Abstract
This article gives a condensed overview of important findings, methods, and theories related to scientific creativity. The topics discussed are grouped into the fourfold classification of the creative product, the creative person, the creative process, and the creative situation. Methods for evaluating the impact and creativeness of the creative product are citation analysis and rating inventories. The section in the creative person presents findings on the presonality of creative scientists and research productivity across the life span. The section on the creative process revies a stage theory of the creative act. Remarks on the creative situation include of summary of factors conducive to creative achievement and a discussion of the problem of multiple discoveries. In one of two additional sections, a comprehensive theory of scientific creativity-simonton's chance configuration theory—is reviewd. The second additional section presents recommendations for further research on scientific creativity.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abra, J. (1988).Assaulting Parnasus. Theoretical Views of Creativity. University Press of America, Lanham, MD
Albert, R. S. (ed.) (1992).Genius and Eminence. The Social Psychology of Creativity and Exceptional Achievement, Pergamon Press, London, England.
Bailin, S. (1990). Societal creativity: Problems with pathology.Creativity Research J. 3: 100–103.
Bentler, P. M. (1992). On the fit of models to covraiances and methodology in the Bulletin.Psychol. Bull. 112: 400–404.
Besemer, S., and O'Quinn, K. (1986). Analyzing creative products: Refinement and test of a judging instrument.J. creat. Behav. 20: 115–126.
Besemer, S., and Treffinger, D. J. (1981). Analysis of creative products: Review and synthesis.J. Creat. Behav. 15: 158–178.
Birren, J. E. (1990). Creativity, productivity, and potentials of the snior scholar. Special issue: Exploring the feasibility of an Institute of Senior Scholar.Gerontol. Geriat. 11: 27–44.
Busse, T. V., and Mansfield, R. S. (1980). Theories of the creative process: A review and perspective.J. Creat. Behav. 14: 91–103, 132.
Busse, T. V., and Mansfield, R. S. (1984). Selected personality traits and achievement in male scientists.J. Psychol. 116: 117–131.
Callahan, C. M. (1991). The assessment of creativity. In Colangelo, N., and Davis, G. A. (eds.),Handbook of Gifted Education, Ally and Bacon, Boston, MA, pp. 219–235.
Cattell, J. M. (1903). A statistical study of the eminent men.Popul. Sci. Month. 6: 359–377.
Cattell, R. B., and Drevdahl, J. E. (1955). A comparison of the personality profile (16 P. F.) of eminent researchers with that of eminent teachers and administrators, and of the general population.Brit. J. Psychol. 44: 248–261.
Cole, J. R. (1981). Women in science.Am. Sci. 69: 385–391.
Dennis, W. (1955). Variations in productivity among creative workers.Sci. Month. 80: 277–278.
Eichenberger, R. J. (1972). The Development and Validation of a Judging Instrument to Evaluate Creative Products in Physics, Doctoral Dissertation, University of Northern Colorado.Diss. Abstr. Int 33: 61096A.
Ellis, H. (1904).A Study of British Genius, Hurst and Blackwell, London.
Endler, N. S. (1978). Beyond citation counts: Developing research profiles.Can. Psychol. Rev. 20: 12–21.
Endler, N. S. (1987). The scholarly impact of psychologists. In Jackson, D. N., and Rushton, J. P. (eds.),Scientific Excellence. Origins and Assessment, Sage, Newbury Park, CA, pp. 165–191.
Endler, N. S., Rushton, J. P., and Roediger, H. L. (1978). Productivity and scholarly impact (citations) of British, Canadian, and U. S. department of psychology.Am. Psychol. 33: 1064–1082.
Feldman, D. H. (1990). Four frames for the study of creativity.Creat. Res. J. 3: 104–111.
Findlay, C. S., and Lumsden, C. J. (1988). The creative mind: Toward an evolutional theory of discovery and innovation (with commentaries and response).J. Soc. Biol. Struct. 11: 1–189.
Garfield, E. (1975). Highly cited articles: 19. Human psychology and behavior.Curr. Cont., Life Sci. 18: 5–9.
Garfield, E. (1987). Mapping the world of science: Is citation analysis a legitimate evaluation tool? In Jackson, D. N. and Rushton, J. P. (eds.),Scientific Excellence. Origins and Assessment, Sage, Newbury Park, CA, pp. 18–37.
Gordon, R. A., and Vicari, P. J. (1993). Eminence in social psychology: A comparison of textbook citation, Social Sciences Citation Index, and research productivity rankings.Person. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 18: 26–38.
Hany, E. A. (1993). Kreativitätstraining: Positionen, Probleme, Perspektiven [Creativity training: Positions, problems, perspectives]. In Klauer, K. J. (ed.),Kognitives Training [Cognitive Training], Göttingen, Germany, Hogrefe, pp. 189–216.
Hausman, C. R. (1990). The origin of creative achievement: Spontaneity, responsibility, and individuals.Creat. Res. J., 3: 112–117.
Hocevar, D., and Bachelor, P. (1989). A taxonomy and critique of measurements used in the study of creativity. In Glover, J. A. Ronning, R. R., and Reynolds, C. R. (eds.),Handbook of Creativity, Plenum Press, New York, pp. 53–75.
Howard, G. S., and Curtin, T. D. (1993). Individual productivity and impact in counseling psychology.Counsel. Psychol. 21, 288–302.
Isaksen, S. G. (1987). Introduction: An orientation to the frontiers of creativity research. In Isaksen, S. G. (ed.),Frontiers of Creativity Research, Bearly Limited, Buffalo, NY, pp. 1–26.
Jackson, D. N. and Rushton, J. P. (eds.) (1987).Scientific Excellence. Origins and Assessment, Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
Juda, A. (1949). The relationship between highest mental capacity and psychic abnormalities.Am. J. Psychiat. 106: 296–307.
Kirton, M. J. (1987). Adaptors and innovators: Cognitive style and personality. In Isaksen (ed.),Frontiers of Creativity Research, Bearly Ltd, Buffalo, NY, pp. 255–281.
Kroner, R. (1921).von Kant bis Hegel [From Kant to Hegel], Mohr, Tübingen, Germany.
Kuhn, T. S. (1970).The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (2nd Ed.), University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL.
Lamb, D., and Easton, S. M. (1984).Multiple Discovery, Avebury, Trowbridge, England.
Lehman, H. C. (1953).Age and Achievement, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
MacKinnon, D. W. (1987). Some critical issues for further research in creativity. In Isaksen, S. G. (ed.),Frontiers of Creativity Research, Bearly Ltd., Buffalo, NY, pp. 120–130.
Mansfield, R. S. and Busse, T. V. (1981).The Psychology of Creativity and Discovery, Nelson-Hall, Chicago. IL.
Martindale, C. (1990). Innovation, illegitimacy, and individualism.Creat. Res. J. 3: 118–124.
Merton, R. K. (1961). Singletons and multiples in scientific discovery: A chapter on the sociology of science.Proc. Am. Phil. Soc. 105: 470–486.
Michael, W. B., and Wright, C. R. (1989). Psychometric issues in the assessment of creativity. In Glover, J. A., Ronning, R. R., and Reynolds, C. R. (eds.),Handbook of Creativity, Plenum Press, New York, NY, pp. 33–52.
Ochse, R. (1990).Before the Gates of Excellence. The Determination of Creative Genuis, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.
O'Quinn, K., and Besemer, S. (1989). The development, reliability, and validity of the revised Creative Product Semantic Scale.Creat. Res. J. 2: 267–278.
Rhodes, M. (1961). An analysis of creativity.Phi Delta Kappan 42: 305–310.
Richards, R. L. (1981). Relationships between creativity and psychopathology: An evaluation and interpretation of the evidence.Genet. Psychol. Monogr. 103: 261–324.
Rubenson, D. L. (1990). The accidental economist.Creat. Res. J. 3: 125–129.
Runco, M. A., and Bahleda, M. D. (1986). Implicit theories of artistic, scientific, and everyday creativity.J. Creat. Behav. 20: 93–98.
Rushton, J. P. (1990). Creativity, intelligence, and psychoticism.Person. Indiv. Diff. 11: 1291–1298.
Rushton, J. P., Murray, H. G., and Paunonen, S. V. (1987). Personality characteristics associated with high research productivity. In Jackson, D. N., and Rushton, J. P. (eds.),Scientific Excellence. Origins and Assessment, Sage, Newbury Park, CA, pp. 129–148.
Schmookler, J. (1966).Invention and Economic Growth, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Simonton, D. K. (1976). Do Sorokin's data support his theory? A study of generational fluctuations in philosophical beliefs.J. Sci. Study Rel. 15: 187–198.
Simonton, D. K. (1984a).Genius, Creativity, and Leadership: Historiometric Inquiries, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Simonton, D. K. (1984b). Creative productivity and age: A mathematical model based on a two-step cognitive process.Devel. Rev. 4: 77–111.
Simonton, D. K. (1986). Multiple discoveries: Some Monte Carlo simulations and Gedanken experiments.Scientometrics 9: 127–137.
Simonton, D. K. (1987). Multiples, chance, genius, and Zeitgeist. In Jackson, D. N., and Rushton, J. P. (eds.),Scientific Excellence. Origins and Assessment, Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
Simonton, D. K. (1988).Scientific Genius. A Psychology of Science. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Simonton, D. K. (1990). Political pathology and societal creativity.Creat. Res. J. 3: 85–99.
Stahira, W. E., and Walberg, H. J. (1990). Psychological mediators of the inverse pathology-creativity effect.Creat. Res. J. 3: 130–133.
Stein, M. I. (1990). Anabolic and catabolic factors in the creative process.Creat. Res. J. 3: 134–145.
Sternberg, R. J. (1985). Implicit theories of intelligence, creativity, and wisdom.J. Person. Soc. Psychol. 49: 607–627.
Taylor, C. W. (1987). A high-tech high-touch concept of creativity-with its complexity made simple for wide adoptability. In Isaksen, S. G. (ed.),Frontiers of Creativity Research, Bearly Ltd., Buffalo, NY, pp. 131–155.
Taylor, I. A., and Sandler, B. J. (1972). Use of a creative product inventory for evaluating products of chemists.Proc. 80th Annu. Conv. Am. Psychol. Assoc. 7: 311–312.
Taylor, C. W., Smith, W. R., and Ghiselin, B. (1963). The creative and other contributions of one sample of research scientists: The inadequacy of undergraduate grade as a substitute criteria for on-the-job research performance. In Taylor, C. W. (ed.),Scientific Creativity: Its Recognition and Development, Wiley, New York, pp. 72–75.
Torrance, E. P. (1962).Guiding Creative Talent, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
Treffinger, D. J. (1987). Research on creativity assessment. In Isaksen, S. G. (ed.),Frontiers of Creativity Research, Bearly Ltd., buffalo, NY, pp. 103–119.
Vernon, P. E. (1987). Historical overview of research on scientific abilities. In Jackson, D. N. and Rushton, J. P. (eds.),Scientific Excellence. Origins and Assessment, Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
Yaroshevskii, M. G. (1987). The psychology of creativity and creativity in psychology.Sov. Psychol. 25: 22–44.
Yuasa, M. (1974). The shifting center of scientific activity in the west: From the 16th to the 20th century. In Shigeru, N., Swain, D. L., and Eri, Y. (eds.),Science and Society in Modern Japan, Tokyo University Press, Tokyo, pp. 81–103.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stumpf, H. Scientific creativity: A short overview. Educ Psychol Rev 7, 225–241 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02213372
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02213372