HOW PRESSURE TO CONFORM CAN INSPIRE CREATVITY

Admittedly, that sounds like an oxymoron; creative thinking and conformity are usually considered mutually exclusive. But newly published research finds a specific sort of arm twisting can help people who aren’t terribly innovative increase their creative output.

The key is encouraging people to think independently, within the confines of a group project.

“In groups composed of less-creative personalities, pressure to be individualistic stimulated more creativity than pressure to be collectivistic,” the researchers report. In other words, the creatively timid responded to the think-for-yourself directive and came up with more innovative ideas. In the researchers’ words, strongly encouraging independent thinking “within the safe confines of a relatively structured environment” was the catalyst for a certain amount of creative blossoming. Importantly, this pressure did not boost creativity in the groups composed of very creative personalities. The researchers note that “highly creative people, by their very nature, attempt to stand out and assert their uniqueness.”

Not surprisingly, these natural innovators didn’t respond to the “heavy-handed techniques” employed here. They are “the lucky few whose creative talent requires no intervention.” In the researchers’ view, these results suggest that “proven creative talent” should be given “the autonomy to decide for themselves how they behave.” But people who don’t conceive of themselves as creative can benefit from a managerial directive that tells them independent thinking isn’t only acceptable — it’s company policy.

The practice of art is not so much about the finished product, but rather about learning to see or hear things differently.

COMFORMITY IN THE PAST AND PRESENT

In the days of the Caveman, conformity may have been of survival value when interacting with other tribes. By acting as the group did, the individual may be seen in a better light and therefore be accepted by the group, bringing benefits such as protection, food, and companionship. It is seen even in today’s world that we generally get along better with people similar to ourselves, conformity can give this illusion that we are more like others as we do as they doand reap the benefits.

It is most likely group norms which have formed the laws we abide by today in fact. Back to thousands of years again where the cavemen congregated in their groups, they would have had group norms similar to some of the laws we have today such as not to kill someone else and not to steal. Therefore, conformity may have contributed to the law and order we have in the world today.

USEFUL IN UNFAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS: Dance class: mimicking the people around you and move like them to avoid embarrassment