Creativity is Always a Social Process

Abstract

The article explores the social essence of creativity. Two studies where interactions with others shape the development of creative processes are presented; first, theoretical perspectives on creativity as social process are discussed. The first study analyzes social aspects of creative processes developed during leisure activities. Men and women (N=150) living in Córdoba (Argentina) were interviewed in the research. The second study is a form of biographical research. The sample includes 22 Argentine personalities prominent in the scientific and artistic fields. As a main result, in the two studies we observed that links with family, teachers, peers, colleagues, mentors, tutors and disciples shape the possibilities of developing everyday creativity as well as Big-C creativity. Finally, considerations and suggestions for future research on creativity as a social process are presented. Creativity emerges from dialogues, interactions and practices with others. It is not a solitary process: it involves languages, knowledge and actions that are socially constructed.

Women’s Everyday Creative Activities: a Qualitative Study

“…People constantly solve daily problems in a novel way and create original products. We recognize that creativity is always a social process that includes other people (Elisondo, 2016) and that it develops in permanent interaction with a broader cultural context, in which languages, practices and meanings are shared (Glaveanu, 2013).…”

“…In this category we were interested in analyzing the contexts and interactions that people build during everyday creative processes. The construction of this category is based on data and theoretical considerations that emphasize the socio-cultural nature of the creative processes (Elisondo, 2016;Glaveanu, 2013Glaveanu, , 2014Glaveanu, , 2018.…”

“…In this sense, creativity is a social process that involves others, even if creation is solitary. In another publication we have stressed that creativity is always a social process where the creator interacts with others directly or indirectly (Elisondo, 2016). Modrzejewska-Świgulska, (2018) points out that creative work is usually associated with the final result or the genius of the creator.…”

Todos podemos ser creativos. Aportes a la educación

“…Entendemos que la creatividad es siempre un proceso social que incluye a otras personas (Elisondo, 2016) y que se desarrolla en interacción permanente con un contexto cultural más amplio, en el que se comparten prácticas y significados (Glaveanu, 2014;. Nuestro estudio reconoce interacciones complejas entre personas, procesos, productos y entornos en el despliegue de la creatividad.…”

Demystifying Creativity: An Assemblage Perspective Towards Artistic Creativity

“…An important step was made by Glăveanu (2010) by introducing the cultural psychological paradigm that focuses on sociocultural dynamics of creative acts and builds his argument on a framework which incorporates three key elements: self, community, new and existing artefacts. This sociocultural perspective on creativity was also undertaken by Romina Cecilia Elisondo (2016) who argues that the creative ideas are the outcome of the interactions with other people and are culturally constructed and reconstructed through knowledge and producers. Situating creativity in the sociocultural perspective represents a step forward in understanding creativity not as a result or characteristic of an independent individual or the centre of the psychological experience but as a social process that does not exist outside of social relationships.…”