The Effects of Childhood on Creativity

Lyndsey Burton, Teckla Dixon, Jessica Jewell, Melissa

Fundzak

The Birth Order Test

 Is the example

describing: (A) a firstborn(B) a middle born(C) a youngest child(D) an only child

 

1. Frankly, as a kid my sister was a charming show-off. She was a little “con” artist. But today, she’s the top salesperson in her company and is highly successful.

2. My brother, Al, was nicknamed Albert Einstein because he was so good in math and science. He’s an engineer now, a conscientious perfectionist.

3. My friend is a bit of a maverick. She has a lot of friends but values her independence. A good mediator, she’d rather “read” people than books. She’s just the opposite of her only sister.

4. I’m able to get along better with older people than I do with my peers. Some people think I’m self-centered. 

5. 5. I don’t know how my husband does it; his workshop is an absolute mess, but whenever he wants to find something, he knows exactly which pile it’s in.

Answers:

1.A, Oldest Child2.C, Youngest Child3.A, Oldest Child4.B, Middle Child5.D, Only Child

1. Frankly, as a kid my sister was a charming show-off. She was a little “con” artist. But today, she’s the top salesperson in her company and is highly successful.

2. My brother, Al, was nicknamed Albert Einstein because he was so good in math and science. He’s an engineer now, a conscientious perfectionist.

3. My friend is a bit of a maverick. She has a lot of friends but values her independence. A good mediator, she’d rather “read” people than books. She’s just the opposite of her only sister.

4. I’m able to get along better with older people than I do with my peers. Some people think I’m self-centered. 

5. 5. I don’t know how my husband does it; his workshop is an absolute mess, but whenever he wants to find something, he knows exactly which pile it’s in.

Information on Birth Order

• First Borns• Middle Borns• Youngest Children• Only Children

Traits of First Borns

PerfectionistReliable

ConscientiousList maker

Well organizedHard driving

Natural leaderCritical Serious

ScholarlyLogical

Doesn’t like surprisesLoves computers

Traits of Middle Borns

MediatorCompromising

DiplomaticAvoids conflictIndependent

Loyal to peersMany friendsA maverickSecretiveUnspoiled

Traits of Youngest Children

ManipulativeCharming

Blames othersAttention seeker

TenaciousPeople person

Natural salespersonPrecociousEngaging

AffectionateLoves surprises

Traits of Only Children

Little adult by age sevenVery thorough

DeliberateHigh achieverSelf-motivated

FearfulCautious

Voracious readerBlack and white thinker

Uses “very,” “extremely,” and “exactly” a lotCan’t bear to fail

Has very high expectations for selfMore comfortable with people who are older or younger

The Birth Order Exercise During Seminars, Dr. Kevin Leman asks the participants to split into the four birth order groups, and has each group gather in one corner of the room. He tells them to talk to each other but to remain in the circle. While they talk, he walks around to each group and puts a large piece of paper face down in the center of each group. It reads:  “Congratulations! You are the leader of this group. Please introduce yourself to the others in your group, and then have each person do the same. As you talk together, make a list of personality characteristics that you all seem to share. Be prepared to report back to the rest of the seminar with your ‘composite picture’ of yourselves. Please start work immediately.” Almost invariably, someone from the first-born and only-child groups will pick up the paper and start working with their group. The people in the middle group will continue to talk for a while, but eventually someone will notice the paper, and the group will start working. The group of last-borns usually continues to talk, never noticing the paper.

Quiz on Creators

1. Do you…

a. Study a lot and do well in schoolb. Perform poorly on purposec. Teach yourself, because you don’t

like formal educationd. Have difficulty in school, or a learning

disability

2. Which category represents your academic strengths?

a. Science and Mathb. English and Humanitiesc. Fine Artsd. Well Rounded, Strong in All

Subjects

3. In terms of your family, do you feel…

a. Close to your immediate family members

b. Close to only one parent or member of your family

c. Closer to a nurse or governessd. Alienated from all family members

4. Which of the following best describes your parents?

a. Successful in their chosen fieldb. From a prominent family, does

“well enough” but not really successful

c. Working class, does “well enough” but not really successful

d. Modestly talented in an artistic field

5. Are you…

a. An oldest childb. A middle childc. A youngest

childd. An only child

6. How were you exposed to your area of study?

a. Through parentsb. Through a family friendc. Through an outside inspiration;

someone you didn’t know

7. As a child, were you…

a. More of a lonerb. Always playing with other children

8. At this point in your life, do you feel most comfortable…

a. With a group of close friendsb. With one close friendc. With family members

Results

1. If you chose __ you are more like…

a. Eliot, Graham, Freudb. Einsteinc. Gandhi, Stravinskyd. Picasso

2. a. Einsteinb. Eliot, Gandhic. Stravinsky,

Picassod. Freud, Graham

3. a. Freud, Eliot, Gandhib. Einsteinc. Stravinsky, Grahamd. Picasso

4. a. Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham

b. Gandhic. Freud, Einsteind. Picasso

 

5. a. Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Grahamb. Stravinskyc. Eliot, Gandhid. NONE!

6. a. Eliot, Picasso, Stravinsky, Gandhi

b. Einstein, Stravinskyc. Graham, Freud

 

7. a. All Creators

b. None!

8. a. Einstein, Freudb. Picasso, Gandhi,

Stravinskyc. Eliot, Graham

The 7 Creators

Support, Competition, Exposure, and Schooling

While Growing up

Sigmund Freud:

close to his mother, father, and nurse desired companionship and approval mentors: Chacot- scholarly support; Bruecke – scholarly support and personalloyalty; Martha Bernays, his fiancée – shared feelings; Eduard Siberstein - his confidant,

communication; Wilhelm Fliess - nurture and support of Freud’s

intimate thoughts and ideas unsuccessful relationships with women 

Competition - very little - new domain… just doubt, criticism, some acceptance from others

• ExposureWas going to be a lawyerSaw Johann Wolfgang van Goethe’s “on nature”Decided to study medical science as a result 

• Probably the creator with the greatest academic strengths

• At the top of his class• Studied a lot and actually cared about his school work• Treated special in school because of his intelligence• Book smart yet well-rounded

Albert Einstein:

childlike imagination throughout lifepursued answers to difficult questions such as relationships between space and time (theory of relativity) spent much of childhood playing alone and “marched to the beat of a different drummer” As he grew up, had a small circle of close friends – later in life, Olympiadinternal support from religion (defied his family and classmates) Max Talmey - gave support and exposed Einstein to the field of physics

girls showed interest in him

Friends - Michelangelo Besso and wife, Mileva Maric stimulation and critique

Competition - other scientists like Hendrik Lorentz

were searching for an explanation to relativity, but Einstein discovered it first (Timing!)

• Exposure: always interested in objects Uncle Jakob introduced him to objects Max Talmey, family friend, gave him physics books

• Not particularly verbal• Much more science oriented• Disliked school and formal education• Performed poorly and acted defiantly in class• Learned subjects he liked (algebra, geometry)

enthusiastically on his own• Would argue when something didn’t make

sense to him

Pablo Picasso: depended on his father throughout adolescence role models - strong willed mother and rich uncle (financial support), four aunts who babied himAlthough he could barely speak French, still became close to creative artists like Max Jacob, Gertrude Stein, Guillaume Apollinaire, Henri Matisse, and George Braque works of Cézanne and his views into the nature of painting influenced Picasso the most Later in life, Picasso collaborated with Georges Braque to invent cubism - support, cooperation, friendly competition competition from his sister Lola and was jealous of the attention his parents gave her

 • ExposureFather was a painter

• Prodigy• Great artistic talent shown early in life• Surpassed dad at young age• Hated school and tried not to attend• Performed poorly• Difficulty learning to read and write• Even greater difficulty in mastering

numbers• Appears to have had genuine learning

problems• To him everything was in terms of art• Barely made it through school

Igor Stravinsky:

support from his governess, Bertha and his older brother, Gurylonely as a child, but like Einstein, had support from his uncle, a music loverfriend Ivan Pokrovsky, who introduced him to French composers important friend and provided technical musical instruction - Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov“Igor Stravinsky may be my pupil but he will never be my or anyone else’s follower, because his gift for music is uniquely great and original (192).” - Rimsky-Korsakov craved for companionship - joined ensemble of musicianscompetition with Diaghilev over legal rights for their musical pieces

Very egocentric, focused on his own needs As he got older, he insisted on conducting his own works

without the help of others “As with several of our other creators, a connection to the

wider world seems to have been purchased at the cost of smooth and loving family relationships.” (226)

Exposure Father was an opera singer Always had music in the house Was taken to opera house to write often

• Not a good student• Performed at or below average level for his class• Uninterested in formal schooling• Preferred to educate himself• Always loved music• Not a prodigy

T. S. Eliot:

family history of being leaders in religion and educationgrew up surrounded by women and much support from his Irish nurse, Annie Dunne very sensitive as a child and had a substantial linguistic memory Ezra Pound, close friend, provided literary advice and introduced Eliot to literary individuals and womenPound, Eliot, Wyndham Lewis, promoted new forms of English expressionVivien Elliot provided affective support not comfortable with his sexual identity, didn’t know how to relate to womenEliot was difficult to become close to, comfortable with distance

Like all of the other creators, severely hurt someone he was close to by cutting off all ties

• ExposureMother was a talented poet

• Everything revolved around written language• Notable student• Performed very well at Smith Academy• Read extremely widely and remembered a good deal of

what he read• Only area of difficulty was physics• Little interest or ability in science• Situated squarely within the humanities

Martha Graham:family - secure and devoted to one anotherMa raised very strictly and religiously volatile temper “Maid Lizzie”- nurse, served as a peer and confident When Martha decided to become a dancer as her career, her family was not pleased, but they compromised by sending her to a school where she could study liberal arts and also danceLewis Horst - mentor, accompanist, composer, and loverExposure Saw Ruth St. Denis at L.A. Opera house

Received criticism and support from her performances and different dancing style: She received support from the countless dancers who desired to join her company and the continuing support of her audience. Although some critics said that she was not a true dancer, Graham had enough support from her loyal dancers and lovers to continue on.

• Did well in high school• Quick learner• Well read• Active and involved in school• Dancing school was most important

Mahatma Gandhi:

Family - prominent in society, very moral, father took the guilt upon himself family let him probe family relations and develop his own responses toward ethical and social problemsSheikh Mehtab - youthful friendship, they felt much remorse and guilt over their wrong actionsdetermined and set in his waysfelt unfulfilled in life friends - Sonya Schleslin and Henry L. S. Polak – idealistic, helped Gandhi recognize his ideals in living and sacrificed an independent existenceinfluential leader, support from his growing group of followers competition - individuals who defied him by protesting violently felt that he had attained support, spiritual purity, and eventually moral authority by influencing others and leading an exemplary life•Exposure Father did not use anger or violence to punish him

Competition - individuals who defied him by protesting violently

Felt that he had attained support, spiritual purity, and eventually moral authority by influencing others and leading an exemplary life

• ExposureFather did not use anger or violence to punish

him• Not a particularly good student• Found school unappealing• Always interested in issues of right and wrong• Gravitated towards role of peacemaker• Displayed these traits at a very young age

“In carrying out this study, I have repeatedly been astounded by the speed with which talented young individuals, like members of a rare species, immediately spot those of their peers who are appropriate members of the same cohort (254).”

“The most notable creators almost always are perfectionists, who have worked out every detail of their conception painstakingly and are unwilling to make further changes unless they can be convinced that such alterations are justified (211).”

“Once again, as we saw with Einstein, Freud, Picasso, and Stravinsky, a creative individual on the threshold of his most dramatic achievement has benefited from close almost parent- or sibling-like ties to respected intimates (244).”

All creators were loners as children.

As each of the creators grew up, they all benefited from a connection to someone else. Einstein and Freud benefited from a tight-nit group of friends, while Elliot and Graham were very close to their family, and Picasso, Gandhi, and Stravinsky utilized support from one very close friend.

Additional Notes