Everyday creative activity as a path to flourishing

Recent experience sampling and diary studies have shown that spending time on creative goals during a day is associated with higher activated positive affect (PA) on that day. Based on models of creativity as a tool for promoting well-being, the present study examined cross-day relationships between creative activity, affect, and flourishing. A large sample of young adults (n = 658) took part in a 13-day daily diary study. Each day, they reported how much time they spent on creative activities, daily positive and negative affect, and daily flourishing. Lagged multilevel models revealed that people felt higher activated PA and flourishing following days when they reported more creative activity than usual. The other direction – PA predicting next-day creative activity – was not supported, suggesting that the cross-day effect was specific to creative activity predicting well-being. Overall, these findings support the emerging emphasis on everyday creativity as a means of cultivating positive psychological functioning.     

Metaphors and creative thinking

This study examined how working memory plays different roles in open-ended versus closed-ended creative problem-solving processes, as represented by divergent thinking tests and insight problem-solving tasks. With respect to the analysis of different task demands and the framework of dual-process theories, the hypothesis was that the idea generation in a divergent thinking test relies more on associative, effortless system 1 processing, but insight problem solving requires rule-based, resource-limited system 2 processing, in addition to system 1 processing. Since system 1 was suggested to be more active in resource deprivation conditions, Experiment 1 adopted the dual-task paradigm, which increased participants' working memory load. The results showed that divergent thinking performance was enhanced and insight problem-solving performance was hindered. Experiment 2 using the individual differences approach found that individuals' working memory capacity correlated with insight problem solving but not with divergent thinking performance, indicating a possible involvement of system 2 processing in insight problem solving. These findings suggested that open-ended and closed-ended creative problem solving involve different processes and helped to clarify some past inconsistencies when considering the relationship of factors with creativity.     

Spirituality and creative leisure

The following article examines creation-centered spirituality and leisure approaches to a way of life which gives healing and wholeness to individuals. Rather than limiting spirituality to mystics and saints, a wholistic spirituality based on the goodness of creation affirms the creativity in every person. Creative leisure is viewed as a necessary component of a spirituality which provides the basis for wholeness in humans. Not only the necessity of creative leisure for a vital Christian life for both laity and clergy but also its importance, particularly for those called to be ministers, is emphasized in the following essay.Gwen Laurie Wright, Ed.D. is a consultant in Spiritual Development.     

Alcohol and creative writing.

A repeated-measures design was used to test for the effects of alcohol on creative writing as measured by use of novel figurative language. 11 male social drinkers participated in a creative writing task under two conditions, alcohol (high dose: 1.1 ml. ethanol/kilogram body weight) and placebo. In the alcohol condition, within-subject comparisons indicated significantly greater quantity of creative writing while intoxicated. These results were interpreted as supporting the belief that alcohol can reduce "writer's block," at least amongst nonalcoholic subjects.     

Radical incarnation and creative ambiguity

This article examines Martin Luther's perception of gender and ministry in relation to what may be coined his radical incarnation theology, the Word incarnate in Jesus Christ, in-fleshed in human beings and in the entire material, created world, and expressed in the verbum vocale through the ministry of the word. The article aims at presenting a thorough theological analysis of seminal texts on Luther's new understanding of the ecclesial office in the dialectics of the priesthood of all believers and the ministry of the word. The article claims that Luther's new perception of ministry opened avenues for women to gain authority as preachers, but that he was pressed – partly by his peers and particularly the papal church - and chose to express his liberal ideas by way of creative ambiguity.     

The creative process and psychoanalytic insight

The paper looks at the prevalence of audio-visual culture and how it is endemic in our everyday lives. It explores how popular culture emerges in the consulting room and some of the dilemmas posed for the therapist. It goes on to consider how popular culture connects to narratives, dreams and the formation of images in the clinical context. Some clinical vignettes explore audio-visual material in relation to their possible therapeutic message. One suggestion is made that the prevalence of popular culture could intensify anxieties associated with watching and looking and at the same time increase our desires to dismiss and submerge these anxieties. Popular culture in the consulting room reflects a world outside. Psychodynamic psychotherapy and the Media Arts can bring each other into ‘mutual illumination’.     

高低创造性思维水平者定向遗忘效应的差异研究

采用单字法定向遗忘范式,考察远距离联想任务得分高低者在中性和负性词语定向遗忘效应上的差异,来探讨创造性思维水平高低与主动抑制的关系。实验采用2(高/低创造性思维水平)×2(中性/负性词汇)×2(记住/忘记指令)×2(2s/5s时间间隔)混合设计,发现高低创造力组,在材料不同呈现时间下,对不同情绪材料的定向遗忘效应分别不同。低创者在2s和5s以及高创者在5s时间间隔时,均对中性词语表现出定向遗忘效应,而对负性词汇没有表现出明显的定性遗忘效应。高创者在2s时间间隔下,对中性和负性词语均表现出定向遗忘效应。结果表明较短时间内高创者对负性情绪的主动抑制能力优于低创者。     

The creative achievement scale

The Creative Achievement Scale (CAS) was designed to measure the creative accomplishments of deceased individuals based on information extracted from biographical sources (e.g., published biographies). The CAS contains 11 items which pertain to personal attributes, product qualities, and sociocultural factors. Statistical analyses conducted on one small (n = 12) and one larger sample (n = 50) of subjects revealed the CAS to be a reliable and valid instrument.     

Creative self‐efficacy as mediator between creative mindsets and creative problem‐solving

An emerging area of research is how one's mindset regarding the fixedness and malleability of creative ability relates to creative performance. Malleable creative mindsets tend to be positively related to creativity while fixed mindsets often show a negative association. Similarly, creative self‐efficacy, or one's beliefs that they have the capacity to be creative, is also related to creative performance and creative mindsets. While previous studies tested the direct relationship between mindsets and creativity, this study tested creative self‐efficacy in this relationship. A total of 152 students from a Midwestern university participated in the study. They were provided with measures of creative self‐efficacy, creative mindsets, and creative problem‐solving. Solutions were assessed in terms of quality and originality. Results indicated that both malleable creative mindsets and creative self‐efficacy were positively related to solution quality and originality while fixed creative mindsets were negatively related. Mediation analysis using Preacher and Hayes' (2004) bootstrapping macro showed that creative self‐efficacy mediated the relationship between malleable mindsets and quality and originality as well as the relationship between fixed mindsets and quality and originality. This research advances the study of creativity by demonstrating that creative self‐efficacy is an important mechanism through which creative mindsets relate to creative performance.