#creativity research

[m-c-easton]

Want a Creative Hot Streak?

Last week researchers published some pretty exciting findings for artists. We can set ourselves up for a hot streak by exploring genres and styles, then mastering one. After chronic illness changed how I write, this is wonderful news. #WritingCommunity

Last week was an exciting one for artists interested in scientific studies of creativity. Researchers (Lu Liu, Nima Dehmamy, Jillian Chown, C. Lee Giles & Dashun Wang) published an article in Nature demonstrating that most artistic hot streaks are preceded by exploration as artists try out numerous forms and media. The researchers define exploration as a period of intense “experimentation [as…

View On WordPress

[thoughtportal]

Americans Say They’d Rather Have Artistic Hobbies Than a Netflix Subscription

A new study found that 75 percent of Americans surveyed have creative hobbies and 68 percent want to use their creativity more often.

“When you talk to a quilter or a cook or a knitter, they all talk about this kind of flow state that they get in when they’re making,” he explained. “It’s similar to meditation or yoga, where your blood pressure comes down, and you forget about a lot of the mayhem in the world, or personal stress.”

However, there’s a psychological misconception among American consumers, Levisay continued, who believe they don’t have time to be creative. “But then when people take inventory of where they’re spending their time, they realize that they’re spending three to four hours watching TV and an hour or two a day online,” he continued. And they acknowledge that creative activities make them feel better than watching TV or browsing social media.

In the past, it was commonly believed that creativity is genetic—that some people are born with it. Today, we’re more open to the idea that creativity can be honed through education and practice. We can all be creative—it’s a matter of letting it out.

[unofficialchronicle]

REIFY (v).

1. to make (something abstract) more concrete or real; to give definite content and form to (a concept or idea)

Reify is a word that attempts to provide a bridge between what is abstract and what is real. Fittingly, it derives from a word that is an ancestor to real—the Latin noun res, meaning "thing."

[redshift-13]

ABSTRACT

Emotional creativity (EC) is a pattern of cognitive abilities and personality traits related to originality and appropriateness in emotional experience. EC has been found to be related to various constructs across different fields of psychology during the past 30 years, but a comprehensive examination of previous research is still lacking. The goal of this review is to explore the reliability of use of the Emotional Creativity Inventory (ECI) across studies, to test gender differences and to compare levels of EC in different countries. Thirty-five empirical studies focused on EC were retrieved and the coefficients required for the meta-analysis extracted. The meta-analysis revealed that women showed significantly higher EC than men (total N = 3,555). The same gender differences were also found when testing scores from three ECI subscales, i.e. emotional novelty, emotional preparedness and emotional effectiveness/authenticity. When comparing EC in 10 different countries (total N = 4,375), several cross-cultural differences were revealed. The Chinese sample showed a significantly lower average ECI total score than all the other countries. Based on the integration of results, the avenues for future research on EC and the breadth of influence of the concept of EC across different fields of psychology are discussed.

[beskylike]

By implementing semi-truths about how to foster creativity in different environments we might stifle creativity all together. We need to first investigate what we know... There are a few elephants roaming around the “creativity talk” room that we (creativity people) don’t like to talk about.

Milena Z. Fisher, Ph.D talks about problems with creativity research here.

The "elephants" she mention are:

"1. The 'wobbly' definition of creativity.

2. Methodology.

3. A sugar-coated vision of creativity- things 'creativity preachers' don’t like to mention.

4. Creativity and freedom of expression- the overlooked relationship between creativity and freedom

5. The myth of 'innovation islands'.

6. Iconoclast  – not always 'a nice guy'.

7. The lack of a smart, interdisciplinary approach, which, by the way, might implode creativity studies altogether."

For more details for each, check out the article!

In this article, what really caught my interest is how creativity is perhaps not being worked with enough in an interdisciplinary way. I rather agree- I have been reading many papers, yet the field does not feel congruent but rather all over the place, which may be hindering progress. Creativity is incredibly interdisciplinary and people need to work and think together more (not just scientists studying artists but both thinking together, sharing ideas...).

Also, I agree that I am scared that people, without truly understanding how something could stimulate creativity, will implement it into education systems, which might cause the opposite effect. (I can just imagine someone saying, "But that's what the scientists said!" and force students to do something in hopes of facilitating creativity...) Really, each person is different and well, research subject population does not really represent everyone.