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 Creativity In ContextUpdate To The Social Psychology Of Creativityby Teresa M Amabile Jun 6, 1996
DescriptionCreativity in Context is an update of The Social Psychology of Creativity, a classic text for researchers, students, and other interested readers. Creativity in Context incorporates extensive new material, going far beyond the original to provide a comprehensive picture of how the motivation for creative behavior, and creativity itself, can be influenced by the social environment. Teresa Amabile describes new findings from both her own research and from the work of many others in the field, detailing not only the ways in which creativity can be killed by social-psychological influences, but also the ways in which it can be maintained and stimulated. The research and the theory have moved beyond a narrow focus on the immediate social environment to a consideration of broad social influences in business organizations, classrooms, and society at large; beyond a documentation of social influences to a consideration of the cognitive mechanisms by which social factors might impact creativity; and beyond subject populations consisting of children and college students to an inclusion of professional artists, research scientists, and other working adults. Amabile describes a greatly expanded set of methodologies for assessing creativity, and introduces a set of methodologies for assessing the social environment for creativity in non-experimental studies. Throughout, the book maintains a clear focus on a comprehensive view of creativity—how the social context can influence motivation and how motivation, in conjunction with personal skills and thinking styles, can lead to the expression of creative behavior within that context. The result is a clarified theory of how creativity actually happens, with strong implications for supporting and increasing essential aspects of human performance. Reviews”…the results of empirical investigations as presented in this book will not only drive future studies on high ability (giftedness and talent), but serve to enhance our knowledge of practical methodologies with which we can continue to develop our educational and psychological work.” “Teresa Amabile’s Social Psychology of Creativity is universally acknowledged to be a classic in the empirical study of creativity. In this thorough and thoughtful update, Amabile chronicles the intriguing evolution of the most sustained research program on creativity of our time.” “Teresa Amabile is one of the few creativity experts whose activities have included abstract ‘academic’ theorizing, hard-headed ‘scientific’ laboratory experiments and survey projects, and pragmatic ‘how-to’ recipes for encouraging and managing creativity. Through the intersection of these diverse but focused activities, she has produced a very useful book: solid, relevant, readable, and practical.” “A lucidly written analysis of the social factors that enhance and impede creativity in schools, the art world, and the work world. Teresa Amabile’s pioneering experimental research into the social psychology of creativity has moved the study of creativity away from a singular focus on the personality of the creator to an examination of the many critical environmental factors that influence creativity, factors such as evaluation, reward, modeling, and the work environment. In this updated version of her original Social Psychology of Creativity, she discusses the latest research on creativity, and presents us with a revised theory of motivation and creativity that captures the complex ways in which intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can interact to enhance creativity. An excellent overview of creativity from a social perspective, one that will inform researchers in the field of creativity as well as the educated general audience.” “In this long-awaited update of her important 1983 contribution to the creativity field, The Social Psychology of Creativity, Teresa Amabile presents the latest research findings and theory development of the most active creativity research group of the decade and perhaps the preeminent organizational creativity research thrust leading into the 21st century. Amabile’s integration of her new findings with the work of others provides the much needed conceptual leadership that will guide future creativity research. This work marks a more complete understanding of the creative individual and offers new insights into how organizations influence the creativity of their members. The unique instrument described in this work (KEYS), developed by Amabile and The Center for Creative Leadership, is a much needed practical tool for the assessment of organizational climates for creativity.” Nur Dokur Gryskiewicz, University of North Carolina at Greensboro* “Teresa Amabile provides a thorough and thoughtful overview of the research on social, ecological, and contextual factors influencing creativity, and she thus takes us one step beyond the social psychology of creativity.” Selling TerritoryWorld |
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