Overview of the History of Creativity

Overview of the History of Creativity Research From a Psychological Perspective

Dave Curry - September 21, 2014

While creativity has been around since the dawn of mankind, its history as a psychological subject of study is relatively short. The concept of creativity has undergone major changes throughout history. With its beginnings as something divine, later becoming known as a process of strict logic, and within the last century or so, becoming something we are familiar with, the ability to make something new and meaningful. Through a series of significant events creativity has landed itself as an important aspect of daily life worthy of greater inquiry.

There are many famous poets, artists, and artisans from ancient times that we perceive today as creative; however, they were not seen in that light during their lifetime. They were believed to have a gift from the gods. People were makers, not creators; only the gods could create. In Ancient Greece for example, Zeus’ nine daughters, the Muses ruled over poetry, the arts, sciences, and provided inspiration in those subjects. Due to the divine nature of creativity, there was no warrant for investigation.

During the Renaissance, creativity was still primarily seen as divine. This is evident in a quote from Michelangelo, “Many believe - and I believe - that I have been designated for this work by God. In spite of my old age, I do not want to give it up; I work out of love for God and I put all my hope in Him.”

The view of creativity visibly began to shift during the Enlightenment. The English dramatist John Dryden is quoted as saying, “genius must be born, and can never be taught.” Others did not agree. Sir Joshua Reynolds of the British Royal Academy of Art suggested that genius is something that can be achieved through disciplined training and practice. In this light, creativity still does not warrant investigation.

During the 19th century, psychology became a legitimate scientific field of study. This was essential for the study of creativity. Dr. Dean Keith Simonton, a psychology professor at the University of California, Davis puts forth that three major movements led psychological science to turn its attention toward the analysis of creativity; Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, the development of statistical methods, and the formation of clinical science (Simonton).

If creativity is a gift from the gods or simply a technique to learn and master, then there is nothing to explain scientifically. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution provided a new view of natural creativity. Darwin recognized that creativity of nature resulted from each organism’s struggle to not only survive but also to reproduce. This need led to unique characteristics to help different species attract mates, like peacocks elegant tail feathers. From this Darwin deduced that art, poetry, music, and other artistic creations evolved as courtship behaviors in humans. His proclamations provided a purely scientific view of creativity, opening the door for further speculation and research (Simonton).

The development of statistical methods led to some major breakthroughs in creativity as a topic of study. Adolphe Quételet and Francis Galton each made significant contributions. Quételet was a pioneer of applying statistics and probability to social phenomena. He is documented as being the first to study the relationship between age and creativity and as having provided the first operational definition of creativity. He stated that creativity was objectively quantified in terms of productivity (Simonton). Galton’s 1869 book, Hereditary Genius: An Inquiry into Its Laws and Consequences is regarded as one of the first classics in creativity research. His 1874 book, English Men of Science: Their Nature and Nurture, is also hailed as a masterpiece in early creative studies. This book attempted to study highly creative people and initiated the nature-nurture issue. He examined whether people’s creativity and other abilities are inherited or a product of the environment.

The third movement that Simonton mentioned as having a major impact on creativity as an area of psychological study often examined the correlation between madness and creativity. Correlations were found, but of course, not everyone that is creative is psychotic.

Within the last century, research in creativity has expanded vastly. Tests have been developed to attempt to quantify creativity, like Sarnoff Mednick’s Remote Association Test (RAT) and J. P. Guilford’s Unusual Uses Test. Many instruments have been created to attempt to measure creativity by personality traits. Creativity research has branched out in many directions, including the biology of creativity, developmental research, economic factors, behavioral and organizational perspectives, educational, historical, psychometric, and social research.

Creativity is now recognized as being an essential part of daily life. Creativity helps people be flexible in the ever-changing world that we live in. It will be increasingly more important that we allow and encourage creativity in schools and the workplace so we can continue to grow as a society. We will continue to run into new dilemmas that will affect our communities, towns, states, and countries; which will require us to devise creative solutions. Continued research will be a necessity for us to continue to thrive as a society.

References

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Johnson, Joana. "Defining Creativity, Part 4: Fighting Entropy in the Reinassance." Creating Brains. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2014.

Reynolds, Joshua. "The Second Discourse." The Discourses of Sir Joshua Reynolds. N.p.: London, J. Carpenter, 1842. 37. Print.

Simonton, Dean Keith. "The Psychology of Creativity: A Historical Perspective."

"The Nine Muses." Infoplease. Infoplease, n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2014.