1. Artistic Creativity, Disorders, and Personality
“The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad.” – Salvador Dali

2. 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

3. Two Theories of Artistic Creation
Propulsive Theory
Finalistic Theory

4. 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

5. Nature or Nurture? Genetic substrates for creativity
Family environment
School environment
General social environment
Age and experience
Personality and motivation
Training

6. Creativity versus Genius
Uniqueness
Impact
Quality of Intellectual Power

7. Mad Genius? Famous Artists with Problems
Michelangelo
Blake
Goya
Degas
Gauguin
Van Gogh
O’Keefe
Burchfield
Munch
Matisse
Miro
Kahlo
Pollock
Rothko
Warhol

8. Charles Burchfield (1893-1967)
From , half of his life’s output
1917 – 400 paintings
Attributed to what was termed a “brain fever”

9. An April Mood
Lightning and Thunder at Night

10. Vincent van Gogh ( )
Blumer (2002) “The Illness of Vincent van Gogh”
1886 – onset of illness
Sudden terror; lapses of consciousness; temperamental

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

12. 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

13. Edvard Munch ( )
During childhood, his mother and two siblings died
Often ill during childhood
Enrolled in art school 1881
Younger sibling diagnosed with schizoaffective illness

15. Jackson Pollock (1912-1956) Early childhood moved frequently
Alcoholic, absent father; cold mother
Quiet, withdrawn, temperamental
Drawing appeared to calm him

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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