In a study conducted at Harvard University, Professor Teresa Amabile asked people to write a story about being a particular age. Half of the study’s participants were told their stories would be judged. The study found that highly skilled writers wrote less creative stories when they knew they were being judged, but their less creative counter parts were more inventive when judged. Amabile concluded that this occurred because at high skill levels, people are intrinsically motivated to write and as a result, performance expectations take away from the joy that usually goes with writing.
Survey says…
In a survey recently conducted with the American Management Association, 500 CEOS were asked: What must one do to survive in the 21st century? The top answer was “practicing creativity and innovation”. A mere 6% felt they were doing a good job of it.
Random creativity-related fact…
When it comes time to mate, male bowerbirds spend much of their time making colourful and elaborate nests. They use moss, sticks, leaves, grass, flowers and even ‘paint’ the nest using berries. When selecting their mate, the female bowerbirds are most attracted to the males that have built the most creatively decorated nests.
Inventium is currently considering designing a course for bowerbirds. Unfortunately, the language barrier is proving to be problematic.
