Ask an educator “How do you encourage creativity?” They will tell you students need an environment full of stimuli. They describe the ideal classroom as having an open, accepting atmosphere, free from criticism to build up self-esteem. Ask authors, poets and other people noted for work in creative fields this same question. They will agree with the need for a stimulating environment, but not with the lack of criticism.
One of my research projects was interviewing college level art and education majors. The surveys that I developed requested two different types of data: factors that lead to creativity, and factors that hinder creativity. Both the education and art majors placed willingness to take risks high on their lists of items that bolstered creativity. However, the art majors said being around creative people was the most important factor. While the education majors gave high self-esteem first place. But, self-esteem wasn’t even mentioned by the art majors. Instead they ranked honest critiques of their work as the second highest factor leading to creative production.
Educators often fail to understand highly creative students for the same reason corporate workers find creative colleagues difficult. People who come up with original ideas tend to level criticism at others more frequently. [1] However, highly creative people typically are not hurt as much by criticism, either. According to research on both innovative students and employees, these people take the anxiety resulting from a negative evaluation and convert it into a drive to be even more unique. [2]
Alex Osborn is known for founding the Creative Problem-Solving Institute which set up a structure for group creative brainstorming. One rule to free people from creative inhibitions is to forbid all criticism during initial brainstorming. [3] There is no need to guess why. People tend to champion their own ideas at the expense of better ideas. It only takes a small minority set on “defending their turf” to have a detrimental effect.
According to Charlan Nemeth “Brainstorming techniques have specifically admonished people ‘not to criticize’ their own and others’ ideas, a tenet that has gone unexamined.” However, research in both the United States and France, challenged this preconceived notion about the result of brainstorming. In each case some groups were told not to criticize while coming up with new ideas, while the other groups were encouraged to debate. The second set of groups generally came up with superior ideas. The key was to encourage debate and even criticism, without allowing anyone to monopolize the session. [4]
“Brainstorming techniques have specifically admonished people ‘not to criticize’ their own and others’ ideas, a tenet that has gone unexamined.”
Incorporating criticism into the creative process can be ego threatening. This may lower some writer’s self-esteem. But, the findings that surprised me in my survey concerning factors of creativity were echoed by other larger and more extensive studies. Honest critiques are not only helpful when it comes to writing and other artistic endeavors. Creative people actually seek out this experience. If you don’t like criticism you may not enjoy being creative.
Write about what? 