Sarcasm as a creative force

Normally sarcasm is considered to be a somewhat nasty form of humour. You might not think of it as a force that nurtures creativity. Just consider how many fledgling ideas have been squelched by a wickedly timed and cooly delivered sarcastic remark. 

But a new study has found sarcasm to be a major factor in improving creativity and reasoning ability.  Adam Galinsky is a professor with Columbia Business School, and the senior writer of the study.

He joins guest host Stephen Quinn to explain his findings.

To understand and appreciate a sarcastic comment requires you to make a mental leap from what was said to what was intended. And it's that mental leap that ignites inside the mind a sense of flexibility, which allows people then to think in creative ways.                 - Adam Galinsky, Columbia Business School

"To understand and appreciate a sarcastic comment requires you to make a mental leap from what was said to what was intended. And it's that     mental leap that ignites inside the mind a sense of flexibility, which allows people then to think in creative ways." 

To test the impact of exposure to sarcasm on creative thinking, Galinsky set up controlled experiments that first exposed participants to sarcastic comments, and then challenged them to problem-solve creatively.

Those who had recently dealt with sarcasm did better in the creative challenges than those who had been exposed to sincere remarks. Seriously.