Psychology - Spring 1998

During the past 20 years, personality and developmental psychologists have been trying to identify the processes by which some individuals manage to survive or escape from conditions which have put them at risk for psychological or physical harm. Those who survive, escape, or "bounce back" from such conditions are often referred to as "resilient" individuals. Why and how are some people able to bounce back resiliently when others are unable to do so?

For example, how and why is it that some children and adolescents survive parental abuse, seriously dysfunctional families, terrible schools, drug-invested neighborhoods, tremendous economic deprivation, moves to new countries in which they do not know the language or customs, serious childhood diseases, major accidents, or mental or physical handicaps to become healthy, well-functioning people, whereas many others do not survive or bounce back so well?

How and why is it that some adults are able to deal relatively successfully with personal tragedies, life-wrenching divorces, serious chronic diseases, or major personal handicaps, whereas others are sent into downward spirals once having been dealt these "bad hands" by life?

What are the PROCESSES by which some at-risk individuals manage to escape, survive, or bounce back from bad situations in relatively healthy condition?

What are the PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS of these "resilient" children, adolescents, and adults? Do the personal characteristics of resilient individuals give us any clues about how at-risk individuals who lack these characteristics could be helped?

What are the RESOURCES AND AGENCIES IN THE ENVIRONMENT (e.g., in the family, schools, community, and culture) that often play crucial roles in protecting at-risk individuals or in helping them to escape or bounce back from potentially harmful situations?

We will begin the quarter by discussing a few basic readings about resiliency. We will then move on to focus on aspects and forms of resilience which are of particular interest to seminar members who will provide us with recommended readings and will lead us in discussion about these special topics. Students with overlapping interests will be encouraged to work together in gathering relevant readings and in leading seminar discussions about the forms and aspects of resilience which they find particularly interesting or important.

This is NOT a lecture course. It is a SEMINAR in which every student is expected to share responsibility for the intellectual and interpersonal health of the seminar. Every student will be expected to contribute to every seminar discussion and to lead at least one seminar discussion.

Previous seminar experience is not required, but a willingness to plunge whole-heartedly into the seminar process (and learn how to do a seminar) is.

A final paper (8-10 pages) and oral report will be required. The exact details of the final paper and oral report will be worked out once we see how many of us there are in the seminar.

Enrollment is limited to 30, with pre-requisites being Psychology 3, 10, and 60.

STUDENTS WHO WANT A LECTURE COURSE SHOULD NOT SIGN UP FOR THIS SEMINAR!!

Students who do not like to talk in seminars or who aren't willing to learn how to talk in a seminar should not sign up.

Students who find the topic interesting and who are willing to read the material and play active roles in the seminar are encouraged to come check out this seminar and to alert other potentially interested students to the seminar's existence.

I hope to attract a group of students who are genuinely interested in this topic and who are excited by the prospect of using a seminar format to teach themselves, one another, and me something about the personal and environmental factors which help people survive pathogenic, disadvantaged, and extremely stressful conditions relatively well.

The course will be in a seminar format, with an oral presentation to the class and a written paper as the principal products.

April 29

• Nancy Armstrong; Human-pet relationships

May 1

• Devon Dawson; Origin of bipedalism
• Nhung Dinh; Adaptive response to the environment

May 6

• Heather Mcluskey; Learning, development and culture
• Elizabeth Garnett; Brain and cognitive abilities

May 8

• Katrina Garcia; Child development and the environment
• Naima Contos; Learning and children: development

May 20

• Renato Reina; Evolution of music and art
• Galen Davis; Sound and music

May 22

• Bryan Wahrus; From animism to monotheism
• Corinne Crabtree; Can religion and evolutionary theory coexist

May 27 - Exchange day -- no class

May 29

• Karen Close; Religion as a universal

June 3

• Mariaelena Rivera; Evolution of relationships & emotions
• Kyle Brooks; Sexual attraction and adaptations of humans

June 5

• Katherine Stephenson; Rape
• Everybody; Wrapup

This is a course about the nature and nurture of human creativity. It is a course intended for psychology majors interested in the topic as well as for interested students in fields other than psychology who believe they might benefit from the course. (Non-psychology students should see the special note for them later in this document.)

Because creativity occurs in nearly every domain of human activity, we will discuss creativity in the arts and sciences, in technology and engineering, in business and education, and in a variety of other fields. We will also examine creativity ranging from that which occurs in everyday life to that involved in the highest levels of human achievement.

In general, we will study creative people, creative processes, and the conditions under which creativity tends to flourish.

More specifically, we will study:

• the personal characteristics, motives, lives anddevelopmental histories of unusually creative people.
• the conscious and non-conscious cognitive processes which seem to be involved in creativity.
• the social and cultural processes involved in creativity.
• the psychological, social, cultural, economic, educational and physical factors that tend to foster or inhibit creativity.

Though this is not designed to be a "How To Be Creative" course (we will be studying more theory and will be paying more attention to how psychologists study creativity than a purely practical course would involve), I will be strongly encouraging students to draw whatever useful lessons they can from the material we will be examining. For example, students will be permitted to write their 6-page final papers in the form of a letter to themselves in which they give themselves advice about how to enhance their own creativity based on what they have learned in the course. (Students will also be permitted to write about any number of other topics in their final papers, of course.)

Creative men and women in many fields have attempted to describe their own creative processes, their motives for being creative, and the conditions under which they believe they function most creatively. We will therefore read and pay respectful attention to the insights about creativity provided by these obviously creative people.

We will also read and discuss material written by psychologists and philosophers who have been studying and formulating theories about creativity for hundreds of years.

Because human creativity is a large and complex topic, the course involves substantial reading. Students will read excerpts from B. Ghiselin's "The Creative Process" which contains descriptions of creative processes by 38 highly creative men and women. Students will also read Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own", an excellent discussion of the social and economic contexts of intellectual liberation. Class Readers specially assembled for the course will also be assigned. Though the reading is substantial, students typically report that it is interesting and rewarding.

Students will take a mid-term and final exam for which very helpful study-guides will be provided.

Students will write a 6-page term paper on a topic of interest.

If enough students enroll in the course, there will be voluntary discussion sections led by a graduate TA.

I often like to lecture for part of the period and then move into a period of more open class discussion. I also like to liven things up with interesting videos and films.

Most students who have taken this course in the past have evaluated it very positively.

I am personally fascinated by human creativity and have been reading, thinking and writing about the topic for many years. For the past ten years I have also been studying large numbers of California high school students who are creatively involved in animation, creative writing, dance, film-and-video making, music, theatre arts, and the visual arts. Some of the findings emerging from that study will almost surely find their way into this course.

In summary: If you are interested in human creativity and are open to looking at it from several perspectives (and perhaps having some of your preconceptions about creativity challenged or changed), I encourage you to check out this course.

Students in fields other than psychology who have strong interests in creativity but who have not taken the prerequisites are encouraged to contact David Harrington (harring@cats) about the possibility of having the prerequisites waived so they can take the course, space permitting. I enjoy having students from fields other than psychology participating in, contributing to, and benefitting from this course. I also enjoy having re-entry students take this course so that they can enrich our class discussions with their real-world experiences.

(For those of you wanting even more detail)

We will probably address many of the following specific questions during the course:

• What do psychologists mean by the term "creativity"?
• What cognitive processes are involved in creativity?
• Can we measure creativity or creative abilities?
• Can creativity be stimulated and, if so, how? Can creative thinking be taught?
• What motivational processes are involved in creativity?
• What social processes are often involved in creativity?
• What role, if any, do audiences play in creativity?
• Can groups be creative? Do they face special problems or special advantages compared to individuals?
• What personality processes and characteristics are involved in creativity?
• Is there a relationship between creativity and mental illness?
• What physical, social, and cultural factors tend to foster or inhibit creativity?
• What are the educational implications of what we think we know about creativity?
• What child-rearing practices and developmental histories seem to predispose people to behave creatively?
• Do women and ethnic minorities face any special obstacles to using their creative talents and energies?
• Do men face any special obstacles in being creative?
• What kind of conditions, settings or environments do creatively effective people construct or seek out in order to foster their own creativity?
• And, in general, what potentially useful lessons can we draw from what we believe we know about human creativity?

Aiken, L. R. (1997). Psychological testing and assessment. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

two copies on reserve at McHenry Library

• Consistent attendance in lecture and discussion section.
• Prompt completion of all projects. Work that is late or incomplete will not be accepted.
• Two short essay exams.
• Final exam
• Term paper:
  • Construction and evaluation of a new means of assessment, approx. 10-12 pp. long.

Revised 7/15/04.