Recent research suggests that
creativity in young Americans is
declining, even as their intelligence (as
measured by IQ tests) continues to
rise. However, a new study from the
University of Washington Information
School and Harvard University
demonstrates that the dynamics of
creativity are more complex than
initially believed. Through intensive
assessments of two decades’ worth of
student creative writing and visual art
projects, researchers have found that
while some aspects of creativity, such
as those that contribute to crafting
nuanced pieces of writing, are indeed
declining, others, including those that
impact the production of visual art,
are on the rise.
Katie Davis, an assistant professor in
UW’s Information School, and fellow
researchers studied 354 published
examples of visual art from a
monthly magazine for teens, along
with 50 examples of creative writing
that appeared in a similar annual
publication of student fiction. All of
the pieces were published between
1990 and 2011. The researchers
analyzed and coded the works with a
focus on style, content and form.
The review of student writing
showed the teen authors adhering
to increasingly conventional writing
practices and demonstrated a
trend toward less play with genre,
more mundane narratives and
simpler language over the two
decades studied.
6 Coaching World
Although these findings have
the potential to change the way
we think about creativity, Davis
cautioned against taking an
oversimplified view of these trends.
“There really isn’t a standard
set of agreed-upon criteria to
measure something as complex
and subjective as creativity,” she
explained. “But there are markers
of creativity—like complexity and
risk-taking and breaking away from
the standard mold—that appear to
have changed.”
Because this research was
conducted in a naturalistic setting,
versus a laboratory, Davis noted
that her team ceded a degree of
control over the characteristics
of the sample being studied. As
a result, she said, the findings
cannot be safely generalized to all
American youth.
“It remains an open question as to
whether the entire U.S. has seen
a decline in literary creativity and
parallel increase in visual creativity
among its youth over the last 20
years,” Davis said. “Because society
… depends on the creativity of its
citizens to flourish, this is a question
that warrants serious attention in
future creativity research.”
The researchers’ findings were
published in the January 2014
“Creativity Research Journal.” The
article’s lead author, Emily Weinstein,
is a doctoral student in the Harvard
Graduate Sch