Artistic Creativity, Disorders, and Personality

“The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad.” – Salvador Dali

What is Creativity?

• The capacity to produce novel, original work that fits with task constraints (Lubart & Guignard, 2004)

• Work is defined as all types of ideas and productions• Novelty • Appropriateness• Completeness

Two Theories of Artistic Creation

• Propulsive Theory • Finalistic Theory

What Leads to Creativity?

• Amabile (1996) – 3 components– Domain-relevant skills– Creativity-relevant processes– Task motivation

• Sternberg & Lubart (1995) – 6 resources– Intelligence, knowledge, cognitive style, personality,

motivation, environmental context

Nature or Nurture?

• Genetic substrates for creativity• Family environment• School environment• General social environment• Age and experience• Personality and motivation• Training

Creativity versus Genius

• Uniqueness • Impact • Quality of Intellectual

Power

Mad Genius? Famous Artists with Problems

• Michelangelo• Blake• Goya• Degas• Gauguin• Van Gogh• O’Keefe• Burchfield

• Munch• Matisse• Miro• Kahlo• Pollock• Rothko• Warhol

Charles Burchfield (1893-1967)

• From 1915-1917, half of his life’s output

• 1917 – 400 paintings• Attributed to what was

termed a “brain fever”

An April Mood Lightning and Thunder at Night

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)

• Blumer (2002) “The Illness of Vincent van Gogh”

• 1886 – onset of illness• Sudden terror; lapses of

consciousness; temperamental

Wheat Field with Crows (1890) Field with Stacks of Wheat (1890)

Analysis

• Over the years, over 30 different diagnoses have been offered:• Lead poisoning; paint; turpentine; kerosene• Digitalis intoxication (see more yellows; halos)• Absinthe toxicity (thujone)• Meniere’s Disease• Neurosyphilis• Epilepsy promoting temporal lobe syndrome• Bipolar disorder• * Interictal Dysphoric Disorder (IDD) – most probable

Edvard Munch (1863-1944)

• During childhood, his mother and two siblings died

• Often ill during childhood

• Enrolled in art school 1881

• Younger sibling diagnosed with schizoaffective illness

Jackson Pollock (1912-1956)

• Early childhood moved frequently

• Alcoholic, absent father; cold mother

• Quiet, withdrawn, temperamental

• Drawing appeared to calm him

• A number of hospitalizations for alcoholism• Deep seated rage was evident in his behavior and art;

some speculate that he “urinated” on the canvas as he did when drunk in public

• Given various diagnoses including schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

• Some suspect that alcohol was a form of self-medicating for bouts of depression and anxiety

• Some speculate he suffered from bipolar disorder

The Mad Genius Hypothesis

• The idea that genius, or extraordinary creativity, is linked to psychological disorder

• The disorder is the source of the creativity and achievement• Has its roots in the notion of “divine inspiration” dating back

to ancient times• Greeks – “madness” meant inspiration and illumination; was a

desirable state• “Delirium is by no means an evil, but, on the contrary, when it

comes by the gift of the gods, a very great benefit.” – Plato• “One must harbor chaos within oneself to give birth to a

dancing star” - Nietzche

Lombroso (1895) “The Man of Genius”

• Lombroso’s list of physical/hereditary attributes related to genius (as cited in Schlesinger, 2009)– Short– Pale– Thin– Stammering– Sexually sterile– Lame or hunchbacked– Large ears

Andreasen (1987)

• Compared mental illness rates of writers to non-writer control group

• Found that 80% of writers had mood disorders compared to 30% of non-writers

• But, only 30 writers studied

Jamison (1989, 1993, 1995)

• “Touched With Fire: Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament”

• Artists’ rates for bipolar mood disorders 30 times that of the general population

• 38% treated for mood disorders• 50% of artists suffered from a

depressive episode• Mania may be helpful at times• “An Unquiet Mind” – documents

her own bipolar disorder

Ludwig (1995, 1998)

• The Price of Greatness: Resolving the Creativity and Madness Controversy

• Examined 1004 famous people who died between 1960 and 1990

• Lifetime rates of mental disorders are 73% for visual artists• Visual artists with expressive/emotive styles have high

prevalence of alcoholism, drug use, depression, schizophrenia compared to those with a more logical, formal style

Other Research

• Studies on depression and creativity are inconsistent• Some evidence that social anxiety is negatively correlated with

creativity• Neuroticism not a factor• Some evidence that creativity and schizotypy are linked• No evidence that mild mood disorders interfere with creativity• * All people with disorders are not creative*• * All creative people do not have disorders*• Neuregulin 1 – a variant of this gene associated with

schizophrenia seems to be associated with creativity

Summary (Simonton)

• Rate and intensity of psychopathology appears to be somewhat greater in the creative

• Rates of disorders about twice as prevalent• The more eminent, the greater the rate and intensity• A genetic component appears likely• Depression, alcoholism suicide more prevalent• Many creative artists score borderline on psychopathology measures• They score highly on measures of ego strength and self-sufficiency,

meaning they have more control over their bizarre thoughts and can harness them

• Creativity and psychopathology are linked, but genius and madness are not the same thing

Personality and Creativity

• Personality described in terms of traits

• The Big Five traits– Extroversion– Agreeableness– Conscientiousness– Emotional stability– Culture/openness

• Eyesenck’s Dimensions– Extroversion/Introversion– Stability/Neuroticism

Meta-Analysis on Traits (Feist, 1998)

• Creative artists, compared to non-artists, tend to be:

• *Open to new experiences• Unconventional• *Less conscientious• Self confident• *Self accepting• Driven• Ambitious• Dominant

• *Hostile• * Impulsive• Aesthetic• Creative• Curious• Imaginative• Sensitive• Original• Introverted

• Creative people seem to have a strong need to focus their attention inward, be separate, unique, and different from others

• Strong tendency to question social norms and not submit to group influence (antisocial orientation)

• Strong desire to spend time alone• A flexible cognitive style (able to “think outside the box”)• Strong motivation by ambition and a need to work and do well• High level of anxiety and emotional sensitivity

Intelligence and Artistic Creativity

• At best, only modest correlations

• A basic level of intelligence is probably needed for the generation and analysis of novel ideas, but a high level or “genius” level of intelligence seems unnecessary