Gardner argues persuasively that there multiple types of creativity, which he refers to as “multiple intelligences.”5 A key component, of Gardner’s approach is that he disagrees with the common stereotype that makes creativity equivalent to pursuing work in the arts, and ignores the fact that people in fields such as engineering or biology also may be highly creative. inhibitor MG132 Csikszentmihalyi stresses the importance of making original contributions and of being recognized for these contributions

by one’s peers.6 Although there are some differences between those cur rently pursuing research on creativity, a definition that most, would embrace is one that Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical emphasizes that creativity is the ability to produce something that is novel and also useful or beautiful in a very general sense.7 Some would also emphasize the importance Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of having achieved some kind of public recognition for this work, such as a Pulitzer Prize, a listing in Who’s Who

in Art, or a Fields Medal. However, this is a relatively stringent criterion. Given this definition of creativity, how then should an investigator identify a sample to study? One approach is to select a very homogeneous group of creative people, such as a group of writers, or musicians, or mathematicians. Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical This is perhaps the most common. Another approach

is to sample more broadly and to study a mixture of creative individuals from multiple disciplines. The most difficult aspect, of Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical this type of research is selleckchem identifying and recruiting the subjects, since creative people tend Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical to be relatively busy. An alternative approach is to identify a group of people for whom written histories are available and to use this information as the basis for study. Examples of this type of approach are the studies of Ellis, Juda, Post, Ludwig, and Schildkraut.3, 8-11 Although using written historical Batimastat biographical and autobiographical material provides a sample of convenience, an obvious problem is that the information may not be complete or accurate. If the goal of a study is to examine the relationship between creativity and psychopathology, then several other challenges must, also be met. One is to use a standard and widely accepted set of definitions of mental illness, and to assess its presence or absence using a structured interview of some type. Although this seems obvious in the early 21st century, most of the extant literature on creativity and mental illness has not used this approach. It is nearly impossible to map the diagnoses of early investigators, such as Adele Juda, into modern nomenclature, and therefore to interpret the results.