lecture 2: creativity development

Creativity #2: Creativity Development Tathagat Varma Knowledgepreneur http://thoughtleadership.in

Why research in creativity has been neglected?

  Traditional belief that creativity was hereditary, and hence, nothing could be done to make some “Creative”

  It was believed that only a few people had the ability to create, so no need to focus on that minority

  Hard workers were more likely to be successful than the creative types, and hence little incentive there.

  Creative people were considered “sex inappropriate”, and hence focus more on “practical” skills

  Creativity is difficult to study and measure

Child Development – Elizabeth Hurlock

Hurlock

  Creativity is making something new and different, and thus unique (even if others might have made something very similar)

  However, creativity doesn’t always (have to) lead to products that can be observed and judged. E.g., in daydreaming

  Hence creativity is more of a process – it is the act of producing than the end result of the act!

  Creativity is more goal-directed, even though the goal might be no more than the immediate pleasure the person derives from the activities.

  Requires “divergent thinking” (Guilford) while conformity and everyday problem solving comes from convergent thinking

  Creativity is often synonymous with imagination and fantasy, and is a form of mental play. A form of controlled imagination.

  The ability to create depends on the acquisition of accepted knowledge.

Is Creativity inherited?

  It was earlier believed that creativity was inherited, and nothing needs to be done to develop it – it will develop “automatically”

  However, now we recognize that all children have the potential to be creative, though they differ in the degree of creativity they possess

  In 2009, a HBR study published that Creativity is 20% inherited and 80% learned behavior.

  Recent research seems to suggest that heredity might have little more role than thought previously!

Is Creativity same as Intelligence?

  Creativity makes use of knowledge previously acquired, and hence depends on the intellectual capabilities of the individual

  To that end, there is a positive correlation

  However, we do see exceptions!

Creativity Syndrome

  A cluster of related traits among the creative people

  Flexibility, nonconformity, need for autonomy, need for independence, high aspiration, self-discipline, playfulness, liking the manipulation of ideas, assertiveness, reserve, self-assurance, sense of humor, open-mindedness, intellectual persistence, self-confidence, curiosity, enjoyment of calculated risk when success depends on own ability, sex-inappropriate interests, timidity in social situations, preference for fantasy over real adventures, venturesomeness, and pursuit of self-chosen interests

Critical Periods in Development of Creativity

  5-6 years: getting ready to school, they must learn to accept authority – the more stricter it is, the more it could stifle creativity

  8-10 years: desire to be accepted by the social group forces conformance to the group’s set norms

  13-15 years: peer acceptance, especially from opposite sex, controls the adolescent behavior

  17-19 years: preparation for the vocation could require conforming to a standard pattern

  Normally peak during 30s and 40s, and either pleateu or gradually decline

Variations in Creativity

  Gender:

  Socioeconomic Status:

  Ordinal Position:

  Family Size:

  Urban vs Rural:

  Intelligence:


  Gender: Boys show greater creativity than girls, especially as childhood advances – perhaps because of how they are treated differently than girls (e.g., take risks, be more independent, take more initiative, etc.)


  Socioeconomic Status: children from higher socioeconomic status tends to be more creative – however more due to democratic child-training than authoritarian training, and environmental factors / access to resources


  Ordinal Position: order of birth seems to have an impact on creativity –not because of hereditary reasons but more because of environmental ones.

  Middle, later-born and only children are likely to be more creative than the first-born!

  Typically, first-born is subjected to more pressure to confirm to parental expectations, which encourage a child to be a “conformer” rather than a “creator”


  Family Size: by and large, children form small families tend to be more creative

  In large families, authoritarian child-training controls and less favorable socioeconomic conditions are more likely to prevail and mitigate against the development of creativity.


  Urban vs Rural: Children from urban environments tend to be more creative.

  It could be attributed, in general, to authrotarian training beong more common in rural homes, and also the rural environment offering less stimulation than the large environments of cities


  Intelligence: at every age, brighter children show more creativity compared to their peers.

Conditions that foster creativity

  Time: have low regimentation to provide for free time to play and try out things

  Solitude: away from pressures imposed by the social groups

  Encouragement: unconditional encouragement free from criticism and ridicule

  Materials: materials to play with and stimulate experimentation and exploration

  Stimulating Environment: providing the environment of encourage and support

Unpossessive Parent-Child Relationhsip: Balance between overprotective and overpossessive

  Child-training methods: Democratic and permissive child training at home and school

  Opportunities to acquire knowledge: Create opportunities to acquire the knowledge to build the foundations for further creativity

Expression of Creativity in Childhood

  Animism: tendency to ascribe consciousness to inanimate objects. Begins ~2 years and peaks ~4-5 years before rapidly disappearing as the child enters school

  Dramatic Play: parallels the animistic thinking, and they accept and assign roles and play them out. Generally tapers off while entering school, unless considered ok in thire social groups. Mostly reproductive.

  Constructive Play: When children lost interest in dramatic play, the turn to constructive play, e.g. making things (from mud, clay, blocks, paper, etc.) and drawing. Initially, it is mostly reproductive, and mostly solitary.

  Imaginary Companions: could be a person, or animal or something a child creates in fantasy to play the role of companion, though most tend to be of their own age and sex, have a name and obey the child! Found more prevalent in brighter children, but most common in timid or sensitive, etc.

  Daydreaming: A form of mental play, usually called “fantasy”, it provides an escape or defensive mechanism from unsatisfying reality, with the dreamer mostly being the central character. It peaks around puberty.

Expression of Creativity in Childhood

  White Lies: a white lie is a falsehood that the person telling actually believes in, and not the same as an adult lying. The intent is not to deceive others, but self aggrandizement, as opposed to lied that are for self-protection.

  Humor: ability to perceive something comic and to produce it, could show a level of personal adjustment but also has a high creative quotiant

  Storytelling: starts as reproductive initially, and later on become creative. Tends to be more with those who have had imaginary companions. Is also less prone to criticism, compared to say, drawing, this creating better social interactions.

  Aspirations for Achievement: aspirations for achievement, though unrealistic initially, tend to help a child make personal and social adjustments, and also limit the “impossible dreamer”

  Concepts of Ideal Self: what would they rather be, their physical self-concepts and psychological self-concepts, they provide for better social adjustment opportunities

Hazards to Creativity

  Failure to Stimulate Creativity

  Inability to Detect Creativity in Time

  Unfavorable Social Attitudes towards Creativity

  Unfavorable Home Conditions

  Unfavorable School Conditions

  Excessive Daydreaming

Recap

  Early childhood activities might appear to be innocuous, or cute or sometimes even crazy to us grownups, but they have a significant role in personal and social development and adjustment of children.

  In addition, it has a huge impact on creativity development among children.

  While there might be some hereditary influence on the innate intelligence, the environmental factors have a majority influence on the early development of creativity in a child, and hence extremely important.

  In next class, we will discuss the creative process.

References

http://brainpickings.org/2013/09/06/what-is-creativity/

http://osho.com/highlights-of-oshos-world/what-is-creativity

http://www.ted.com/topics/creativity

http://hbr.org/topic/creativity

http://www.coursera.org/learn/creativity-innovation

http://www.coursera.org/learn/ignite-creativity

http://www.entrepreneur.com/topic/creativity

http://www.coursera.org/learn/creative-problem-solving

http://www.quora.com/The-Arts-What-standards-are-used-to-determine-if-something-is-creative-or-not-and-what-triggers-inspiration

  The Sources of Creativity and Innovation, http://www.fpspi.org/pdf/innovcreativity.pdf

References

  For a more creative brain, follow these 5 steps, http://jamesclear.com/five-step-creative-process

  It’s time to bury the idea of the Lone Genius Innovator, https://hbr.org/2016/04/its-time-to-bury-the-idea-of-the-lone-genius-innovator

Books

  Orbiting the Giant Hairball – A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace, Gordon MacKenzie

  A Whack on the Side of the Head – How You Can be More Creative, Roger Von Oech

  The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery

  A Technique for Producing Ideas: the simple five-step formula anyone can use to be more creative in business & in life!, James Webb Young

  Child Development – Elizabeth Hurlock

lecture 2: creativity development

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