'CREATIVITY: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention'
by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
In this section of my exhibition I acknowledge and summarise some of the work of Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. It has videos of him sharing his thoughts on creativity and it directly references ‘Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention’. His inspirational book has helped me to understand myself and my relationship with creativity better. Apart from explaining how we can become more creative in our own lives, Csikszentmihalyi discusses the value of creativity.
Creativity differentiates humans from animals. It gives us a more stimulating and rewarding life and has enabled mankind to evolve. Csikszentmihalyi mentions that it is not possible to understand creativity by merely looking at people who appear to be creative. Creative ideas need to be recorded and implemented by a receptive audience, who are then assessed by knowledgeable “outsiders”. Csikszentmihalyi claims that without this it is difficult to test the validity of self-proclaimed creative people. He goes on to say that creativity is a result of the interaction of a system containing three elements:
· A culture containing symbolic rules
· A person who brings novelty into the symbolic domain
· A field of “experts” who are able to identify and confirm the “innovation”
According to Csikszentmihalyi, creativity happens when there is a transformation of a symbolic domain. This domain is something that needs to be learned and mastered. In order to do this, we must pay close attention to “the information to be assimilated”. However, this is not easy because our day to day lives place certain constraints on our attention and time. Life baggage can cause us to have small attention spans because our focus is distracted by other issues. Csikszentmihalyi believes diffused thinking leads to a lack of concentration, and a lack of creativity as a result.
Only when we are able to focus our attention purely on the task at hand can creativity be possible. Csikszentmihalyi explains that human-beings are born with two contradictory set of tendencies:
1. CONSERVATIVE TENDENCY – this includes our innate instincts of self-preservation, self –glorification, and the need to conserve energy.
2. EXPANSIVE TENDENCY – this includes instincts for exploring, appreciating innovation and taking risks.
Csikszentmihalyi believes that the conservative tendency is primal and in-built into our psyche whereas the expansive tendency needs to be nurtured or it will start to fade. Also, creativity can diminish if too many barriers are placed in our way because obstacles can reduce risk and exploration. If a lack of opportunities causes curiosity to be lost, the motivation to participate in creative behavior is extinguished.
THE STARTING POINT OF CREATIVITY is sustaining high levels of curiosity
· A culture containing symbolic rules
· A person who brings novelty into the symbolic domain
· A field of “experts” who are able to identify and confirm the “innovation”
According to Csikszentmihalyi, creativity happens when there is a transformation of a symbolic domain. This domain is something that needs to be learned and mastered. In order to do this, we must pay close attention to “the information to be assimilated”. However, this is not easy because our day to day lives place certain constraints on our attention and time. Life baggage can cause us to have small attention spans because our focus is distracted by other issues. Csikszentmihalyi believes diffused thinking leads to a lack of concentration, and a lack of creativity as a result.
Only when we are able to focus our attention purely on the task at hand can creativity be possible. Csikszentmihalyi explains that human-beings are born with two contradictory set of tendencies:
1. CONSERVATIVE TENDENCY – this includes our innate instincts of self-preservation, self –glorification, and the need to conserve energy.
2. EXPANSIVE TENDENCY – this includes instincts for exploring, appreciating innovation and taking risks.
Csikszentmihalyi believes that the conservative tendency is primal and in-built into our psyche whereas the expansive tendency needs to be nurtured or it will start to fade. Also, creativity can diminish if too many barriers are placed in our way because obstacles can reduce risk and exploration. If a lack of opportunities causes curiosity to be lost, the motivation to participate in creative behavior is extinguished.
THE STARTING POINT OF CREATIVITY is sustaining high levels of curiosity
Video 1: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Creativity, Fulfilment and Flow
Understanding Creativity
The word ‘creativity’ has many different meanings for people. Individuals who are viewed as interesting and invigorating, and have high IQ’s, may extol unusual thoughts but that does not mean they are creative. ‘Brilliant’ is a more appropriate label rather than creative. Csikszentmihalyi believes it is the people who experience the world in unique and original ways who can be called creative. Creative people’s views are fresh and their opinions are insightful. Creative people make important discoveries. One does not need knowledge of academia to be creative. There are many creative people who have changed our culture who did not have qualifications.
Creativity has three main parts:
1. THE DOMAIN – this comprises of a set of symbolic rules and techniques.
2. THE FIELD – this consist of all the individuals who act as “gatekeepers” to the domain. Gatekeepers determine if a new idea or artifact can be accepted. For example, in the visual arts, the field consists of museum curators, art critics, collectors, teachers of art and government agencies that deal with art and culture. It is these people who determine what new art work must be acknowledged, conserved and remembered.
3. THE INDIVIDUAL – this is the person who using a domain’s symbols discovers a new idea or a new pattern. This person’s actions or thoughts can change a domain or even create a new domain.
Video 2: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Flow and Creativity
Domain
Csikszentmihalyi believes that the presence of domains is proof of human creativity. Each has its own symbolic components, instructions, regulations and system of representation. Furthermore, each domain describes an isolated world in which individuals can act and reflect with lucidity and focus. It is domains which establish an order that is not ingrained into our genes by biological progression.
Creativity can be helped or hindered by domains. According to Csikszentmihalyi domains have three key dimensions that affect creativity:
1. Accessibility
2. Clarity of structure
3. The centrality within the culture
Domains have different structures. For example, the domain of mathematics is structured quite stringently. Mathematics has a precise internal logic; there is a high degree of lucidity and a lack of redundancy. As a result, it is relatively easy for a young person to understand the rules of mathematics rapidly and leap to the cutting edge of this domain in a few years. In stark contrast, it can take decades for philosophers or social scientists to become masters of their domains. The field will take many years to judge whether an idea is worthy of the knowledge base.
Field
The field assesses new ideas. Chaos would ensue if all unique ideas and products were accepted. There are three ways that the rate of creativity is affected:
1. Reactive or proactive field – A reactive field does not implore or rouse novelty.
2. The fields’ approach to screening new ideas – some fields are traditionalists and only allow a few new items to join the domain at any new given time.
3. Fields will only promote innovation if they are well attached to the rest of the social system and can channel patronage into their own domain.
Domains and fields have a complicated relationship with each other. Occasionally domains regulate, to a certain extent, what the field is allowed to do. In the sciences this is more likely because the knowledge base has numerous limitations on what is possible. On the other hand, with the arts, it is frequently the field that takes antecedence. These is due to the fact that the artistic establishment does not have firm guidelines attached to the past and are able to evaluate new works of art.
Creativity is a game of chance or “being in the right place at the right time”. It is a prepared mind that is able to make the individual aware that they are “in the right place” staring at an opportunity. However, many people do not grasp when they are in advantageous circumstances. The few that do, have no idea what they should do to take advantage of the opportunity.
Video 3: Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - Flow
THE CREATIVE PERSON
Creative people are notable for their aptitude to cope with different situations and to deal with whatever is required to reach their goals. This differentiates creative people from ‘other’ people. According to Csikszentmihalyi there is not a specific set of qualities that an individual needs to be creative.
A person’s genetic predisposition will make them more advantageous and creative within a domain. A person born with a perfect pitch may excel in music and a person who is sensitive to colour and light may do well in painting. As a result of being talented in their domains, the singer and painter will become more intensely engrossed in sounds and colours and will extend their learning of them, which may lead them to be innovators.
Complexity is what separates creative people from others. Creative people have complex personalities and are able to express tendencies of thought and action, which are isolated in most people. This means that they can communicate the full span of behaviors that are possibly present in the human condition, and move from one extreme to the other as and when the occasion requires.
Creative people work long hours and have a lot of physical energy. They convey an air of freshness and eagerness, while also displaying a high level of concentration in the work that they do. It is creative people’s focused minds, not superiority of genes, which gives them an abundance of energy.
THE FLOW OF CREATIVITY
· There are clear goals every step of the way
· There is immediate feedback to one’s actions
· There is a balance between challenges and skills
· Action and awareness are merged
· Distractions are excluded from consciousness
· There is no worry of failure
· Self-consciousness disappears
· The sense of time becomes distorted
· The activity becomes autotelic
Enhancing Personal Creativity
Ø Try to be surprised by something every day
Ø Try to surprise at least one person every day
Ø Write down each day what surprised you and how you surprised others
Ø When something strikes a spark of interest, follow it
Ø Wake up in the morning with a specific goal to look forward to
Ø If you do anything well, it becomes enjoyable
Ø To keep enjoying something, you need to increase its complexity
Source: http://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/history-of-happiness/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/