Emotional intelligence mindset as a catalyst for creativity: A dual help-seeking lens in college students

With emotional intelligence (EI) becoming more crucial in accomplishing increasingly complex creative tasks, it is often difficult for college students to fully realise their creativity without seeking help from others. However, how individuals’ implicit beliefs about EI, referred to as EI mindsets, influence help-seeking and creativity remains underexplored. To address this gap, we integrate implicit and help-seeking theories to propose a dual-path model in which growth EI mindset (GMEI) and fixed EI mindset (FMEI) predict creativity through autonomous (AHS) and dependent (DHS) help-seeking, respectively. Data from 519 college students collected via a three-wave questionnaire indicated that GMEI was positively associated with creativity, whereas FMEI was negatively associated with creativity. Moreover, AHS and DHS partially mediated the effects of GMEI and FMEI on creativity, respectively. This study offers significant insights for higher education to foster students’ creativity by implementing EI mindset interventions and promoting autonomous help-seeking behaviours.