSC level, we predicted that there would be significant differences in the perspective of the BPSC level between two groups – negative emotion induced group and positive emotion induced group. After expert-evaluation of the BPSC level measured by FCM, we found that the quality of those FCMs submitted by those subjects in two emotion groups had shown significant difference in the BPSC level. Especially, the BPSC level of negative emotion induced group was higher than that of positive emotion induced group. Considering the literature review results where there exist conflicting studies regarding how emotion could influence on creativity, this study could provide robust empirical results manifesting how positive and negative emotions have effect on the BPSC level when decision-makers are working on business problems under uncertainty. Thirdly, the results of EEG analysis – brainwave and brain activation area during task execution – were very suggestive of understanding cognitive processes and creative decision-making with uncertainty. There were significant differences in the brainwave and activated brain area during the execution of managerial decision-making task between two groups - negative emotion induced group and positive emotion induced group. More specifically, the subjects in the negative emotion induced group had alpha-wave activated more in the area of prefrontal cortex and left temporal cortex. Moreover, negative emotion induced group had relatively more beta-wave activated in the left temporal cortex. Meanwhile, the brainwave and brain area which were activated more in the subjects in positive emotional state were gamma-wave in the left temporal cortex. The findings of this research have several implies compared with previous literature. Firstly, previous literature regarding creativity addressed that creative task makes alpha-wave activated more. The result of this research also showed that negative emotion induced group who had relatively high creativity level was more activated with alpha-wave. In this way, this study could support the previous literature. Secondly, the interpretation of cognitive process related with creative decision-making is as follows. There exist conflicting explanation in the previous literature regarding the interrelation between alpha-wave and beta-wave. That is, several researchers addressed that beta-wave could have influence on the suppress of alpha-wave during cognitive task, and other researcher addressed that alpha-wave and beta-wave were activated simultaneously with cognitive task. The result of this research showed that alpha-wave and beta-wave of negative emotion induced group were activated more simultaneously, which supported the previous literature which alpha-wave and beta-wave are activated simultaneously. Meanwhile, the relatively more activated brain wave of positive emotion induced group was gamma-wave. Considering gamma-wave is activated when demanding highly cognitive processes, positive emotion induced group used highly cognitive effort compared with negative induced group. The result of our study provides important findings regarding brain wave activation when creative decision-making demanding highly cognitive effort. Beta-wave and gamma-wave which considered as the brain wave related with highly cognitive process were activated in both negative emotion induced group and positive emotion induced group. However, considering negative emotion induced group had more highly activation level of alpha-wave and activation area of prefrontal cortex and temporal cortex compared to positive emotion induced group, it could be interpreted that negative emotion induced group had more highly creativity level when demanding highly cognitive effort. This result coincides with the result which was investigated with behavioral experiment of this study.
