Sternberg & Lubart - Defying the Crowd
Sternberg, J., & Lubart, T. I. (1995). Defying the Crowd: Cultivating Creativity in a Culture of Conformity. New York: Free Press. ISBN: 0029314755
In this well-known book, the authors present an account of the creative process from the inception of the idea to its ultimate success. They claim that creative individuals have the foresight and determination to consistently develop ideas that may be unfashionable or misunderstood at first but gain currency over time as the public begins to understand the significance of their ideas. In their view, creative people manage to intuitively predict which ideas and products will gain popularity despite initial resistance.
The authors have developed what is known as the ‘investment theory’ of creativity, called like that because their claim is that the key to being creative is to buy low and sell high in the world of ideas. In individual chapters, they provide accounts of six personal creative resources, which include: intelligence, knowledge, thinking style, personality, motivation, and the environmental context.
While these resources are differently configured in different cases, the authors claim that creativity, just like intelligence, is something that everyone has. They also argue that creativity can be developed and suggest the paths one needs to take to become more creative. This is important because, according to the authors, creative persons with original ideas advance and improve socioeconomic environments to the benefit of all.
Such persons therefore need and deserve social and institutional support. Unfortunately, commercial, educational, and political institutions nowadays make great overtures to creativity but are seldom truly able to integrate it. That is why the authors insist that institutions should learn to foster creativity.
Sternberg & Lubart “Defying the Crowd: Cultivating Creativity in a Culture of Conformity”