Creativity and Mental Illness (PDF)

Creativity and Mental Illness Are creative people more likely to be mentally ill? This basic question has been debated for thousands of years, with the “mad genius” con- cept advanced by such luminaries as Aristotle. There are many studies that argue the answer is “yes,” and several prominent scholars who argue strongly for a connection. There are also those who argue equally strongly that the core studies and scholarship underlying the mad genius myth are fundamentally flawed. This book re-examines the common view that a high level of individual creativity often correlates with a heightened risk of mental illness. It expands conventional wisdom that links creativity with mental illness, arguing that the relationship is com- plicated; there are some ways in which creativity is associated with mental illness, other ways in which it is associated with positive mental health, and other ways in which the two traits are simply not associated. With contributions from some of the most exciting voices in the fields of psychology, neuroscience, physics, psychiatry, and management, this is a dynamic and cutting-edge volume that will inspire new ideas and studies on this fascinating topic. james c. kaufman is Professor of Educational Psychology in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. www.cambridge.org © in this web service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02169-3 - Creativity and Mental Illness Edited by James C. Kaufman Frontmatter More information  www.cambridge.org © in this web service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02169-3 - Creativity and Mental Illness Edited by James C. Kaufman Frontmatter More information  Creativity and Mental Illness Edited by James C. Kaufman University of Connecticut Storrs, CT www.cambridge.org © in this web service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02169-3 - Creativity and Mental Illness Edited by James C. Kaufman Frontmatter More information  University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107021693 © Cambridge University Press 2014 This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2014 Printed in the United Kingdom by Clays, St Ives plc A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-107-02169-3 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. www.cambridge.org © in this web service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02169-3 - Creativity and Mental Illness Edited by James C. Kaufman Frontmatter More information  For my brother David S. Kaufman (1968–2004) Of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: “It might have been.” (John Greenleaf Whittier) www.cambridge.org © in this web service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02169-3 - Creativity and Mental Illness Edited by James C. Kaufman Frontmatter More information  www.cambridge.org © in this web service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02169-3 - Creativity and Mental Illness Edited by James C. Kaufman Frontmatter More information  Contents List of figures page x List of tables xi List of contributors xii Preface xxi james c. kaufman Acknowledgments xxiv Part I Creativity and mental illness: the state of the field 1 A socio-historical overview of the creativity–pathology connection: from antiquity to contemporary times 3 george becker 2 The mad (creative) genius: what do we know after a century of historiometric research? 25 dean keith simonton 3 Reviewing recent empirical findings on creativity and mental illness 42 melanie l. beaussart, arielle e. white, adam pullaro, and james c. kaufman 4 Building connections on sand: the cautionary chapter 60 judith schlesinger Part II Cognitive and neuroscientific perspectives on creativity and mental illness 5 Neurocognitive mechanisms underlying creative thinking: indications from studies of mental illness 79 anna abraham vii www.cambridge.org © in this web service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02169-3 - Creativity and Mental Illness Edited by James C. Kaufman Frontmatter More information  viii Contents 6 The evolutionary genetics of the creativity–psychosis connection 102 aaron kozbelt, scott barr y kaufman, deborah j. walder, luz h. ospina, and joseph u. kim 7 Non-linearity in creativity and mental illness: the mixed blessings of chaos, catastrophe, and noise in brain and behavior 133 james e. swain and john d. swain 8 Artists’ vulnerability to psychopathology: an integrative cognitive perspective 145 mark papworth Part III Creativity and the spectrum of mental illness 9 Creativity and the spectrum of affective and schizophrenic psychoses 169 neus barrantes-vidal 10 When good is bad and bad is good: mood, bipolarity, and creativity 205 geir kaufmann and astrid kaufmann 11 Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and creativity: ever the twain shall meet? 236 dione healey Part IV Creativity and mental illness: possible commonalities 12 The shared vulnerability model of creativity and psychopathology 253 shelley carson 13 On the fragility of the artist: art’s precarious triad 281 maja djikic and keith oatley 14 Creativity as “compensatory advantage”: bipolar and schizophrenic liability, the inverted-U hypothesis, and practical implications 295 dennis k. kinney and ruth richards www.cambridge.org © in this web service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02169-3 - Creativity and Mental Illness Edited by James C. Kaufman Frontmatter More information  Contents ix Part V Creativity and mental health 15 Bringing the whole universe to order: creativity, healing, and posttraumatic growth 321 marie j. c. forgeard, anne c. mecklenburg, justin j. lacasse, and eranda jayawickreme 16 Inspiration and the creative process 343 todd m. thrash, emil g. moldovan, amanda k. fuller, and john t. dombrowski 17 King Solomon and psychoneuroimmunology: creativity and life coping 363 michael j. lowis Part VI Creativity and mental illness: what now? 18 Ruminating about mental illness and creativity 395 emily c. nusbaum, roger e. beaty, and paul j. silvia 19 Creativity and mental illness: reasons to care and beware 403 james c. kaufman Index 408 www.cambridge.org © in this web service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02169-3 - Creativity and Mental Illness Edited by James C. Kaufman Frontmatter More information  Figures 5.1 The relationship between information-processing toolboxes of creative cognition and normative cognition can be conceived of as mutually exclusive (A), partially overlapping (B), or undifferentiated (C) (adapted from figure as originally published in Abraham [2013]) page 83 5.2 Types of top-down or contextual influences on information processing during creative idea generation and their associated findings related to positive versus negative biases 90 5.3 The relation between the propensity to generate original responses during creative thinking and the degree of functionality in top-down control of information processing associated with clinical and subclinical populations 93 12.1 The shared vulnerability model of creativity and psychopathology (with permission from Carson [2011]) 265 12.2 High IQ and attenuated latent inhibition predict creative achievement in eminent achievers and controls (with permission from Carson et al. [2003]) 270 x www.cambridge.org © in this web service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02169-3 - Creativity and Mental Illness Edited by James C. Kaufman Frontmatter More information  Tables 2.1 Percentages of eminent figures displaying different degrees of psychopathology page 29 11.1 Table showing the cognitive processes involved in each stage of Wallas’ (1926) model of the creative process and Zelazo et al.’s (1997) model of the problem-solving process 243 16.1 Examples of three forms of transmission within three content domains 348 17.1 Interest in the arts 382 xi www.cambridge.org © in this web service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02169-3 - Creativity and Mental Illness Edited by James C. Kaufman Frontmatter More information  Contributors anna abraham, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Community Medicine and Behavioural Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine in Kuwait University. She is also scientifically affiliated to the Department of Clinical Psychology at the Justus Liebig University of Giessen in Germany. She is a psychologist and a cognitive neuro- scientist whose research revolves around the neurocognitive study of imagination, encompassing domains such as creativity, mental time travel, mental state reasoning and the reality–fiction distinction. neus barrantes-vidal obtained an MS degree in child and ado- lescent clinical psychopathology, an MS in adult clinical psychology, and a PhD in psychology, as well as being a licensed clinical psychol- ogist. She is an associate professor at the Department of Clinical Psy- chology at the Universitat Aut`onoma de Barcelona (Spain), adjunct associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Greens- boro (USA), researcher at the Spanish Ministry of Health Network on Mental Health Research (CIBERSAM), and research consultant at the Sant Pere Claver Health Foundation. She is currently a member of the Advisory Board of the Spanish Agency for the Assessment of Sci- entific Research (ANEP) and holds a research distinction awarded by the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA). roger e. beaty is a graduate student in psychology at the Univer- sity of North Carolina at Greensboro. His research broadly focuses on the cognitive processes underlying creative behavior. In addition to figurative language production, Roger is also interested in the neuro- science of creativity. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and functional connectivity analysis, he is interested in the complex interac- tions between multiple neural networks in the brain. He also uses these methods to study musical performance, such as jazz improvisation. melanie l. beaussart is a psychology researcher and writer whose research focus is primarily in the areas of social psychology and human xii www.cambridge.org © in this web service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02169-3 - Creativity and Mental Illness Edited by James C. Kaufman Frontmatter More information  List of contributors xiii evolution. Her empirical work is somewhat eclectic. In particular, she is interested in sexual strategies theory and what variables influence humans to engage in one-night stands or serial monogamy. She also has an interest in sexual selection’s relationship to creativity and intel- ligence. Part of this research has led her to explore the attributes that influence creativity, such as mental health and personality. george becker is an associate professor of sociology at Vanderbilt University. He holds degrees from Columbia University (MA in mod- ern European history), Illinois Institute of Technology (MS in sociol- ogy of education), and Stony Brook University (PhD in sociology). His research interests include historical sociology, the sociology of religion, the sociology of science and knowledge, and the sociology of mental illness. His contributions to the latter include a book, The mad genius controversy, and a number of articles. He is currently at work on another book entitled Creativity and psychopathology: The social construction of illness. shelley carson, PhD, is an associate of the Department of Psy- chology and lecturer in extension at Harvard University, where she conducts research and teaches courses on creativity, abnormal psy- chology, and resilience. Her work on creativity has been published in national and international peer-reviewed science journals, and has been highlighted in national media, including the Discovery Channel, CNN, and National Public Radio. She is also author of the award- winning book Your creative brain: Seven steps to maximize imagination, productivity, and innovation in your life and coauthor of Almost depressed: Is my (or my loved one’s) unhappiness a problem?. maja djikic, PhD, is a senior research associate and the Director of the Self-Development Lab at the Rotman School of Management, Uni- versity of Toronto. She is a psychologist specializing in the field of personality development. She has been a post-doctoral fellow at the Desautels Centre for Integrative Thinking (Rotman School of Man- agement) and the Psychology Department at Harvard University. Her research has been published in Journal of Research in Personality, Psy- chological Science, Creativity Research Journal, New Ideas in Psychology, Journal of Adult Development, and many others. john t. dombrowski recently completed his thesis and MA in exper- imental psychology at the College of William and Mary. In the future, he is looking to turn his interest toward education in elementary and secondary schools, and to bridge the gap between laboratory psychol- ogy and applied settings in the classroom and through administration. www.cambridge.org © in this web service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02169-3 - Creativity and Mental Illness Edited by James C. Kaufman Frontmatter More information  xiv List of contributors He credits his professors both within psychology and from other disciplines for his desire to pursue a professional interdisciplinary future focused on education, psychology, and community implemen- tation. marie j. c. forgeard is a doctoral candidate in clinical psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research program investigates whether and how creative thinking enhances well-being. She is partic- ularly interested in the role of motivation, mastery, meaning making, and cognitive flexibility. Marie’s work earned her the 2013 Frank X. Barron Award from the Society for the Psychology of Aesthetics, Cre- ativity, and the Arts (Division 10 of the American Psychological Asso- ciation). amanda k. fuller started her research career working with disadvan- taged youth in low-income neighborhoods in Virginia and moved on to study anxious solitary children in urban areas of North Carolina. Her focus then turned to creativity, inspiration, and motive congruence while working with Dr. Todd Thrash at the College of William and Mary. Currently a Master’s candidate at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University, Amanda is focused on positive youth development and the promotion of positive physical and mental health in adolescents. She has become a strong advocate for applied research and hopes to impact policy through research. dione healey’s broad research area is in childhood attention- deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). She is currently assessing the effectiveness of a novel early intervention program that she has devel- oped along with colleagues in New York, ENGAGE: Enhancing Neu- robehavioral Gains with the Aid of Games and Exercise. The program is focused on developing self-control skills in hyperactive preschoolers. She is currently a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Otago. She is the recipient of the NZ Psycho- logical Society’s Goddard Award for Achievement and Excellence in Research and Scholarship; and the University’s Early Career Award for Distinction in Research. eranda jayawickreme is an assistant professor of psychology at Wake Forest University. He received his PhD in positive and politi- cal psychology from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010, and is broadly interested in questions related to well-being and personality. He graduated with summa cum laude honors from Franklin & Mar- shall College in 2005, and was awarded the Henry S. Williamson www.cambridge.org © in this web service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02169-3 - Creativity and Mental Illness Edited by James C. Kaufman Frontmatter More information  List of contributors xv Medal, the college’s highest student award presented annually to the outstanding senior of the graduating class. His awards include grants from the John Templeton Foundation, the Asia Foundation/USAID, the Penn Program on Democracy, Citizenship, and Constitutionalism, a Mellon Refugee Initiative Fund Fellowship, and numerous academic awards from Franklin & Marshall College. james c. kaufman is a professor of educational psychology at the Uni- versity of Connecticut. He is the author or editor of twenty-eight books and more than 200 papers. He is the President of the American Psycho- logical Association (APA)’s Division 10 and the founding editor of the APA journal Psychology of Popular Media Culture. He received the 2003 Daniel E. Berlyne Award and the 2012 Paul Farnsworth Award from APA’s Division 10, the 2008 E. Paul Torrance Award from the National Association of Gifted Children, the 2009 Early Career Research Award from the Western Psychological Association, and Mensa’s 2011–2012 Award for Excellence in Research. scott barr y kaufman is the Scientific Director of the Imagination Institute and a researcher in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where he investigates the nature, measure- ment, and development of imagination. In his book, Ungifted: Intel- ligence redefined, he presents a holistic approach to achievement that takes into account each person’s ability, engagement, and personal goals. Kaufman is also cofounder of The Creativity Post, and he writes the blog Beautiful Minds for Scientific American Mind. astrid kaufmann obtained her PhD (1988) from the University of Bergen, Norway. She is an associate professor of organizational psy- chology at BI Norwegian Business School and at the University of Bergen where she lectures in clinical psychology. She is a specialist in clinical psychology and has a special interest in bipolar diseases. Her research interests also include the fields of antisocial behavior and the relationship between personality and creativity. She has published books in her special fields and won teaching awards. geir kaufmann obtained his PhD (1975) from the University of Bergen, Norway. He has been a professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Bergen, and is now Professor of Organizational Psy- chology at BI Norwegian Business School. His major research interest is the relationship between emotion and cognition, and he takes a spe- cial interest in the effect of mood on creative problem solving. He has published a large number of scientific articles and books in his special www.cambridge.org © in this web service Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-02169-3 - Creativity and Mental Illness Edited by James C. Kaufman Frontmatter More information