Creativity.
The psychological study of creativity is essential to human progress. If strides are to be made in the sciences, humanities, and arts, we must arrive at a far more detailed understanding of the creative process, its antecedents, and its inhibitors. This review, encompassing most subspecialties in the study of creativity and focusing on twenty-first-century literature, reveals both a growing interest in creativity among psychologists and a growing fragmentation in the field. To be sure, research into the psychology of creativity has grown theoretically and methodologically sophisticated, and researchers have made important contributions from an ever-expanding variety of disciplines. But this expansion has not come without a price. Investigators in one subfield often seem unaware of advances in another. Deeper understanding requires more interdisciplinary research, based on a systems view of creativity that recognizes a variety of interrelated forces operating at multiple levels.
Hennessey
Beth A
BA
Department of Psychology, Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts 02481, USA. bhenness@wellesley.edu
Amabile
Teresa M
TM
D000339:Affect; D003071:Cognition; D003210:Concept Formation; D003405:Creativity; D006801:Humans; D007206:Individuality; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D012931:Social Environment; D013694:Temperament