A Sociocultural Theory of Creativity: Bridging the Social, the Material, and the Psychological

The present article gives an overview of sociocultural approaches to creativity and advances a particular theory of the creative process grounded in the notions of difference, position, perspective, dialogue, and affordance. If sociocultural psychology challenges old dichotomies between mind and body, individual and society, then creativity is ideally placed to demonstrate their interdependence. While sociocultural thinking in creativity research has traditionally emphasized the social or collaborative nature of creative processes, recovering old scholarship and reviewing it in light of current empirical developments shows how socio-materiality can properly inform psychological theory in this area. The article starts with an outline of sociocultural principles before considering their application to creativity. It then formulates four propositions regarding the creative process: (a) differences of perspective increase creative potential; (b) exchanging positions and perspectives, within and between individuals, fosters creative processes; (c) these exchanges result in perspectives that reveal previously unperceived affordances; and (d) oftentimes, it is the affordances of material objects or of unique idea combinations that guide the development of novel perspectives in creative work. Evidence supporting these key hypotheses of the perspective-affordance theory of creativity (PAT) comes from research conducted in a variety of areas within psychology and in related fields. In the end, the methodological and practical implications of considering creativity as a process of recognizing differences, exchanging positions, developing perspectives and discovering affordances will be discussed, as well as the broader implications of building theories that bring together, rather than keep separate, the social, the material, and the psychological

Epilogue: Creativity as Immersed Detachment

In this short epilogue, I reflect on a final, basic paradox when it comes to creativity: the fact that creators are simultaneously deeply immersed into their environment and their work and, at the same time, capable of taking distance from both in order to develop new perspectives on the situation or problem at hand. This particular state of \u201cimmersed detachment\u201d is enabled by our existence as social and cultural beings, a condition that both constrains and frees our thinking and our action. Understanding this paradoxical condition and fostering it can have wide-ranging benefits at a theoretical and practical level. Conceptually, it helps us understand why creativity depends, at once, on individuals and society, uniqueness and sameness, continuity and difference. Practically, it encourages those forms of immersion and connectivity that help rather than hinder creative agency

Building off creativity to move from gifted to gifting

What is the aim of giftedness? Is the goal to narrow in on the gifts of a select few or to nurture everyone’s gifts such that they may be exchanged with each other? Drawing from creativity theory, we emphasize the possible interactive element of giftedness. Current paradigms risk ignoring hidden creativities and for potential to remain in the shadows. Is the promise of one possible eminent creator worth thousands of everyday creators? Do we need to make such a choice? By fostering perspective-taking and other collaborative skills, we may try to have it all

Creativity and Wonder

The experience of wonder is often said to be at the origin of acts of creativity, both historical and mundane, from big breakthroughs in science to the everyday discoveries of children at play. And yet, wonder and wondering have rarely been theorized until now, at least in the psychology of creativity. Understood as one of the main ways in which we engage with the possible, wonder presents us, upon closer inspection, with a paradox typical for creativity\u2014experiencing what is present (the here and now) through the lenses of what is absent (the not-yet-here). Wondering is grounded in the possibility of adopting multiple perspectives on a certain reality; many of which are yet unknown to the creator while anticipated and actively looked for. In this paper, the creative process fuelled by the experience of wonder is described as a cyclical interplay between awareness, excitement, and exploration of the possible. Thus, one of the main consequences of reflecting on wonder and wondering is not only a renewed focus on process in creativity research but, most of all, a new emphasis on the less \u201cvisible\u201d and yet essential aspects of creative action as it bridges the actual and the possible

Affective mobilities: migration, emotion and (im)possibility

This paper aims to contribute to the emerging field of affective mobilities by proposing a pragmatist inspired, sociocultural theory of affect that is grounded in the notions of experience, action, position, and perspective. Conceiving mobility as an act of repositioning that is guided by affect and oriented towards a fundamentally open future, this approach makes us sensitive to the intricate connections between movement, emotion and possibility. Emotional states that may enable one’s engagement with the possible, connected for example to feelings of hope, anxiety, and wonder, are contrasted with what are typically possibility - reducing emotional states of despair, fear, and anger. By discussing the case of two asylum seekers in Greece, this initial typology of emotions is troubled by the simultaneity of experiencing hope and despair, mobility and immobility, possibility and impossibility, a marker of the refugee’s unique position in the world. Some final reflections are offered about the future of affective mobilities and its contribution to a broader understanding of movement, affect, and human (im)possibility

Potential in Creativity: Individual, Social, Material Perspectives, and a Dynamic Integrative Framework

In this article, the notion of potential as discussed within creativity research is examined. It is noted that there are multiple, sometimes competing, understandings of potential within the literature with the biggest gaps existing between individual perspectives, on the one hand, and sociocultural perspectives on the other. Affirming that a comprehensive understanding of potential needs to consider what individual, social, and material perspectives have to offer and, above all, pay attention to both person and context, the focus is turned toward the dynamic definition of creativity in order to construct a multi-fold classification of creative potential. Fifteen types of potential are abstracted and offered as an open framework for a more complex discussion and understanding of this key topic in creativity research. These include the potential of an Individual/Person/Actor (mini-c potential, little-c potential, Pro-c potential, Big-C potential, embedded individual potential), of a Process/Action (systemic process potential, embedded process potential, universal process potential), of a Product/Artifact (instantaneous potential, experiential potential, condensation potential, cultural evolution potential), and of the Press/Audience/Affordance (sociocultural context potential, action potential, virtual world potential). A summary of these is offered in the conclusion

Difficult differences pave the creative road from diversity to performance

In this article, we argue that engagement with differences is important for the relationship between diversity and organizational performance. This importance is explained by the increased potential for creativity and innovation coming out of working in diverse teams. We recognize that difference and diversity can act as a double-edged sword for creativity and also contend that such differences are a fundamental condition for novelty and value to emerge. It is because of differences and not despite them that we create at individual, group, and organizational levels and a European approach to this topic \u2013 given Europe's history and philosophical traditions \u2013 recognizes the major role played of creative tensions and even conflict in innovation and in society more broadly. In this paper, we review literature that relates creativity and business performance, creativity, and diversity and examine the role of disagreement and tension, both conceptually and based on empirical evidence. We conclude by stressing the point that creativity often comes out of difficult differences, a European lesson that is easily forgotten, in Europe as well as globally

Taking the perspective of others: A conceptual model and its application to the refugee crisis

This article offers a theoretical exploration of the psychological and social processes involved in perspective taking. Constructing the perspective of other people-that is, how they view themselves, others, and the world-requires perspective takers to mobilize both personal experiences and cultural resources. While these processes are rarely reflected upon in daily interactions with familiar others, they adopt a particular dynamic in the case of less familiar or stigmatized groups such as refugees. To unpack this dynamic, we propose the commitment model, which differentiates among essentialism, situationalism, identification, and repositioning in perspective taking. These categories are defined and exemplified with social media comments regarding refugees, their worldview, and imagined impact on host communities. By examining the different movements involved in perspective taking, we conclude that it is a multifaceted phenomenon that has different pragmatic consequences. It contributes to building more open societies but it can also lead to separating self and others, closing down dialogue and mutual understanding

Creative Experience: A Non-Standard Definition of Creativity

We propose a working definition of creative experience that involves principled engagement with the unfamiliar and a willingness to approach the familiar in unfamiliar ways. In other words, a creative experience can be defined as novel person world encounters grounded in meaningful actions and interactions, which are marked by the principles of: open-endedness, nonlinearity, pluri-perspectives and future-orientation. Our definition shares some similarities with the standard definition offered by Runco and Jaeger in that it still recognizes the importance of novelty and effectiveness but goes beyond that definition by asserting that novelty and meaningfulness are not sufficient for characterizing creative experiences. Indeed, as we will discuss, creative experiences are marked by a set of principles that we argue inhere in all creative actions

Malevolent Creativity and Social Media: Creating Anti-immigration Communities on Twitter

This paper examines the role played by malevolent linguistic creativity in the generation and maintenance of anti-immigration communities on Twitter. In order to understand this phenomenon, we combined data science and qualitative techniques for the analysis of 112,789 pro- and anti-immigration tweets with a focus on their hashtags. Our analysis pointed to the fact that anti-immigration users on this social media platform have a distinct behavior and employ a series of specific strategies in creating echo chambers online. One of these strategies has to do with the use of new words and slogan variations which have a clear identity function and serve the pragmatic purpose of building community. Some reflections on the relation between creativity and social media are offered at the end