playcreativityscript.pdf

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6.3 Play and Creativity

Why do children play? Play as a concept with in psychology and sociologyconsiders play as a mechanism to explore the world. But what is the

connection to enhanced creativity children have? We know that as creativitytakes a sharp downturn around the 4thgrade the act of play begins todiminish as well. Certainly there is some correlation. In a series of studiesgoing back to 1968 on idea generation, 98% of three-year-olds fall withinthe creative genius range. By the time those kids reach the age of 10, thatnumber steadily declines to 32%, and by adulthood, that percentage is downto only 2%.

There are some correlations between play and creativity. Play, like creativity,

is a concept that is often difficult to define concretely, depending on thesituation. We essentially know it when we see it. However, we know thatcreativity is a culturally and personally dependent construct, and play is verymuch the same way.

There are some other connections between play and creativity. First, Play isby nature, intrinsically motivating, and never dependant on external rewards.As weve discussed, creativity is not exclusively dependent on intrinsicmotivation, but according to Amabiles research, does best when the drive to

create and innovate comes from within.

Second, Both play and creativity are methods in which a set of skills areexplored and refined. Both are also mechanisms in which we can exploreobjects and material use. Children are natural explorers and will oftenengage in object play in which they explore all the different uses for anobject, outside of its intended purpose. We all have evolved biases in whichwe process objects, which shape our experiences and adaptive behaviour. Thetendency tonotidentify alternative uses for tools and objects is calledfunctional fixedness, and happens in childhood. One indicator of creativity isto observe children who are observing another child doing something orusing an object in a novel way. This is true with adults who are doingsomething different, novel or creative, and can be a good indicator when weare looking to measure creative skill.

Third, play is identified by a pretend, make-believe quality, according to


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both play and creativity researchers including psychologist Csikszentmihalyi,as discussed in his notable book, creativity: flow and the psychology ofdiscovery and invention. Both very much depend on a sense of curiosity, anda what if frame of mind. This, when experienced through play, often leads

to out of the box moments where creative, novel ideas can occur.

Finally, when engaged in creative endeavors and in play, we often experiencewhat Csikszentmihalyi has titled a state of flow. Flow theory is defined asthe state of mind when one is so immersed in an activity through happiness,internal motivation, and fun, that outside matters, including a sense of timeis often lost.

So, in considering these four points, what can we realistically learn from

studying children in a state of play, as it relates to creativity in our own lives?

One strategy is to identify problems not as a problem statement which weare often trained to do, but rather as a pattern recognition in which habits,traits and other recurring patterns are identified. This explorative method isseen in children as a way in which to explore social and cultural norms andto test those boundaries free from real-life consequences. In short, taking astep back from a problem you wish to solve and approaching it in a state ofplay, free from consequences, can help encourage more creative thinking.

Another strategy can be explored through visual thinking. This doesnt meanvisual arts, but rather an exploration of possible ideas through non-verbalmeans. In figural versions of the Torrance Tests, children demonstrateheightened creative elaboration alongside originality, when given a shapeand asked to turn it into a picture or a series of pictures. This type ofthinking stems from the potential for creative exploration of simpleelements. As children age, we see that many cultural, representational andspecific images are displayed, minimizing the potential for novel and variedresponses. Doing these types of incomplete figures and picture constructiontasks frequently are one method of non-verbal idea generation which overtime, help improve flexibility and originality of answers, which are alsoremoved from the unusual uses and common problems approach we seewith verbal attribute listing.

A third strategy is using verbal stimuli as in attribute listing to mimic object


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use in childs play. Remember all the uses you can do with a brick? This typeactivity is used on Guilford and Later Torrances tests of unusual uses. Givenan object and an hour to play, young children will explore the potential oftools for realistic and imaginary opportunities. The important thing to note

is that prior to around the 4th

grade, children are able to list a range ofanswers when asked what can you do with a brick or another objectbecause they have limited awareness of a wrong answer. Part of play existsfor children to explore and be curious without fear of judgment, whichcontributes to heightened ability to generate fluent, flexible, and originalanswers a large number of varied and unique answers to a given prompt.

The many facets and uses of play all have a role in the different forms ofcreative idea generation and exploration. Some evidence suggests certain

types of play, such as creating elaborate paracosms or fantasy play involvingmake-believe and alternate worlds - as a child are in indicator of above-average creative ability as an adult. Creating elaborate games as a child alsosuggests a potential for creative elaboration as an adult. In finding methodsof idea generation that work best for you, it might help to think about howyou played as a kid and what inspires your curiosity and internal motivation approaching problems from this standpoint is invaluable in developing aconsistent range of creative ideas. As Picasso said, every child is an artist.The problem is how to remain an artist once you grow up. He was speaking

of creativity, thinking differently, and staying curious.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2008).Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience.Harper.Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997).Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery andInvention.Harper.Amabile, Teresa. How to Kill Creativity.Harvard Business Review,1998Can Playing With Lego Make You More Creative?Fast Company/Lego FoundationFlorida, Richard. Cities Are the Fonts of Our Creativity,New York Times, September 15, 2013.

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