Swimming with ideas: what happens to creativity in the wake of a disaster and the waves of pro-social recovery behaviour that follow?
Abstract
Creativity that is driven by a need for physical or economic survival, which disasters are likely to inspire, raises the question of whether such creativity fits with conventional theories and perspectives of creativity. In this paper we use the opportunity afforded by the 2010–2013 Christchurch, New Zealand earthquakes to follow and assess the creative practices and responses of a number of groups and individuals. We use in-depth interviews to tease out motivations and read these against a range of theoretical propositions about creativity. In particular, we focus on the construct of “elite panic” and the degree to which this appeared to be evident in the Christchurch earthquakes context. Bureaucratic attempts to control or limit creativity were present but they did not produce a completely blanket dampening effect. Certain individuals and groups seemed to be pre-equipped to navigate or ignore potential blocks to creativity. We argue, using Geir Kaufmann’s novelty-creativity matrix and aspects of Teresa Amabile’s and Michael G. Pratt’s revised componential theory of creativity that a special form of disaster creativity does exist.
Article in English.
Pasiplaukiojimas su idėjomis: kas nutinka kūrybiškumui atsitikus nelaimei ir vėliau nuvilnijus atgimusio prosocialinio elgesio bangoms?
Santrauka
Kūrybiškumas, kurio priežastis yra fizinio ar ekonominio išgyvenimo poreikis ir kurį gali inspiruoti nelaimės, iškelia klausimą, ar taip suprantamas kūrybiškumas atitinka jam skirtas konvencines teorijas ir perspektyvas. Šiame straipsnyje atspirties tašku tampa 2010–2013 m. įvykę žemės drebėjimai Kraistčerče (Naujoji Zelandija). Stebime ir vertiname daugelio grupių ir individų kūrybines praktikas ir atsakus. Siekdami išsiaiškinti motyvus ir palyginti juos su daugeliu teorinių teiginių apie kūrybiškumą, naudojame išsamius interviu. Ypač daug dėmesio skiriame „elito panikos“ konceptui ir lygmeniui, ties kuriuo jis iškyla kaip akivaizdus Kraistčerčo žemės drebėjimų kontekste. Biurokratinės pastangos kontroliuoti ar riboti kūrybiškumą nesugebėjo jo visiškai nuslopinti. Tam tikri individai ir grupės, atrodė, buvo pasirengę atitinkama linkme kreipti ar nepaisyti galimų kūrybiškumui iškylančių kliūčių. Remdamiesi Geiro Kaufmanno naujumo ir kūrybiškumo matrica bei Teresos Amabile ir Michaelo G. Pratto pataisyta komponentine kūrybiškumo teorija, tvirtiname, kad yra ypatinga nelaimių sužadinama kūrybiškumo forma.
Reikšminiai žodžiai: Kraistčerčas, kūrybiškumas, nelaimės, žemės drebėjimai, elito panika, atsikūrimas.
Keyword : Christchurch, creativity, disasters, earthquakes, elite panic, resilience
How to Cite
Cameron, T., Montgomery, R., Moore, K., & Stewart, E. (2018). Swimming with ideas: what happens to creativity in the wake of a disaster and the waves of pro-social recovery behaviour that follow?. Creativity Studies, 11(1), 10-23. https://doi.org/10.3846/23450479.2018.1428832
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Ardagh, M. W., Richardson, S. K., Robinson, V., Than, M., Gee, P., Henderson, S., Khodaverdi, L., McKie, J., Robertson, G., Schroeder, Ph. P., & Deely, J. M. (2012). The initial health-system response to the Earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, in February, 2011. The Lancet, 379(9831), 2109-2115. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60313-4
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Clarke, L,. & Chess, C. (2008). Elites and Panic: More to Fear than Fear Itself. Social Forces, 87(2), 993-1014. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0155
Cretney, R., & Bond, S. (2014). “Bouncing Back” to capitalism? Grass-roots autonomous activism in shaping discourses of resilience and transformation following disaster. Resilience: International Policies, Practices and Discourses, 2(1), 18-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/21693293.2013.872449
Cubrinovski, M., Robinson, K., Taylor, M., Hughes, M., & Orense, R. (2012). Lateral spreading and its impacts in urban areas in the 2010–2011 Christchurch Earthquakes. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 55(3), 255-269. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288306.2012.699895
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology, 49(3), 182-185. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012801
Drury, A. C., & Olson, R. S. (1998). Disasters and political unrest: an empirical investigation. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 6(3), 153-161. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5973.00084
Feist, G. J. (1998). A meta-analysis of personality in scientific and artistic creativity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2(4), 290-309. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0204_5
Fritz, Ch. E. (1996). Disasters and mental health: therapeutic principles drawn from disaster studies. Series: Historical and comparative disaster series. Vol. 10. Newark, DE: Disaster Research Center.
Hennessey, B. A., & Amabile, T. M. (2010). Creativity. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 569-598. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100416
Kaufmann, G. (2003). What to measure? A new look at the concept of creativity. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 47(3), 235-251. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313830308604
Kendra, J. M., & Wachtendorf, T. (2003). Elements of resilience after the World Trade Center Disaster: Reconstituting New York City’s Emergency Operations Centre. Disasters, 27(1), 37-53. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7717.00218
Killick, D. (2015). Innovative buildings part of quiet revolution. Retrieved from https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/70414017/innovative-buildings-part-of-quiet-revolution
Lee, A. V., Vargo, J., & Seville, E. (2013). Developing a tool to measure and compare organizations’ resilience. Natural Hazards Review, 14(1), 29-41. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000075
Mamula-Seadon, L., Selway, K., & Paton, D. (2012). Exploring resilience: learning from Christchurch communities. Tephra, 23, 5-7.
Masten, A. S., & Powell, J. L. (2003). A resilience framework for research, policy, and practice. In S. S. Luthar (Ed.), Resilience and vulnerability: Adaptation in the context of childhood adversities (pp. 1–25). https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511615788.003
Metzl, E. S. (2007). Exploration of creativity and resiliency in survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Florida State University Libraries: Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations. Retrieved from http://www.google.lt/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwjs9_fegs7YAhXCDpoKHdRVDnAQFggrMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffsu.digital.flvc.org%2Fislandora%2Fobject%2Ffsu%3A180660%2Fdatastream%2FPDF%2Fdownload%2Fcitation.pdf&usg=AOvVaw24no6ChZTpzDEiPcn7Fx8L
Metzl, E. S. (2009). The role of creative thinking in resilience after Hurricane Katrina. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 3(2), 112-123. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013479
Metzl, E. S., & Morrell, M. A. (2008). The role of creativity in models of resilience: Theoretical exploration and practical applications. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 3(3), 303-318. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401380802385228
Revington, M. (2013). Who is really rebuilding Christchurch?. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/unlimited/8223406/Who-is-really-rebuilding-Christchurch
Runco, M. A., & Jaeger, G. J. (2012). The standard definition of creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 24(1), 92-96. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2012.650092
Solnit, R. (2010). A Paradise Built in Hell: The extraordinary communities that arise in disaster. New York: Penguin Books.
Tierney, K. (2009). Disaster response: research findings and their implications for resilience measures. CARRI Research Report 6. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d2ee/86783be7af7cf2b28d536d226fe6f85ff0c8.pdf
Wright, M. (2016). 2017: When Christchurch finally goes from recovery to rebuild. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/the-rebuild/87880095/2017-when-christchurch-finally-went-from-recovery-to-rebuild
Amabile, T. M. (1996). Creativity in context. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
Amabile, T. M. (2000). A model of creativity and innovation in organizations. In B. M. Staw, & R. I. Sutton (Eds.), Research in organizational behaviour (Vol. 22, pp. 123-167). New York: JAI Press.
Amabile, T. M., & Pillemer, J. (2012). Perspectives on the Social Psychology of Creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 46(1), 3-15. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.001
Amabile, T. M., & Pratt, M. G. (2016). The dynamic componential model of creativity and innovation in organizations: making progress, making meaning. Research in Organizational Behavior, 36, 157-183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.riob.2016.10.001
Ardagh, M. W., Richardson, S. K., Robinson, V., Than, M., Gee, P., Henderson, S., Khodaverdi, L., McKie, J., Robertson, G., Schroeder, Ph. P., & Deely, J. M. (2012). The initial health-system response to the Earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, in February, 2011. The Lancet, 379(9831), 2109-2115. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60313-4
Bergman, J. (2014). After Earthquakes, a Creative Rebirth in Christchurch. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/06/travel/after-earthquakes-a-creative-rebirth-in-christchurch.html
Briskman, L. (1980). Creative product and creative process in science and art. Inquiry: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Philosophy, 23(1), 83-106. https://doi.org/10.1080/00201748008601892
Chang, S. E., Taylor, J. E., Elwood, K. J., Seville, E., Brunsdon, D., & Gartner, M. (2014). Urban disaster recovery in Christchurch: The Central Business District Cordon and other critical decisions. Earthquake Spectra: The Professional Journal of the Earthquake Research Institute, 30(1), 513-532. https://doi.org/10.1193/022413EQS050M
Clarke, L,. & Chess, C. (2008). Elites and Panic: More to Fear than Fear Itself. Social Forces, 87(2), 993-1014. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.0.0155
Cretney, R., & Bond, S. (2014). “Bouncing Back” to capitalism? Grass-roots autonomous activism in shaping discourses of resilience and transformation following disaster. Resilience: International Policies, Practices and Discourses, 2(1), 18-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/21693293.2013.872449
Cubrinovski, M., Robinson, K., Taylor, M., Hughes, M., & Orense, R. (2012). Lateral spreading and its impacts in urban areas in the 2010–2011 Christchurch Earthquakes. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics, 55(3), 255-269. https://doi.org/10.1080/00288306.2012.699895
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology, 49(3), 182-185. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0012801
Drury, A. C., & Olson, R. S. (1998). Disasters and political unrest: an empirical investigation. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 6(3), 153-161. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5973.00084
Feist, G. J. (1998). A meta-analysis of personality in scientific and artistic creativity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2(4), 290-309. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0204_5
Fritz, Ch. E. (1996). Disasters and mental health: therapeutic principles drawn from disaster studies. Series: Historical and comparative disaster series. Vol. 10. Newark, DE: Disaster Research Center.
Hennessey, B. A., & Amabile, T. M. (2010). Creativity. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 569-598. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.093008.100416
Kaufmann, G. (2003). What to measure? A new look at the concept of creativity. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 47(3), 235-251. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313830308604
Kendra, J. M., & Wachtendorf, T. (2003). Elements of resilience after the World Trade Center Disaster: Reconstituting New York City’s Emergency Operations Centre. Disasters, 27(1), 37-53. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7717.00218
Killick, D. (2015). Innovative buildings part of quiet revolution. Retrieved from https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/opinion/70414017/innovative-buildings-part-of-quiet-revolution
Lee, A. V., Vargo, J., & Seville, E. (2013). Developing a tool to measure and compare organizations’ resilience. Natural Hazards Review, 14(1), 29-41. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000075
Mamula-Seadon, L., Selway, K., & Paton, D. (2012). Exploring resilience: learning from Christchurch communities. Tephra, 23, 5-7.
Masten, A. S., & Powell, J. L. (2003). A resilience framework for research, policy, and practice. In S. S. Luthar (Ed.), Resilience and vulnerability: Adaptation in the context of childhood adversities (pp. 1–25). https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511615788.003
Metzl, E. S. (2007). Exploration of creativity and resiliency in survivors of Hurricane Katrina. Florida State University Libraries: Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations. Retrieved from http://www.google.lt/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0ahUKEwjs9_fegs7YAhXCDpoKHdRVDnAQFggrMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffsu.digital.flvc.org%2Fislandora%2Fobject%2Ffsu%3A180660%2Fdatastream%2FPDF%2Fdownload%2Fcitation.pdf&usg=AOvVaw24no6ChZTpzDEiPcn7Fx8L
Metzl, E. S. (2009). The role of creative thinking in resilience after Hurricane Katrina. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 3(2), 112-123. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013479
Metzl, E. S., & Morrell, M. A. (2008). The role of creativity in models of resilience: Theoretical exploration and practical applications. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 3(3), 303-318. https://doi.org/10.1080/15401380802385228
Revington, M. (2013). Who is really rebuilding Christchurch?. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/unlimited/8223406/Who-is-really-rebuilding-Christchurch
Runco, M. A., & Jaeger, G. J. (2012). The standard definition of creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 24(1), 92-96. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2012.650092
Solnit, R. (2010). A Paradise Built in Hell: The extraordinary communities that arise in disaster. New York: Penguin Books.
Tierney, K. (2009). Disaster response: research findings and their implications for resilience measures. CARRI Research Report 6. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d2ee/86783be7af7cf2b28d536d226fe6f85ff0c8.pdf
Wright, M. (2016). 2017: When Christchurch finally goes from recovery to rebuild. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/the-rebuild/87880095/2017-when-christchurch-finally-went-from-recovery-to-rebuild