Qualitative Changes in Creativity in the Second Half of life: A Life‐Span Developmental Perspective

Abstract

Research on the relationship between creativity and age has been based on two seemingly incompatible sets of assumptions. The deficit approach maintains and has demonstrated that creative productivity and age have a linear relationship—that is, creativity declines over the life‐span. The alternate approach, upon which the present paper is founded, maintains that creative productivity and creative ability are not identical. Further, this life‐span developmental approach posits that supposed declines in creativity actually may reflect qualitative changes in the underlying creative process. Thus, different stages of the life‐span are characterized by different kinds of creativity. Empirical and theoretical literature on wisdom and mature forms of thinking will be used to further answer the central questions of this paper: what might creativity in the second half of life look like?

Age‐related Changes in Creative Thinking

“…Our findings are consistent with the two approaches to the study of creativity and aging identified by Sasser-Coen (1993): the deficit approach and the lifespan developmental approach. The deficit approach suggests that creativity declines with age along with other cognitive processes (also see McCrae, 1987& McCrae, Arenberg, & Costa, 1987.…”

“…These studies, showing an age-related decline in productivity, do not necessarily imply a decline due solely or even primarily to age-related changes in cognitive processes (Crozier, 1999;Esquivel & Hodes, 2003;Sasser-Coen, 1993;Simonton, 1990). In fact, few studies have focused on the cognitive processes underlying the creativity of young adults or college students -the typical participants in creativity studies; far fewer studies focus on the cognitive processes underlying creativity in the aged.…”

The Expression of Creativity through Occupation

“…As with play, there are many biological and cultural factors that can influence creativity, such as personality, socio-cultural norms, attitudes, choice of profession, and age (Guastello & Shissler, 1994;Sasser-Coen, 1993). Most people experience their creativity in one form or another.…”

“…Similarly, one of the fundamental thinking processes that may affect the development of creativity is the flexibility to tolerate the ambiguity of not having a specific goal (Sasser-Coen, 1993). For some, improved flexibility and adaptability are benefits of creativity (Morgan & Wampler, 2003).…”

“…Creativity is an elusive phenomenon that is difficult to define yet exists to some degree in all human beings (Ford & Harris, 1992;Runco, 2004;Sasser-Coen, 1993). It is often defined and measured by the uniqueness and benefit of a product that has been created (Ford & Harris;Weisberg, 1992) or the addition of a new dimension to a person's universe (Arieti, 1976).…”