Career landmarks in science: Individual differences and interdisciplinary contrasts.

Simonton, Dean Keith

doi:10.1037/0012-1649.27.1.119

Cited by 170 publications

(188 citation statements)

References 47 publications

(89 reference statements)

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“…These two relations suggest that the most prolific and acclaimed composers required less time to attain the mastery necessary for creative achievement. Comparable results have been found for other domains of creativity (Cox, 1926;Raskin, 1936), including the sciences (e.g., Roe, 1952;Simonton, 1991aSimonton, , 1992Zuckerman, 1977). Major creators appear to require domain-relevant expertise less time than average.…”

Section: Empirical Problems With the Creative-expertise Hypothesissupporting

confidence: 49%

Creative Development as Acquired Expertise: Theoretical Issues and an Empirical Test

Simonton

2000

Developmental Review

160

130

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Although outstanding creativity has been viewed as an acquired expertise, creative development might operate differently than occurs in sports, games, and music performance. To test the creative-expertise hypothesis, the careers of 59 classical composers were examined according to the differential aesthetic success of their 911 operas. The potential predictors were seven measures of domain-relevant experience: cumulative years (since first operas, first compositions, and first lessons) and cumulative products (genre-specific operas, all operas, all vocal compositions, and all compositions). The nonmonotonic longitudinal trends and the relative explanatory power of the expertise-acquisition measures indicate that complex specialization (''overtraining'') and versatility (''cross-training'') effects may determine creative development across the life span. The broader implications of the findings are then discussed.

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Section: Empirical Problems With the Creative-expertise Hypothesissupporting

confidence: 49%

Creative Development as Acquired Expertise: Theoretical Issues and an Empirical Test

Simonton

2000

Developmental Review

160

130

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“…First, existing work-dating from the 19th century and spanning multiple disciplines-has emphasized differences in when creativity peaks across various fields, assuming that each field shows a fixed age-creativity pattern (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8). In contrast, this article shows that such cross-field age differences are small compared with cross-time differences within fields.…”

contrasting

confidence: 39%

Age dynamics in scientific creativity

Jones

Weinberg

2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

233

135

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Data on Nobel Laureates show that the age-creativity relationship varies substantially more over time than across fields. The age dynamics within fields closely mirror field-specific shifts in (i) training patterns and (ii) the prevalence of theoretical contributions. These dynamics are especially pronounced in physics and coincide with the emergence of quantum mechanics. Taken together, these findings show fundamental shifts in the life cycle of research productivity, inform theories of the age-creativity relationship, and provide observable predictors for the age at which great achievements are made.innovation | history of science | scientific revolutions A t what age do scientists tend to produce great ideas? Focusing on great scientific achievements of the 20th century, this article shows that the age-creativity relationship demonstrates much greater variation over time than across fields. Moreover, field-specific dynamics in the age-creativity relationship are closely associated with variation in other field-specific characteristics, including the prevalence of theoretical contributions, educational duration, and citation patterns. These dynamics were especially pronounced in physics during the 1920s and 1930s, when quantum mechanics was developing. Thus, although the iconic image of the young, great mind making critical breakthroughs was a good description of physics at that time, it turns out to be a poor descriptor of age-creativity patterns more generally or even of physics today, where the mean age of Nobel Prize winning achievements since 1980 is 48 y.This article makes two contributions to research on the agecreativity relationship. First, existing work-dating from the 19th century and spanning multiple disciplines-has emphasized differences in when creativity peaks across various fields, assuming that each field shows a fixed age-creativity pattern (1-8). In contrast, this article shows that such cross-field age differences are small compared with cross-time differences within fields. Moreover, the field-specific dynamics are large enough that the traditional rank ordering of fields by the age at which breakthrough contributions are made is unstable. Second, this article shows that these age dynamics are closely associated with several observable metrics. This analysis draws together two strands of work on the age-creativity relationship, which have only been studied separately in prior work, including our own: (i) how the training requirements related to acquiring foundational knowledge may explain the age at which scientific careers begin (9, 10), and (ii) the distinction between conceptual and experimental work in explaining creative peaks across the life cycle (11, 12). Although we do not identify causal mechanisms, we show that measures drawn from this prior work, in addition to a measure of foundational knowledge based on backward citation ages, all move in a striking and intuitive way with shifts in the tendency for scientific contributions by the young. These collective dynamics are especial...

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“…Simonton (1988Simonton ( , 1991 examined the creativity of scientists and artists and developed a model of creative lifetime achievement (Simonton, 1997). However, Simonton focused on extraordinary creativity and outstanding achievements.…”

Section: Job Resources and Creativitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Age and creativity at work

Binnewies

Ohly²,

Niessen

2008

Journal of Managerial Psychology

139

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Purpose -The purspose of this study is to examine the interplay between job resources (job control and support for creativity from coworkers and supervisors), age and creativity at work. Job control and support for creativity are assumed to benefit idea creativity and to moderate the relationship between age and idea creativity. Design/methodology/approach -A sample of 117 nurses completed questionnaire measures and reported a creative idea they recently had at work. Three subject matter experts rated the creativity of the ideas. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to test hypotheses. Findings -Job control and support for creativity as well as age were unrelated to idea creativity. However, job control and support for creativity moderated the relationship between age and idea creativity. Age was positively related to idea creativity under high job control and negatively related to idea creativity under low job control and low support for creativity. Research limitations/implications -A potentially selective sample due to systematic drop-outs and a selection effect of older nurses might limit the generalizability of our results. Future research should examine the mechanisms that explain the moderating effect of job resources in the relationship between age and performance. Practical implications -Older employees' creativity at work can be raised by fostering support for creativity from coworkers and supervisors. Younger employees should get support to deal with a high level of job control, because their creativity is lowest under a high level of job control. Originality/value -Using data from multiple sources the study shows that different constellations of job resources benefit older and younger employees' creativity at work.

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Career landmarks in science: Individual differences and interdisciplinary contrasts.

Cited by 170 publications

References 47 publications

Creative Development as Acquired Expertise: Theoretical Issues and an Empirical Test

Creative Development as Acquired Expertise: Theoretical Issues and an Empirical Test

Age dynamics in scientific creativity

Age and creativity at work

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