Creativity In Adulthood
Everyone wants to be more creative, but we feel that creativity is evaporated by aging. When defining creativity, we often consider curiosity in relation to creativity. In childhood, we were curious, and not afraid of trying to do new things. However, as time goes by, we lose curiosity and don’t like doing something new. Where does our creativity have gone?
This article provides lots of information about creativity in adulthood. The author introduces other authors’ point of view about creativity. There are very interesting studies about it.
Creativity is basically inborn and unchangeable, but it is influenced by environment such as education, family, physical and psychic well-being. During age of 5~7 when a formal school starts, creativity of them decreases by 40%. Most authors agreed that education prevents early talent from transforming into adult creativity because it emphasizes logical thinking than diverse thinking.
There are disputes about continuity of creativity between children and adult. Some of them think that creativity of adult and children are different because adults have very small creativity that comes from childhood. However, the others insist that there are some points of sameness of creativity between childhood and adulthood.
One author concluded that innovation and novelty are characteristics of youthful thinking, while adult creativity shows late-life thinking such as synthesis, reflection and wisdom. Usually, adult creativity graph is a bell-shaped curve. Peak is in 30s, but after 40s, creativity decreases increasingly. However, some research suggest that the pattern is changed by longer life span and slowing physical aging.
There are a variety ways to enhance adult creativity. People need appropriate environment in work place and educational institutions such as constructive feedback and offering rewards. Brainstorming and thinking the familiar strange and the strange familiar can be helpful to be creative. Sometimes fear of failure hinders being creative. It can be overcome by lizard therapy. Physical and psychic well-being is important to maintain creativity.
Additional, there is an interesting experiment about environmental influence of creativity. Men maintain creative space for their own, but women make a little space of creativity for their family.
It appeals because most topics about creativity are related to children. However, this article doesn’t. It focuses on adult creativity. This is important topic of me not only as an adult who feel loss of creativity, but also as a student who are studying art that is deeply related to creativity. The most interesting information is that creativity doesn’t disappear but change into different form such as wisdom. I’ve never thought that late-life thinking is kind of creativity. I think it’s true because sometimes we are surprised at a solution that our elders(such as teachers, parents and grand parents) suggest. Their solution comes from very ordinary things, but we never imagine applying it as the solution. What the creativity is if it’s not creativity!
I think that the biggest obstacle to be creative in adulthood is fear of failure. It blocks us to imagine and try something very creative. This article provides variety ways to overcome that but I want to know other people’s own solution.
Everyone wants to be more creative, but we feel that creativity is evaporated by aging. When defining creativity, we often consider curiosity in relation to creativity. In childhood, we were curious, and not afraid of trying to do new things. However, as time goes by, we lose curiosity and don’t like doing something new. Where does our creativity have gone?
This article provides lots of information about creativity in adulthood. The author introduces other authors’ point of view about creativity. There are very interesting studies about it.
Creativity is basically inborn and unchangeable, but it is influenced by environment such as education, family, physical and psychic well-being. During age of 5~7 when a formal school starts, creativity of them decreases by 40%. Most authors agreed that education prevents early talent from transforming into adult creativity because it emphasizes logical thinking than diverse thinking.
There are disputes about continuity of creativity between children and adult. Some of them think that creativity of adult and children are different because adults have very small creativity that comes from childhood. However, the others insist that there are some points of sameness of creativity between childhood and adulthood.
One author concluded that innovation and novelty are characteristics of youthful thinking, while adult creativity shows late-life thinking such as synthesis, reflection and wisdom. Usually, adult creativity graph is a bell-shaped curve. Peak is in 30s, but after 40s, creativity decreases increasingly. However, some research suggest that the pattern is changed by longer life span and slowing physical aging.
There are a variety ways to enhance adult creativity. People need appropriate environment in work place and educational institutions such as constructive feedback and offering rewards. Brainstorming and thinking the familiar strange and the strange familiar can be helpful to be creative. Sometimes fear of failure hinders being creative. It can be overcome by lizard therapy. Physical and psychic well-being is important to maintain creativity.
Additional, there is an interesting experiment about environmental influence of creativity. Men maintain creative space for their own, but women make a little space of creativity for their family.
It appeals because most topics about creativity are related to children. However, this article doesn’t. It focuses on adult creativity. This is important topic of me not only as an adult who feel loss of creativity, but also as a student who are studying art that is deeply related to creativity. The most interesting information is that creativity doesn’t disappear but change into different form such as wisdom. I’ve never thought that late-life thinking is kind of creativity. I think it’s true because sometimes we are surprised at a solution that our elders(such as teachers, parents and grand parents) suggest. Their solution comes from very ordinary things, but we never imagine applying it as the solution. What the creativity is if it’s not creativity!
I think that the biggest obstacle to be creative in adulthood is fear of failure. It blocks us to imagine and try something very creative. This article provides variety ways to overcome that but I want to know other people’s own solution.
Article: http://www.ericdigests.org/1999-4/creativity.htm
Title: Creativity in Adulthood. ERIC Digest No. 204.
ERIC Identifier: ED429186
Publication Date: 1999-00-00
Author: Kerka, Sandra
Source: ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult Career and Vocational Education Columbus OH.
