The Systems Model of Creativity (eBook)

A Hungarian psychology professor, who emigrated to the United States at the age of 22. Now at Claremont Graduate University, he is the former head of the department of psychology at the University of Chicago and of the department of sociology and anthropology at Lake Forest College. He is noted for both his work in the study of happiness and creativity and also for his notoriously difficult name, in terms of pronunciation for non-native speakers of the Hungarian language, but is best known as the architect of the notion of flow and for his years of research and writing on the topic. He is the author of many books and over 120 articles or book chapters. Martin Seligman, former president of the American Psychological Association, described Csikszentmihalyi as the world's leading researcher on positive psychology. Csikszentmihalyi once said "Repression is not the way to virtue. When people restrain themselves out of fear, their lives are by necessity diminished. Only through freely chosen discipline can life be enjoyed and still kept within the bounds of reason." His works are influential and are widely cited.

Contents 5
Introduction to Set ‘‘The Collected Worksof Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’’ 12
Introduction to the Volume 16
1 Discovery-Oriented Behavior and the Originality of Creative Products: A Study with Artists 24
Method 26
Subjects and Procedure 26
Results 30
Discussion and Conclusion 32
References 33
2 The Personality of Young Artists: An Empirical and Theoretical Exploration 34
Method 35
Sample and Procedure 35
Results 36
Art Students and College Norms 36
Personality Factors and Values 38
Personality Differences Among Artists in Different Fields of Specialization 39
Personality and Success in Art School 40
Comparison of the Personality of Successful Young Artists with that of Eminent Researchers 43
Discussion 45
References 47
3 Culture, Time, and the Development of Talent 50
The Sociocultural Constitution of Giftedness 51
The Reification of Giftedness 52
Variations Within the Domains 53
How Many Talents? 54
Implications of the Sociocultural Model 56
The Temporal Constitution of Giftedness 56
Giftedness Through the Life-Span 57
Giftedness and Cognitive Development 59
Changing Requirements of the Domain 60
Shifting Requirements of the Field 64
The Crossing Paths of Development 65
References 68
4 Society, Culture, and Person: A Systems View of Creativity 70
The Constitution of Creativity 70
A Dynamic Model of the Creative Process 74
The Element of Time in the Constitution of Creativity 77
The Generative Force of the Field 78
Implications of the Model 81
The Domain Level 81
The Person 82
The Field 82
References 83
5 Solving a Problem is Not Finding a New One: A Reply to Herbert Simon 85
6 Shifting the Focus from Individual to Organizational Creativity 89
A Systems Approach 90
Bringing it to Business 91
Lessons from Our Research 92
Implications for Understanding Organizational Creativity 93
References 93
7 Creative Insight: The Social Dimension of a Solitary Moment 94
General Observations About Creative Insight 95
Multistage Models of Creative Insight 96
Social Process Models of Creativity 98
An Interpsychic Model of Creative Insight 99
Preparation 101
Incubation 102
Level 1: Conscious Attention (Serial Processing) 103
Level 2: Semiconscious Filters 103
Level 3: Subconscious Processing Entities, or the Society of Mind 104
The Three Levels Functioning Synchronously 104
Insight 104
Evaluation and Elaboration 105
Narratives of Creative Insight 106
Presented Problem Solving 106
Preparation 107
Incubation 108
Insight 108
Evaluation 109
Discovered Problem Finding 110
Preparation 111
Incubation 112
Insight 113
Elaboration 114
Discussion 115
Conclusion 116
Acknowledgment 118
References 118
8 Creativity and Genius: A Systems Perspective 120
Introduction 121
Why Do We Need a Systems Approach? 122
An Outline of the Systems Approach 124
The Cultural Context 125
Cultures as Symbolic Domains 126
Creativity as Change in Domains 127
What Characteristics of Domains Enhance Creativity? 129
The Social Context 130
Who Decides What Is Creative? 131
Characteristics of Fields that Enhance Creativity 133
Societal Conditions Relevant to Creativity 134
The Creative Person 136
Accessing the Domain 137
Producing Novelty 138
Convincing the Field 141
Conclusion 143
Notes 144
Acknowledgement 144
References 145
9 The Social Construction of Creative Lives 147
Introduction 147
Creativity in Later Life Project 149
Sample 149
Interviews 151
Creative Women 151
The Interaction Between Self-Constructions and Social Systems 152
The Early Socialization of Creative and Eminent Individuals 153
The Differential Socialization of Boys and Girls 154
Adulthood and Professional Socialization 158
Mentors 159
Men and Women in Mentor Relationships 161
Spouses as Social Influences 165
Colleague Interaction and Collaboration 171
Colleague Affirmation and Approval 173
Conclusion 176
References 178
10 New Conceptions and Research Approaches to Creativity: Implications of a Systems Perspective for Creativity in Education 181
Introduction 181
A Definition of Creativity 182
The Systems Model of Creativity 183
Why is a Systems Approach Necessary? 183
An Outline of the Systems Model 185
The Place of Schools in the Systems Model 188
The Individual's Contribution to Creativity 189
Personal Qualities 189
Measurements Techniques 191
Flow 193
Educational Implications at the Individual Level 194
Students' Curiosity and Interest are the Main Sources of Potential Creativity 194
Potential Creativity is Enhanced by Intrinsic Motivation, and Suppressed by Excessive Reliance on Extrinsic Rewards 194
Activities Need to be Designed with the Conditions Necessary For Flow in Mind 195
Learning to Formulate Problems Should be Part of the Curriculum 195
Respecting Creative Personality Traits 195
Promoting the Internalization of Learning 195
The Contribution of the Domain 196
Educational Implications at the Level of the Domain 196
How Attractive is the Information Presented to Students? 196
How Accessible is the Information? 197
How Integrated is the Information? 197
Are There Opportunities for Mentorships and Apprenticeships? 197
The Contribution of the Field 198
Educational Implications at the Level of the Field 199
The Role of Funding 199
How Open are Teachers to New Ideas? 200
Do Teachers Stimulate Students' Curiosity and Interest? 200
Can Teachers Distinguish Good New Ideas from Bad Ones? 200
Are There Ways of Implementing Student Creativity in the School? 200
Conclusion 201
References 202
11 Catalytic Creativity 205
Linus Pauling 206
The Role of the Field 207
The Formative Role of the Field 208
Concentric Circles of Evaluation 209
The Receptiveness of the Field as a Contributor to Creativity 210
The Shift to Molecular Biology: The Funder’s Role 211
Pauling’s Role as a Catalytic Influence on Others 211
Conclusion 213
References 213
12 The Motivational Sources of Creativity as Viewed from the Paradigm of Positive Psychology 215
Creative Accomplishment and Its Motivation 217
Deficit-Based Motivations 217
Passion for the Work 218
Meaningful Purpose 219
Integrating the Deficit and Strengths Perspectives: The Systems Model 220
Conclusion 223
References 224
13 The Group as Mentor 227
Conceptions of Mentoring 228
The Systems Model of Creativity 230
Social Capital 233
Sample and Method 234
Exploring Apprenticeship and Creativity in a Space Science Lab 235
The Group as Mentor 240
Extending Our Conception of Optimal Mentoring 242
Note 244
References 244
14 The Artistic Personality: A Systems Perspective 246
The Systems Model of Creativity 247
The Domain of Art 248
Personality Implications 250
The Field of Art 251
A Longitudinal Study of Artistic Development and Artistic Success 253
Conclusion 254
References 255
15 Creativity Through the Life Span from an Evolutionary Systems Perspective 257
What is Creativity? 257
Creativity and Life Span Development from an Evolutionary Perspective 258
Creativity and Physical Aging 261
Social Aging: The Effects of the Field on Creativity 264
Preserving the Passion 267
Personal Creativity 270
Conclusions 271
References 272
16 Cortical Regions Involved in the Generation of Musical Structures During Improvisation in Pianists 274
Introduction 274
Methods 276
Participants 276
Experimental Setup 276
Conditions 277
Experimental Procedure 278
MRI Scanning Parameters 279
Analysis of Behavioral Data 279
Processing and Statistical Analysis of the fMRI Data 280
Results 281
Descriptive Characteristics of the Improvisations in Improvise and FreeImp 281
Accuracy of the Reproductions 283
fMRI Data 285
Discussion 287
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex 288
Rostral Premotor Cortices 290
Temporal and Occipital Areas 291
Conclusion 291
Acknowledgments 292
References 292
17 Creativity and Responsibility 296
Responsibility as a Call to Excellence 298
The Call of the Past 299
The Call of the Future 302
Past and Future Folded into the Present 303
The Sources of Calling 304
The Implications of Creativity for an Expanded View of Responsibility 306
References 309
18 The Early Lives of Highly Creative Persons: The Influence of the Complex Family 310
Introduction 310
Complexity, Complex Families, and Flow 311
Empirical Research on Complex Families 313
Method 313
Participants 315
The Interviews 316
Integration 316
Differentiation 321
Discussion 328
Conclusion 331
References 331