Distributed Affect as a Framework for Understanding Creative Collaboration

Historically, the study of affect has been intimately tied to theories of both cognition and creativity, and there are still unexplored connections between these related phenomena. This paper discusses research to expand and refine the formulation of distributed affect as a theoretical framework for analyzing and understanding creative collaboration. I elaborate on parallels between theories of cognition that extend beyond the individual as the unit of analysis and the text-based chat communication of affect between members of a distributed group who utilize creative problem solving to achieve their goals. Directions for future research are also discussed. A better understanding of the way in which distributed affect operates will have a significant impact on research into collaborative creativity as well as implications for the design of interfaces to support this type of distributed work.