Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention

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barriers, blocks, and squelchers why we are not more creative

[Scene: Small girl scout camp deep in forest of Southern California. Scout Leader Rita Rambo is discussing plans to rescue pet duck, held hostage without sardines by disgruntled political group. Small girl scouts Darcy, Jennifer, and others listen intently. Darcy opens the creative problem solving.] Darcy: We need a plan. Something creative to surprise those people-maybe distract them

while we sneak in and grab Daffy! Rita Rambo: No thanks, kiddo! Somebody would have suggested it before if it were any

good! You’ve got to be kidding. What bubblehead thought that up! I say let’s hit ’em with everything we got. Jennifer , did you bring your little bazooka?

Je.nnifer: No, Ms. Rambo, but I have my brother’s baseball bat.

Darcy: But Ms. Rambo, we shouldn’t be violent. Besides, we might hurt Daffy! Rambo: You don’t understand the situation, small fry! And don’t forget the chain of

command. I learned how to deal with duck-nappers on Wake Island! Soften ’em up with artillery, then we go in! That’s the way it’s always been done!

Darcy: What about disguising ourselves as Groucho Marx, Ben Turpin, Charlie Chaplin, and W. C. Fields? We could walk in, argue about who is the funniest, and when Jennifer says “That’s the most ridiculous thing I ever hoid!” I’ll sneak off with Daffy!

Rambo: Not this girl scout, cookie! It just won’t work, we’ve never done that before, too blue sky, we need more lead time. I don’t see the connection, the comedians’ union will scream, it’ll mean more wo rk, don’t step on any toes, don’t rock the boat, and you can’t teach this old dog new tricks!

Jennifer: Do you imagine that …

Rambo : No, I never imagine.

Jennifer: Well, do you suppose sometimes?

Rambo: Sometimes I suppose, if it’s not difficult. Jennifer: Suppose we hire a mariachi band? While everyone is drinking margaritas and

dancing the New Mexican Hat Dance, Darcy could pop Daffy into her big siesta.

19

 

 

20 Chapter 1wo

We Do Not Use the Creative Abilities We Have

Lots of Blocks and Barriers

Understand and Be Ready

Routines, Language Habits, Correct Categories

Have You Been Creative Lately?

Habits Are Necessary

Rule s and Traditions: Necessary but Restricti ve

Darcy: You mean my sombrero.

Rambo: We did all right without a mariachi band, our people won ·t accept tt, let’ s be practical, and what will the other girl scouts think? Besides, we tried that before!

Darcy: Maybe we could negotiate a trade-a dozen Big Macs, some french fries, and a winning season for the Los Angeles Rams!

Jennifer: Let’s just buy a new duck! Daffy’s in the soup by now anyway!

The first need is to transcend the old order. Before any new idea can be defined, the absolute power of the established, the

hold u-pon us of what we know and are, must be broken. Brewster Ghiselin (1952)

All of us would be more creative were it not for internal and external blocks, barriers, and squelchers. But because of well-learned habits , an unsupportive or repressive environment, or our fears and insecurities, most people do not fully use their creative abilities and imaginations. One argument is that everyone is born creative, but in our early years the social pressures of home , school, and community suppress our lively imaginations and produce dutiful conformers.

This chapter will look more closely at some common barriers to creative think- ing and productivity: habit and learning, rules and traditions, perceptual blocks, cultural blocks, emotional blocks, and resource blocks, at least the first four of which are interrelated and stem from lifelong learning. We also will review von Oech’s (1983) ten types of mental blocks, which may take a whack on the side of the head to jar loose. Finally, we will itemize probably-too-familiar “idea squelchers,” a list that has been growing for half a century.

The challenge to anyone wishing to increase his or her personal creativeness is to understand, expect, and be ready to cope with barriers to creativity from the environment or from inside oneself.

HABIT AND LEARNING The first and most obvious barrier to creative th.inking and innovation is just

habit, our well- learned and customary ways of thinking and responding. It begins when we are munchkins. We learn the “correct” responses, routines, and patterns of behavior. We learn language habits and the conceptual categories that th.ings and ideas belong in. We learn “the way things have always been done” and “the way things are supposed to be done.” Over the years it becomes more and more difficult to break away from these habits, to see and create new possibilities.

When did you last try something truly new? An exotic restaurant? A new sport? A college course in some intriguing topic? Are your old habits and expecta- tions interfering with new ideas and activities?

Of course, the ability to form habits and expectations is an adaptive and neces- sary capability for humankind and lower animals. It would be troublesome in- deed to open your eyes each morning and wonder what you are supposed to do next. Being a “creature of habit” is a boon and a curse.

RULES AND TRADITIONS Clearly, social groups-from your family to educational, corporate, national ,

and international groups-could not function without the rules , regulations ,

 

 

Inflexible School Systems?

Organizational Pa.ta.lysis?

Brain-Damaged Bureaucracies?

-r-

Barriers, Blocks, and Squelchers: Why We Are Not More Creative 21

policies, and traditions that guide personal, social, and institutional behavior. Howevor, guide often means restrwt or inhibit.

Ambrose (1996), for example, took a few shots at inflexible school systems. He claimed they suffer from a lack of creative flexibility because of top-heavy, bu- reaucratic structures that cubbyhole people into specialized and rigid roles. Such people focus on everyday minutiae and lose their capability for big-picture, vi- sionary thought Oai.med Ambrose, they seldom have good reason to take risks beyond the confines of established procedures, particularly since “mistakes are routinely punished in our right-answer-fixated bureaucracies” (p. 28).

In the 1990s criticizing the rigidity of traditional organizations seemed a common catharsis (e.g., Peters, 1992; Tapscott & Caston, 1993). Ambrose (1995), injured only mildly while hopping on the bandwagon, listed these traits of “dullard … brain -damaged bureaucracies … inherited from the old industrial era”:

• Myopic and coercive leadership that treats employees as automatons • Premature judgment • Repressed creativity • Anger, frustration, and resentment • Inflexible conformity • Reflexive ritual • Habit bound • Narrow focus • Poorly integrated subsystems • Slow

Habit, tradition, rules, regulations-all will interfere with versatile creative prob- lem solving. “Sure. chief, we’re all trained up an’ ready to give out them parking tickets! Before we can move, the boys gotta’ know if they should use a number 2 or a number 3 pencil!” (Keystone Cops “In the Clutches of the Gang,” 1914. Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research.)

 

 

22 Chapter Two

Versus Genius and Creatively Intellieent

Status Hierarchy

Enforcement of Rule Following

Understatement?

Procedural Barriers

The opposite characterized well-functioning “genius … creatively intelligent post-industrial organi7.ation ” :

• Visionary leadership • Critical analysis and judgment • Creative thinkers and creative teamwork • Flexibility • Excitement • Pride and purpose

• Sensitivity and responsiveness • Dynamism

Van Gundy (1987) described additional organizational barriers to creative inno- vation that also are rooted in rules and traditions. While aimed at corporate organi- zations, these barriers seem to apply to educational and other organizations as well.

One barrier is the status hierarchy. Lower-status persons are reluctant to suggest ideas to those in higher positions due to insecurity and fear of evaluation. With little lower-level participation in decision-making, it is unlikely that new ideas will “trickle up.”

Further , if a new idea threatens to reduce status differences (”Hey, we can increase sales if we make everybody a vice president!”), the idea will be resisted by higher status persons.

The formalization barrier refers to the degree to which following rules and pro- cedures is enforced. Observed Van Gundy in an understatement, “It is thought that formalization is detrimental to initiation of innovations …. If organizational members are expected to behave in prescribed ways, and innovation is not pre- scribed; fewer idea proposals will be generated” (p. 361). However, he also ob- served that after an innovation is accepted, an efficient formal structure expedites its implementation.

Van Gundy’s procedural barriers include policies, procedures, and regulations (including unwritten ones) that inhibit creative innovation. Some examples are:

Promoting administrators based on analytic skills, not on ability to encourage a creative atmosphere.

Emphasizing short-term (translation: short-sighted) planning. Avoiding expenditures that do not produce an immediate payback. Overemphasizing external rewards (profit) rather than internal, personal

commitment. Insisting on an orderly advancement with an innovation, with excessive de-

tailed control early in its development.

Rules and traditions keep the system working. However , like habits, such pre- determined guides can work against creative thinking.

PERCEPTUAL BLOCKS PerceptWJl blocks also are based in learning and habit. We become accustomed to

perceiving things in familiar ways, and it is difficult to see new meanings, relation- ships, or applications and uses. Psychologists refer to our predisposition to perceive

 

 

Perceptual Set, Mental Set Functional Fixedness

Provocative Ways to Stimulate New Views

Jumping to Conclusions

Puzzles

Can Miss the “Real” Problem

Failure to See Other Possibilities

Making the Familiar Strange: Seeing New Possibilities

Expectatio ns, Conformity

Fear of Being Different

Kindergarten Slump

Barriers, Blocks, and Squelchers: Why We Are Not More Creative 23

things in certain ways as perceptual set, mental set, or fUncttonal JiXeaness. We will see in Chapter 9 that de Bono (1992a) teaches several “provocative techniques” de- signed to combat habits and perceptual sets-and force new ideas and perspectives. For example, he recommends that we deliberately reverse, e:mggerate, or distort some part of the given problem, try “wishful thinking,” escape from what we take for granted (e.g., that car wheels are round), or use a random word or random object to stimulate new thinking. For example, with the reversal provocation technique, the statement “Customers love big sales” would be reversed to “Big sales love cus- tomers” to provoke new views and ideas.

Perceptual sets differ between people because of our unique interests, needs, biases, values, and past learning. Perceptual sets also relate to our tendency to make quick decisions and jump to conclusions, rather than flexibly see alterna- tives. One old problem solving experiment demonstra ted that when a piece of string was needed to so lve a prob lem, the string would be perceived and used if it were dangling from a nail on the wall-but not if it were hanging a No Smoking sign, mirror, or calendar (Sheerer, 1963).

Pe rceptual blocks lead us to “kick ourselves” for not seeing a solution sooner. Try the following puzzles . The solutions appear after the chapter summary.

1. Punctuate the following set of words to make a meaningful statement: TIME FLIES YOU CANNOT THEY FLY TOO FAST

2. Consider this puzz le: The police entered the gym containing five wrestlers just as the dying man looked at the ceiling and mumbled the words, “He did it.” They immedi- ately arrested one of the wrestlers. How did they know which one?

3. Remove six letters from ASIPXPLETLTERES. What word is left?

Perceptual blocks can prevent one from identifying “the real problem.” For example, based on symptoms that seem familiar, a physician or auto mechanic may persist in misclassifying a problem and will treat it incorrectly.

Perceptual blocks also prevent us from getting a more complete and accurate picture of the world around us. For example, school teachers who fixate on IQ scores will fail to perceive students who are highly creative, artistic, or gifted in just one area. A teacher who has successfully used a particular teaching technique for many years will not recognize that another technique is even more effective. A new product developer, who tries to make his or her product exactly right for one pur- pose, may fail to see other uses or markets for modified versions of the product.

Creativity leader William J. J. Gordon (1961) described how making the familiar strange-perceiving common objects and ideas in new ways-is a central creative process. Indeed it is. Much creativity involves a mental transformation, the per- ception of new meanings, combinations, and relationships that depend upon overcoming perceptual blocks.

CULTURAL BLOCKS Cultural blocks amount to social influence, expectations, and conformity pres-

sures, all based on social or institutional norms. Cu ltural blocks thus include more than a dab of learning, habits, rules, and traditions. There are several dabs of “fear of being different” and a few dashes of “the way we think others expect us to behave.” The result is a loss of individuality and creativity.

Torrance (1968, 1977, 1979, 1984) concluded that creativity (fantasy, imagina- tion) drops when children enter kindergarten, an early time when conformity and

 

 

24 Chapter 1wo

Fourth-Grade Slump

Fifth-Grade Slump in Korea

Fourth-Grade Slump Disappearing

Seventh-Grade Slump, Too

Dynamics : Uncomfortable to Be Different

Expectations, Stereotypes

Be Practical and Economical, but Not Nosy

Reason and Logic, but Not Fantasy

Cooperatio n or Compe tition Can Stifle Creativity

Additional Subtle Creativity Squelchers

regimentation suddenly become the rule. Said Torrance (1977, p. 21), “this drop … is a societal or cultural phenomenon rather than a biological or natural one.”

There may be an even larger drop in creativity at the fourth grade level- Torrance’s famous fourth-grade slump. Repeated Torrance (1977, p. 22), “the drop which occurs in the fourth ·grade is a societal rather than a biological phenome- non.” In Korea, Kang (1989) confirmed Torrance’s fourth -grade slump with a sample of 1,100 elementary children, but the drop in creativity test scores oc- curred in the fifth grade rather than fourth.

There is a silver lining around the dark fourth-grade cloud, particularly in Western cultures. A growing emphasis on teaching for creative development has helped offset the conformity-based fourth-grade slump.

Perhaps the most visible monkey-see monkey-do conformity pressures exert themselves at adolescence, when new-found abstract thinking abilities (Piaget’s formal operational thinking) increase students’ self-awareness and self- consciousness. Is it surprising that Torrance (1977) described another drop in cre- ative thinking at the seventh-grade level?

The dynamics of conformity are hardly mysterious. It simply is uncomfortable to be different, to challenge accepted ways of thinking and behaving. 1 We learn that it’s good to be correct. But making mistakes, being wrong, or behaving “badly” will elicit disapproval, criticism, or even sarcasm and ridicule. One does not wish to be judged foolish, incompetent, or plain stupid. 2

Expectations and conformity pressures also work in more subtle ways. The tradi- tionally perceived role of females-overloaded with expectations and stereotypes- is a perennial and slow-changing difficulty that is yet to be overcome (see, e.g., Davis & Rimm, 2004). There are pressures on all of us to be practical and economi- cal, which can be inconsistent with innovative, creative thinking. We also learn not to be “nosy,” not to ask too many questions. However, as Sim.berg (1978, p. 126) noted, “By stifling questioning, we are cutting out the very heart of creativity- curi.osity.” There also is a bacl<stairs belief that fantasy is a waste of time. (Where would creativity be without fantasy?) Moreover, society tells us to have faith in rea- son and logic, tendencies that can delicately repress imagination and innovation.

Simberg (1978) also noted that, especially in corporate settings, an overempha- sis either on cooperation or competition can be a barrier to creativeness. If high cooperation is stressed, a person must temper his or her creative ideas in order to “fit in,” to conform and please others. On the other hand, an overemphasis on competition can orient us toward “beating somebody else to it,” rather than to- ward finding good creative solutions.

Van Gundy (1987) described. subtle social/political barriers to creative innovation, which include any organizational norms that reinforce conformity, inhibit innova – tion, discourage “idea people,” or otherwise ban rocking the boat. For example:

• Attitudes of secrecy • A reluctance to share ideas • The attitude that creative types do not fit in • A fear that innovation may change the uniqueness of an organization • A desire to protect the status quo • A fear that innovation will reduce jobs

1So-called “nonconformers”-beatniks of the 60s, hippies of the 70s, punkers of the 80s and 90s, and year 2000+ young persons with body piercing and tattoos-may be viewed as conforming to different norms. 2However, as we will see in Chapter 5, a creative person sometimes must take risks and even fail. Creativity requires trying new ideas, which sometimes flop.

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Culture Itself: Traditions, Roles, Customs, Beliefs

Creativity Confe.rence: Doha,Qaw

And Don’t Ask Questions! School and Home Repressive Attitudes, Atmospheres

Female Creativity Squelched Since Chil dhood

Creativity Inconsistent with Culture

Discrimination Confirmed

Obedience, Duty Conformity

There ls a Trme to Conform, a Tl.me to Be Creative

Strong Emotions Interfere

Barriers, Blocks, and Squelchers: Why We Are Not More Creative 25

Finally, the greatest cultural barrier to creativity can be the culture itself. Think for a moment about the role of tradition, conformity, and especially the role (or place) of women in Spanish- and arabic-speaking countries and many spots in India, Africa, and Asia.

In 1996 the School of Education at the University of Qatar, Doha, held a four- day conference entitled “The Role of the School, the Family, and Society in the Development of Creativity” (see Davis, Kogan, & Soliman, 1999). More will be said about the Qatar conference and its many recommendations in Chapter 13 on teaching for creative growth. For now we will note a few repressive cultural influences.

While formal presentations addressed creativity research and ideas in creativity and its cultivation, informal conference discussion repeatedly emphasized the ab- sence of creative attitudes and atmospheres in Arab schools and homes. For exam- ple, “good” teachers are expected to be authoritative and assertive. Most teachers “stick to the books” and pay no attention to creativity. Many do not allow students to disagree with them or ask questions. Home environments also are often repres- sive. Children may not be allowed to differ with parents or even to speak out.

At least three women conference speakers blasted the flagrant Arabic discrimi- nation against women and its repressive effect on their creative development. Male participants agreed. In Doha, for example, women were never seen on downtown streets in the evening, and almost none drove cars (although legally allowed to do so). The new University of Qatar was split into qualitatively equal men’s and women’s campuses.

The problem, noted at the conference and independently by I<haleefa, Erodos, and Ashria (1996a), is that many creative traits (e.g., unconventionality, expres- siveness, self-sufficiency, willingness to ignore traditions) are inconsistent with traditional Arabic culture.

While unrelated to the conference, two articles in the Journal of Creative Behavior also addressed the development of creativity in a “traditional, conformist, and authoritarian” (their words) Arab culture-Sudanese in this case. Khaleefa, Erdos, and Ashria (1996b) confirmed that in “tight sociocultural systems” females receive less education, experience less freedom and independence, and generally endure more authoritarianism. As a result, girls usually score lower than boys on creativity tests. In their research, males (age fifteen to twenty) scored higher on a test of creative personality, which measured independence, adventurousness, in- dividuality, activity, curiosity, responsibility, motivation, and freedom.

Khaleefa, Erdos, and Ashria (1996a) contrasted Western individualism, auton- omy, self-reliance, and independence with Afro-Arabic Sudanese obedience, duty, conformity, sacrifice for the group, and low tolerance for deviating from norms. Said the authors, “Conformity to sociocultural institutions and to the expectations of others involves a substantial limitation of one’s individuality” (p. 270) and “There is small scope for individuals to be creative” (p. 274).

Khaleefa, Erdos, andAshria (1996a) noted that to be creative-as many wish to be–they must learn how to “attach to the sociocultural system, and at the same time how to detach from it” (p. 278). That is, a creative individual must learn when to conform and how to be creative within the cultural system.

As a general guide: There is a time to conform and a time to think independently and creatively.

EMOTIONAL BLOCKS Emotional blocks also interfere with clear thinking, sometimes by preoccupy-

ing and distracting our creative minds, other times by making us “freeze” in our thinking. Simberg (1978) imagined a balance scale with emotions on one side and

 

 

26 Chapter 1wo

‘”fOR Tt\f. LOY£ OF TlJ.1J£,> F-…dy

“TIWF.:’S PUNCTURF.D ROMANcr

Emotional states will interfere with creativity. This woman got upset over a simple game of hide-and-seek.. (“Tillies Punctured Romance; 1914. The Museum of Modern Art/Film Stills Archive.)

Particularly Chronic Anxieties

Fears, Values, Needs

Can Take a Problem Solving Approach to Emotional Blocks

ResoW’ce Barriers Not in Short Supply

clear thinking on the other; as one side goes up, the other goes down. Some famil- iar emotional blocks are anger, fear, anxiety, hate, and even love. Some are tempo- rary states, caused perhaps by problems with peers, parents, partners, or children, or by pressures at school or work, financial stresses, or poor health. More perma- nent emotional blocks include such chronic sources of insecurity and anxiety as fea.r of failure , fear of being different , fear of criticism or ridicule, fear oi rejection, fear of supervisors, timidity, or poor self-concept.

Van Gundy (1987) noted that some attitudinal barriers, such as fear of taking risks , fear of uncertainty and ambiguity, differences in values, or differences in personal needs, will block either the initial creation of innovations or their adop- tion and implementation.

While this book does not deal in psychotherapy, we should note that moderate amounts of tension and anxiety are normal. In fact, some feelings of urgency or motivation are required for creative thinking and problem solving. However, if emotional blocks interfere with thinking, it may help to take a creative problem- solving approach to dealing with them. That is, ask “Wha t is the problem?” and ‘What can I/we do about it?” Chapter 6 will present the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) model that also may be used with personal problems.

RESOURCE BARRIERS Van Gundy (1987) described one last type of organizational block to creative

innovation, resource barriers, which can be a shortage of people, money, time,

 

 

28 Chapter Two

Thomas Edison, Thomas Watson: Mistakes Lead to Success

Errors = Whacks

Play with Ideas

I Know Nothing about This Topic, It’s Not My Area

Analogical Thinking

C’Mon von Oech, Get Serious!

These political reformers are stymied in their creative thinking because of their strong beliefs that “We Must Follow The Rules,” “We Must Be Practical,” “We Must Not Be Foolish,” and “To Err is Wrong.” “Oh, what the heck,” said Abe, honestly, “let’s just serve broccoli and see what happens!” (“Hands Up”, 1926. Courtesy of PhotoFest.)

that while working on the light bulb, Edison tried nearly 2,000 ideas. Edison opti- mistically reported that he now knew 2,000 ways not to build a light bulb! One probably surprising strategy for increasing creative productivity is to deliberately increase your failure rate. Creative person Thomas Watson, founder and president of IBM, claimed that “The way to succeed is to double your failure rate” (von Oech, 1983, p. 93). Observed von Oech, “Errors [serve] as stepping stones …. We learn by our failure. A person’s errors are the whacks that lead him or her to think some- thing different” (pp. 90-92).

Another block, von Oech’s seventh, is the notion that Play Is Frivolous. Playing with ideas has produced countless creative innovations and scientific discoveries. As we will see in Chapter 5, childlike thinking, humor, and playing with ideas are exceedingly common characteristics of creative people . Necessity may be the mother of invention, said von Oech, but play is the father!

Block number eight is That’s Not My Area. This block is rich with implications for creative thinking and problem solving. Especially, it is an excuse for not even trying to solve a problem because of self-proclaimed ignorance. Moreover, such a thinker certainly will not look for ideas and inspiration in other fields. In fact, many innovations are born by adapting ideas from outside of one’s own field-as we will see in Chapter 7 on analogical thinking. Von Oech suggested finding ideas in old science magazines, history, want ads, and “studying a subject on a shallow level” (p. 109). Many innovations come from people with little or no background in the problem area.

Don’t Be Foolish, block nine, is another cultural barrier rooted in conformity. Says von Oech, you occasionally should play the fool, and you certainly should be aware of when you or others are putting down a creative “fool.” Prince’s (1968)

 

 

Self-Squelcher Will Be Accurate

Popular Ways to Demolish Creativity

Barriers, Blocks, and Squelchers: Why We Are Not More Creative 29

“get fired” technique, in which you propose an idea so totally foolish that your boss will immediately fire you, helps create the playfulness and craziness that can lead to creative ideas.

Finally, we have the tenth block, the self-squelcher I’m Not Creative. If you seri- ously believe this, you will be correct. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Do you need an occasional whack on the side of the head?

IDEA SQUELCHERS It is bad enough to be uncreative. It’s worse to squelch your own or other peo-

ple’s creative thinking. This list of idea squelchers is based on one created by Warren (1974), who modified a list by Clark (1958) in his book Brainstorming, plus a few more from two covers of the Journal of Creative Behavior (1974, Issue 2, and 1996, Issue 3), and a couple from Biondi (1980) .

You never would make any of these comments, would you?

We’ve never done it before. We’ve already tried that before . It can’t be done . It won’t work. Too blue sky. Noway. Are you nuts? It’s a waste of time . I’m telling you, it won’t work. I just know it won’t work. What will the parents think? Somebody would have

suggested it before if it were any good. Too modern . Too old-fashioned. Not that way. Let’s discuss it at some other time. This is the last try. You’ve got to be kidding. You ask too many questions. You don’t understand our

situation. You don’t understand the

problem. We’re too small for that. We’re too big for that. We’re too new for that. Let’s not bother.

See? It didn’t work! We haven’t the teacher-student ratio . It’s not in the budget. It has limited possibilities . We’re not ready for it yet. All right in theory, but can you put

it into practice? Too academic. Not academic enough; we need

supporting theory. Won’t we be held accountable? Let’s form a committee. Let’s put it in writing . We need more lead time. Walk, don’t run. You’ll never sell it to the union . Don’t forget the chain of

command . Let’s not fight city hall. Stay on their good side. Don ‘ t step on any toes. Be practical. Let’s wait and see. I don’t see the connection. It won’t work in our

neighborhood. We can’t do it under the

regulations . There’s no regulations covering it.

 

 

30 Chapter Two

Understand, Be Ready

We have too many projects now. It’s been the same for twenty years,

so it must be good. This is how it’s done. Let’s use proven methods. What bubble head thought that up? That’s trouble. Don’t rock the boat. I’ll bet some professor suggested

that. We have to be practical. It’s not in the plan. It’s not in the curriculum. We did all right without it. You can’t argue with success. It’ll mean more work. It’s too early. It’s too late.

The Board will faint. That’s not our responsibility. That’s not our department. That’s not our job. That’s not our role. It’s low in our priorities. It will offend. What’s the use? Why bother? It doesn’t matter. Our people won’t accept it. You can’t teach an old dog new

tricks. Have you checked with … ? And you stand there saying …. No adolescent is going to

tell me how to run this operation!

The main advantage of understanding external barriers to creativity is that it forces you to plan ahead-to anticipate the resistance that may greet your innova- tive ideas and plans. Understanding internal barriers can help us deal with them in a mentally healthy, creativity-consistent way.

SUMMARY

We all would be more creative if it were not for blocks and barriers to creative thinking.

Habit and learning, which are necessary for humankind, also can be blocks to creative thinking.

Rules and traditions, too, are essential for society, but can inhibit imagination and innovation. Some recent pot shots at traditional, imagination-stifling educational and other organizations emphasized bureaucratic structures, over-specialized roles, punishment for taking risks and making mistakes, near-sighted and coercive leader- ship, frustration, conformity, ritual, and a narrow focus.

“Creatively intelligent” organizations show visionary leadership, creativity, excitement, flexibility, and dynamism.

Van Gundy’s organizational barriers included the status hierarchy, formaliza- tion (rule following), and procedural barriers, e.g., promotions based on analytic skills, short-term planning, emphasis on external (not personal) rewards, and tight control in developing innovations.

Perceptual blocks-mental set, perceptual set, functional fixity-are based in learning. They prevent us from seeing new meanings, relations, applications, and possibilities. Perceptual blocks are related to “jumping to conclusions,” prevent us from “seeing the real problem,” and prevent us from getting an accurate pic- ture of our world. De Bono’s provocative techniques and Gordon’s making the familiar strange procedures help us overcome perceptual blocks.

 

 

Barriers, Blocks, and Squelchers: Why We Are Not More Creative 31

Cultural blocks are social influence, expectations, and conformity pressures, which combine with our “fear of being different” to squelch creative thinking. Torrance’s fourth-grade slump, and his kindergarten and seventh-grade slumps , are due to conformity pressures and expectations.

Regarding dynamics, we simply do not like to be different, make mistakes, be wrong, look stupid, or “ask too many questions.” Traditional expectations and stereotypes of females persist.

A traditional belief in reason and logic can repress fantasy and innovation . Excessive cooperation-fitting in-or competition can stifle creativity. Van Gundy described such social/ political barriers as attitudes of secrecy, dis-

like for creative types, and protecting the status quo. The most problematic cultural block is the culture itself, particularly in the re-

pressed roles of females, along with traditions, beliefs, authoritarianism, and con- formity that are inconsistent with creative personalities and creative productivity . One suggestion was to be creative, but within the traditional value system.

Emotional blocks may be temporary states or more chronic insecurities and fears, particularly fear of failure, ridicule, being different, or taking risks.

One can take a creative problem solving approach to emotional blocks. Resource barriers are shortages of people, money, supplies, time, or information . Von Oech’s Whack on the Side of the Head approach to increasing creativity

amounted to unlocking ten mental blocks: The Right Answer; That’s Not Logical; Follow the Rules; Be Practical; Avoid Ambiguity; To Err Is Wrong; Play Is Frivo- lous; That’s Not My Area; Don’t Be Foolish; and I’m Not Creative.

Our list of idea squelchers affords an excellent list of suggestions for nipping creativity in its bud.

As a general principle, as one proceeds down the yellow brick road of life, there is a time to conform and a time to be creative.

Solutions to Puzzles:

1. Time flies? You cannot, they fly too fast. 2. The other four wrestlers were women. 3. Try removing S-1-X L-E-T-T-E-R-S.