The Psychology of Artistic Creativity

Catalog description

Creativity is an essential component of people's lives. It plays a critical part in advancing our society via art, design, and science. However, what is creativity? What contributes to it? Moreover, how can one become more creative? The goal of this introductory course is to answer these questions by integrating art and psychology. The course begins with a discussion of what is creativity. In the process, the class will discuss how context, culture, and narrative play a key role in answering this question. Next, the course will examine who is creative. Here, the class will discuss what, if anything, contributes toward a creative personality, what role developmental factors play in the creative process, and if there is a link between mental illness and creativity. Lastly, the course will discuss the creative process. Here, students will learn how the brain and body help people process, understand, and create information, how emotions influence thought and are conveyed to others, how motivational processes can both encourage and hinder creative endeavors, and how inter- and intra-personal processes can facilitate and destroy creative expression. Students will learn about these processes by examining creativity via two perspectives: the perspectives of various artists, art scholars, and art educators and from the perspectives of various disciplines within psychology, including personality, clinical, development, and social psychology. Students also will complete exercises that encourage critically evaluating these perspectives and actively applying their potential insights to their own artistic endeavors. Thus, a key element of this course is not only to understand more about creativity, but to be able to apply artistic and psychological practices and knowledge to better understand and improve one's own and other's creative potential.