Creativity: resource or risk?
Abstract
The main objective of this work is to review some of the present perspectives and outstanding contributions that examine the relationship between creativity, psychopathology and psychological well-being. We know that creativity is a psychological process, which involves and integrates cognitive, volitional and emotional aspects of human behavior. In addition, creativity is associated with a greater flow of ideas, cognitive flexibility, ability to solve problems and originality (Guilford, 1956, 1968; Torrance, 1966), all qualities that lead to think of a better quality of life. Many of the humanist psychologists and others from the psychoanalytic stream stress that creativity is an element linked to sublimation, play, symbolic thought, transcendence and self-realization (Maslow, Rogers, Winnicott, Frankl, Freud, among others). However, many empirical studies show that highly creative individuals are more vulnerable to mental disorders, especially in the spectrum of mood disorders. Some current studies attempt to clarify the issue of creativity and psychopathology, taking into account different perspectives, which may explain the possible links between these two conceptual entities. The perspectives or contributions, which are considered in the present article to address this problem, are: (a) the historical-social perspective, (b) the contributions of psychometric studies and cognitive psychology, in relation to personality traits and cognitive styles, (c) the “systemic” perspective or contributions from fractal geometry, and (d) the contributions from positive psychology.
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