Uncovering interactive effects of affective voice tone and personality diversity on dyadic creativity.

Creativity is a key driver of innovation and social progress. Research on creativity has identified a variety of factors that affect creativity at both individual and group levels. However, the interactive effects of these factors in creativity have not been fully investigated. Thus, the present study aimed to explore the interactive effects of affective voice tone and personality traits on creativity in acquainted dyads. Pairs of participants took part in an experiment in which they cooperated on a verbal creativity task via a video conferencing system that modulated affective voice tone and completed personality questionnaires. The results demonstrate that affective voice tone modulation interacts with personality diversity to shape dyadic creativity. Specifically, while voice tone alone did not alter creative performance, it significantly modulated the positive effect of personality heterogeneity, suggesting that emotional vocal cues can constrain the benefits of interpersonal diversity during collaboration. This is the first empirical evidence for an interactive effect of affective voice tone and personality heterogeneity on dyadic creativity in close relationships. In addition, this study offers valuable insights into designing mechanisms and systems that enhance co-creation, not only in human teams but also in collaborations between humans and artificial intelligence agents.