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PubMed1973

The modification of sentence structure and its relationship to subjective judgements of creativity in writing.

The present study objectively defined and manipulated some compositional variables in 10-sentence stories written by fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students, and related these operationally defined variables to subjective judgements of creativity. Points, exchangeable for candy and extra recess, were given to members of two teams contingent upon their using different adjectives, different action verbs, and different sentence beginnings. The students' use of these selected parts of speech was modified and the independent subjective ratings indicated that stories written during contingency conditions were generally rated as more creative than those written during baseline conditions. Operational definitions that specify non-repetition or variety of responses, and contingencies that require response diversity may provide a beginning basis for defining writing creativity and the conditions that maximize its occurrence.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Does computation provide a model for creativity? An epistemological perspective in neuroscience.

In 1939 Alan Turing, a major scholar in the field of mechanical computation, described a system whose computational power was beyond that of a discrete, finite state machine (Turing Machine). The composition of this system was likely the first example of what is now called an hybrid computational system. Since then, development of neural networks and brain automata has made aware that forms of computation might exist that are likely to go beyond Turing's limits. Natural systems, like the central nervous system in Mammals and man, are likely to use such a type of computation, especially to perform highly integrating activities, like feedback controls and mental creative processes. The latter are usually understood as processes that involve infinitary procedures, ending up in a complex information network, the computational maps, in which both digital, Turing-like computation and continuous, analog forms of calculus are expected to occur. Pictorial representation may be a fruitful example, mostly metaphorical, to analyze the use of this hybrid forms of computation by higher order computational maps, and the possible role of these types of computational processes in painting creativity is briefly analyzed in comparing 15th vs 16th century Renaissance Art. An open challenge for neuroscience in the 21st century is to clarify whether a hybrid neural learning network might represent a reasonable clue to scientifically interpret the theme of "creativity".

Art↗
PubMed1995

Residents' performance before and after night call as evaluated by an indicator of creative thought.

The effects of sleep deprivation on medical personnel have received much attention. This study evaluates the effects of sleep loss on divergent-thinking (creative or innovative) processes as measured by the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT). Anesthesia residents who had approximately 30 minutes sleep while being on-call were evaluated. These physicians had similar caffeine and nicotine consumption before and after the test. The results reported here demonstrate that postcall residents had TTCT scores that were appreciably below those scores of rested residents. Postcall verbal fluency was less among the on-call group than among the rested group (94.0 +/- 9.7 vs 101.8 +/- 9.8) as was figural originality (89.9 +/- 22.1 vs 113.3 +/- 20.3). These study results suggest that sleep deprivation affects divergent, or creative, thinking. Divergent-thinking processes are usually innovative and are used during complex problem-solving tasks. Further studies are needed on the effects of sleep deprivation. This information can then be used to help improve residents' working conditions and patient care.

Employee Performance Appraisal↗
PubMed2005

[Virginia Woolf as an example of a mental disorder and artistic creativity].

This is an attempt to evaluate the mental disorder that the novelist Virginia Woolf suffered, and to determine the relationship between her creativity and her insanity. What mostly characterizes her illness is the presence of typical phases of severely impairing depression and significant hypomania, culminating in suicide at the age of 59. This is a convincing life history of a bipolar II disorder, although the "broad bipolar spectrum" is less easy to define operational than bipolar disorder I. She was moderately stable as well as exceptionally productive from 1915 until she committed suicide in 1941. Virginia Woolf created little or nothing while she was unwell, and was productive between attacks. A detailed analysis of her own creativity over the years shows that her illnesses were the source of material for her novels.

Bipolar Disorder↗
PubMed1976

Homospatial thinking in creativity.

"Homospatial thinking" consists of actively conceiving two or more discrete entities occupying the same space, a conception leading to the articulation of new identities. Homospatial thinking has a salient role in the creative process in the following wide variety of fields: literature, the visual arts, music, science, and mathematics. This cognitive factor, along with "Janusian thinking," clarifies the nature of creative thinking as a highly adaptive and primarily nonregressive form of functioning.

Art↗
PubMed2004

Supportive-expressive group therapy: the transformation of existential ambivalence into creative living while enhancing adherence to anti-cancer therapies.

Supportive-Expressive Group Therapy (SEGT) has been developed and manualised in the research setting, but there have been few clinical accounts of its utility. In this qualitative review of its application in the Melbourne-based randomised control trial (RCT) for women with advanced breast cancer, SEGT is considered from the perspective of the structure and framework of therapy, its therapists, the issues that develop in exploring its common themes and what constitutes a well functioning group. Groups move through identifiable developmental phases. The mature group process transforms existential ambivalence into creative living, evidenced by humour, celebration, assertiveness, altruism, new creative pursuits and eventually courageous acceptance of dying. Challenges and pitfalls include avoidance, non-containment of ambivalence, intolerance of difference, anti-group phenomena and splitting. A key element is the medicalization of the group culture whereby members and co-therapists explore health beliefs and attitudes about care. This promotes compliance with anti-cancer treatments, including both the initiation of and perseverance with chemotherapy. This mechanism could prove to be a potentially important pathway in promoting longer survival.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Enhanced dynamic complexity in the human EEG during creative thinking.

This study shows that divergent thinking, considered the general process underlying creative production, can be distinguished from convergent, analytical thought based on the dimensional complexity of ongoing electroencephalographic (EEG) activity. EEG complexity over the central and posterior cortex was higher while subjects solved tasks of divergent than convergent thinking, and also higher than during mental relaxation. Over the frontal cortex, EEG complexity was comparable during divergent thinking and mental relaxation, but reduced during convergent thinking. Results indicate that the basic process underlying the generation of novel ideas expresses itself in a strong increase in the EEG's complexity, reflecting higher degrees of freedom in the competitive interactions among cortical neuron assemblies. Frontocortical EEG complexity being comparable with that during mental relaxation, speaks for a loosened attentional control during creative thinking.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Creative musical behavior and sex hormones: musical talent and spatial ability in the two sexes.

Creative musical behavior, musical intelligence, and spatial ability were investigated in relation to salivary testosterone (T). In a cross-sectional study with 117 adults and in an 8-yr longitudinal study with 120 adolescents, composers, instrumentalists, and nonmusicians of both sexes were compared by analyses of variance. Results indicate that an optimal T range may exist for the expression of creative musical behavior. This range may be at the bottom of normal male T range and at the top of normal female T range. In addition, musicians were found to attain significantly higher spatial test scores than nonmusicians, both, in an 8-yr-period of adolescent development and in adulthood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Effects of menstrual cycle on creativity.

Seventeen healthy women (21-31 years) not taking oral contraceptives were tested at three phases of the menstrual cycle distinctly differing in hormonal patterns (menses, preovulatory phase, and midluteal phase). Phase detection was assured by determination of blood hormone concentrations. Another 17 women taking oral contraceptives (combined preparation of estrogen and progestin) served as age-matched controls, and were tested during menses and during phases corresponding to preovulatory and midluteal phase. On each test occasion, aspects of creativity were assessed by a battery of six tests measuring "semantic" and "figural" abilities of divergent thinking. Additionally, a test of motor perseveration (Mittenecker-Zeigeversuch) was presented. During the preovulatory phase, creativity was in general improved when serum concentrations of estrogen (E2) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were highest whereas motor perseveration decreased. In control women, there was no preovulatory improvement of divergent thinking and no preovulatory decrease in motor perseveration.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Approaches to verbal, visual and musical creativity by EEG coherence analysis.

Our approach to coherence analysis of the on-going EEG yields data on the cooperation between all possible electrode sites of the 10/20 system. This procedure compares epochs during mental activity with epochs of EEG at rest and takes into account only significant differences which are represented as lines between the respective electrodes on maps of the brain surface. The patterns thus obtained reflect the temporal average of the changes of the overall coherence pattern caused by any mental task. They are interpreted as reflecting differential attention required for the achievement of the mental task in question. Acts of creative thinking, be it verbally, visually or musically, are characterized by more coherence increases between occipital and frontopolar electrode sites than any other mental tasks. The results are interpreted by a stronger involvement of long cortico-cortical fibre systems in creative tasks.

Attention↗
PubMed2001

Becoming a doctor: fostering humane caregivers through creative writing.

We qualitatively examined themes covered in a creative writing elective designed to enhance pre-clinical medical students' writing, observation, and reflection skills relative to experiences in their medical education. Qualitative analysis of writings' themes was carried out via iterative consensus building process and validated through member checks and literature review. Fourteen students completed the elective, seven for each year it was given. Students submitted 86 written pieces. Qualitative analysis demonstrated the presence of nine themes: students' role confusion, developing a professional identity, medicine as a calling, physician privilege and power, humanizing the teacher, the limits of medicine, death and dying, anticipating future challenges, and identification with the patient. Students evaluated this creative writing course favorably, indicating value in writing and reflection. Themes covered are of concern to second-year medical students as well as other trainees and practicing physicians. Writing may aid in the professional development of physicians.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1992

Similarity in general cognitive ability, creativity, and cognitive style in a sample of adolescent Russian twins.

Data on five tests of general and specific cognitive abilities, cognitive styles, and creativity, obtained from members of 60 identical and 63 fraternal Russian adolescent twin pairs, are presented. All tests are adaptations of standardized instruments widely used outside of the Soviet Union. Identical and fraternal twin correlations for general cognitive ability yielded a lower estimate of heritability (0.29) than generally found in other countries worldwide (0.52) although the twin correlations themselves are fairly comparable to figures from other countries and cultures--0.83 and 0.69 for Russian identical and fraternal twin pairs, respectively, vs 0.86 and 0.60 for non-Russian identical, and fraternal twin pairs. Twin correlations for other cognitive-related abilities assessed were also comparable to correlations obtained outside the Soviet Union with the exception of creativity which yielded higher within-pair resemblance than reported in previous twin studies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Developmental assumptions in literary criticism and their implications for conceptions of continuity and change in literary creativity.

With 2 critical readings of William Wordsworth's "Ode: Intimations of Immortality From Recollections of Early Childhood," this article presents contrasting assumptions of the literary critic about the development of artistic creativity and relates them to the issue of continuity and change in literary expression over the life span. The unveiled assumptions parallel the "hard" (structuralist) and "soft" (life-span) conceptions of human development prevailing in contemporary psychology. A better understanding of creative development may be reached by superimposing the principles derived from the soft metatheoretical orientation on those of the hard theory.

Creativity↗
PubMed2006

Information privacy in organizations: empowering creative and extrarole performance.

This article examines the relationship of employee perceptions of information privacy in their work organizations and important psychological and behavioral outcomes. A model is presented in which information privacy predicts psychological empowerment, which in turn predicts discretionary behaviors on the job, including creative performance and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Results from 2 studies (Study 1: single organization, N=310; Study 2: multiple organizations, N=303) confirm that information privacy entails judgments of information gathering control, information handling control, and legitimacy. Moreover, a model linking information privacy to empowerment and empowerment to creative performance and OCBs was supported. Findings are discussed in light of organizational attempts to control employees through the gathering and handling of their personal information.

Confidentiality↗
PubMed2005

Conflict's consequences: effects of social motives on postnegotiation creative and convergent group functioning and performance.

Two studies tested the effects of social motives during negotiation on postnegotiation group performance. In both experiments, a prosocial or a proself motivation was induced, and participants negotiated in 3-person groups about a joint market. In Experiment 1, groups subsequently performed an advertisement task. Consistent with the authors' predictions, results showed that proself groups performed worse on the convergent aspects of this task but better on the divergent aspects than prosocial groups. In Experiment 2, the authors manipulated social motive and negotiation (negotiation vs. no negotiation), and groups performed a creativity task (requiring divergent performance) or a planning task (requiring convergent performance). Proself groups showed greater dedication, functioned more effectively, and performed better than prosocial groups on the creativity task, whereas prosocial groups showed greater dedication, functioned more effectively, and performed better than proself groups on the planning task, and these effects only occurred when the task was preceded by group negotiation.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Creative language abilities of deaf children.

The language flexibility and creativity of deaf children was investigated by having four deaf and four hearing 12-15-year-olds generate stories to experimenter-supplied themes. These were videotaped and examined for instances of nonliteral communication. Contrary to previous claims that deaf children are extremely rigid and literal in their language use, subjects here showed considerable use of creative language devices when evaluated in sign rather than vocal language. Deaf students produced traditional types of figurative contructions at a rate equal to their hearing age-mates and surpassed them in four other categories of nonliteral expression. These findings are discussed in terms of the cognitive skills required for and reflected by figurative language use and common assumptions concerning deaf children's related abilities.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Valuing both critical and creative thinking in clinical practice: narrowing the research-practice gap?

BACKGROUND: Nurturing critical thinking skills in the classroom is considered an important educational activity. It is believed that critical thinking skills are transferable and that they can be applied in practice when appraising, evaluating and implementing research. That more nurses than ever before have been judged academically knowledgeable in research has not guaranteed the transfer of such knowledge to practice. AIM OF THE PAPER: This paper discusses some of the reasons for the failure to narrow the gap between research and practice. In particular we argue that, if nurses are encouraged to develop creative and generative thinking alongside their critical thinking skills, then the art of nursing will have fuller representation in education, research and practice. DISCUSSION: The successful development of critical thinking skills for academic purposes does not necessarily mean that these skills are used in practice in relation either to research or clinical decision-making. This suggests that the transferability of critical thinking skills is less than straightforward. Indeed, there has been little narrowing of the research-practice gap since students started to learn critical thinking for academic purposes. However, we propose that thinking skills can be encouraged in the context of practice and that regular educational events, such as journal clubs, can contribute to developing critical thinking in the practice environment. CONCLUSIONS: The research-practice gap will reduce only if research becomes part of practitioners' ideology, which includes the art and science of nursing. Critical and creative thinking are prerequisites to narrowing the disjuncture between research and practice, and we suggest that educators and practitioners explore structured ways of meeting together to appraise literature as a possible means of making use of their thinking and knowledge in clinical practice.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1977

Family constellation and creativity: firstborn predominance among classical music composers.

Biographies of classical musci composers were examined for family constellation information. Usable data were found for 80 composers. Firstborns, especially only children, were found significantly more frequently than in a sample of creative writers studied by Bliss. Increased frequency of firstborns was also suggested in a study of musical performers by Raychaudhuri. Classical musci composition was seen as an ability more similar to usual academic pursuits than creative writing.

Birth Order↗