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CREATIVEPROBLEMSOLVING
LESSONS FROMALEXANDERHAMILTONDESIGNING ANECONOMICSYSTEMCREATING AGEOGRAPHICALVISION FORAMERICAWORK LIFELESSONS FROMTOKUGAWA, JAPANHISTORICALPERSPECTIVESTHE ABSENCEOF PROBLEMSOLVINGWHAT IS ACREATIVE AGELIKE?THEPRESENCE OFPROBLEMSOLVINGTENTERMSLIFEISSUESINTROLESSONS FROMTHOMASJEFFERSONINTROVERTSAND QUIETCREATIVITY
INTROVERTS AND QUIET CREATIVITY
SUSAN CAINQUIET: THE POWER OFINTROVERTS IN A WORLDTHAT CAN’T STOP TALKING
NOISREVORTXEDIDWBUT HO?LAEDILARUTLUCAEMBECO
20TH CENTURY TRANSFORMATIONTO BUSINESSMAN ANDSALESMANSHIP
AMERICA SHIFTED FROM A CULTUREOF CHARACTER TO A CULTURE OFPERSONALITY ACCORDING TOCULTURAL HISTORIAN WARREN SUSMAN
THE WORD PERSONALITY DID NOTEXIST IN ENGLISH UNTIL THE 18TH CENTURYAND THE NOTION OF “HAVING AGOODPERSONALITY” WAS NOT COMMONUNTIL THE 20TH CENTURY
ACCORDING TO SUSMAN, THIS CULTUREOF PERSONALITY REQUIRED “EVERYAMERICAN TO BECOME APERFORMING SELF”
CULTURE OF EPUTATIONMORALSMANNERSINTEGRITYCULTURE OF NINGATTRACTIVEGLOWINGDOMINANTFORCEFULENERGETIC
DALE CARNEGIE(1888-1955)
“CARNEGIE’S METAMORPHOSIS FROMFARM BOY TO SALESMAN TO PUBLICSPEAKING ICON IS ALSO THE STORY OFTHE RISE OF THE EXTROVERT IDEAL.”“CARNEGIE’S JOURNEY REFLECTS A CULTURAL EVOLUTION THATREACHED A TIPPING POINT AROUND THE TURN OF THE TWENTIETHCENTURY, CHANGING FOREVER WHO WE ARE AND WHOM WE ADMIRE,HOW WE ACT AT JOB INTERVIEWS AND WHAT WE LOOK FOR IN ANEMPLOYEE, HOW WE COURT OUR MATES AND RAISE OUR CHILDREN.”
SUSANCAIN“EVEN BUSINESSES THAT EMPLOY MANY ARTISTS,DESIGNERS, AND OTHER IMAGINATIVE TYPES OFTENDISPLAY A PREFERENCE FOR EXTROVERSION.”“ ‘WE WANT TO ATTRACT CREATIVE PEOPLE,’ THE DIRECTOROF HUMAN RESOURCES AT A MAJOR MEDIA COMPANY TOLDME. WHEN I ASKED WHAT SHE MEANT BY ‘CREATIVE,’ SHEANSWERED WITHOUT MISSING A BEAT, ‘YOU HAVE TO BEOUTGOING, FUN, AND JAZZED UP TO WORK HERE.’ ”
SUSANCAIN“IF WE ASSUME THAT QUIET ANDLOUD PEOPLE HAVE ROUGHLY THESAME NUMBER OF GOOD (AND BAD)IDEAS, THEN WE SHOULD WORRY IFTHE LOUDER AND MORE FORCEFULPEOPLE ALWAYS CARRY THE DAY.THIS WOULD MEAN THAT AN AWFULLOT OF BAD IDEAS PREVAIL WHILEGOOD ONES GET SQUASHED.”
SUSANCAIN“STUDIES IN GROUP DYNAMICSSUGGEST THAT THIS IS EXACTLYWHAT HAPPENS. WE PERCEIVETALKERS AS SMARTER THAN QUIETTYPES - EVEN THOUGH GRADEPOINT AVERAGES AND SAT ANDINTELLIGENCE TESTS SCORESREVEAL THIS PERCEPTION TO BEINACCURATE.”
SUSANCAIN“IN ONE EXPERIMENT IN WHICH TWOSTRANGERS MET OVER THE PHONE, THOSE WHOSPOKE MORE WERE CONSIDERED MOREINTELLIGENT, BETTER LOOKING AND MORELIKABLE. WE ALSO SEE TALKERS AS LEADERS.”“IT ALSO HELPS TO SPEAK FAST; WE RATE QUICK TALKERS ASMORE CAPABLE AND APPEALING THAN SLOW TALKERS.”
SUSANCAIN“IN ONE STUDY, GROUPS OFCOLLEGE STUDENTS WEREASKED TO SOLVE MATHPROBLEMS TOGETHER ANDTHEN TO RATE ONE ANOTHER’SINTELLIGENCE ANDJUDGEMENT” “THE STUDENTS WHO SPOKE FIRST AND MOST OFTEN WERECONSISTENTLY GIVEN THE HIGHEST RATINGS, EVEN THOUGHTHEIR SUGGESTIONS (AND MATH SAT SCORES) WERE NO BETTERTHAN THOSE OF THE LESS TALKATIVE STUDENTS” "THESE SAME STUDENTS WERE GIVEN SIMILARLY HIGH RATINGS FORTHEIR CREATIVITY AND ANALYTICAL POWERS DURING A SEPARATEEXERCISE TO DEVELOP A BUSINESS STRATEGY FOR A START-UP COMPANY.”
A SOPHISTICATEDSOCIETY NEEDS BOTHINTROVERTS ANDEXTROVERTS ANDNEEDS TO RESPECTTHEM EQUALLY!
“ONCE IN A WHILE, A NEWSPAPER OR TV PROGRAM RUNS A STORYABOUT ANIMAL PERSONALITIES, CASTING SHY BEHAVIOR ASUNSEEMLY AND BOLD BEHAVIOR AS ATTRACTIVE AND ADMIRABLE”
BUT EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGIST DAVID SLOAN WILSON“BELIEVES THAT BOTH TYPES OF ANIMALS EXIST BECAUSE THEYHAVE RADICALLY DIFFERENT SURVIVAL STRATEGIES, EACH OFWHICH PAYS OFF DIFFERENTLY AND AT DIFFERENT TIMES.”DAVIDSLOANWILSON
“WHEN WILSON DROPPED METAL TRAPS INTO A POND FULL OFPUMPKINSEED FISH, THE BOLD FISH COULDN’T HELP BUTINVESTIGATE - AND RUSHED HEADLONG INTO WILSON’S TRAPS” “THE SHY FISH HOVEREDJUDICIOUSLY AT THE EDGE OF THEPOND, MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLEFOR WILSON TO CATCH THEM” DAVIDSLOANWILSON
“AFTER WILSON SUCCEEDED IN TRAPPING BOTHTYPES OF FISH, THE BOLD FISH ACCLIMATED QUICKLY TOTHEIR NEW ENVIRONMENT AND STARTED EATING A FULLFIVE DAYS EARLIER THAN DID THEIR SHY BRETHREN” “ ‘THERE IS NO SINGLE BEST [ANIMAL] PERSONALITY,’ WRITESWILSON, ‘BUT RATHER A DIVERSITYOF PERSONALITIES MAINTAINEDBY NATURAL SELECTION.’ ”DAVIDSLOANWILSON
AS REGARDS PROBLEM SOLVING IN PARTICULAR,INTROVERTS HAVE “BEEN SHOWN TO EXCEL ATSOMETHING PSYCHOLOGISTS CALL ‘INSIGHTFULPROBLEM SOLVING’ .”“INTROVERTS ARE NOT SMARTER THANEXTROVERTS. ACCORDING TO IQ SCORES, THETWO TYPES ARE EQUALLY INTELLIGENT” “ON MANY KINDS OF TASKS, PARTICULARLY THOSEPERFORMED UNDER TIME OR SOCIAL PRESSURE ORIN SOLVING MULTITASKING, EXTROVERTS DO BETTER.”
“BUT INTROVERTS SEEM TO THINK MORE CAREFULLYTHAN EXTROVERTS, AS THE PSYCHOLOGIST GERALDMATTHEWS DESCRIBES IN HIS WORK” “EXTROVERTS ARE MORE LIKELY TO TAKE A QUICK-AND-DIRTYAPPROACH TO PROBLEM-SOLVING, TRADING ACCURACY FORSPEED, MAKING INCREASING NUMBER OF MISTAKES AS THEY GO,AND ABANDONING SHIP ALTOGETHER WHEN THE PROBLEMSEEMS TOO DIFFICULT OR FRUSTRATING” “INTROVERTS THINK BEFORE THEY ACT, DIGESTINFORMATION THOROUGHLY, STAY ON TASK LONGER,GIVE UP LESS EASILY, AND WORK MORE ACCURATELY”
“IT’S AS IFEXTROVERTS ARESEEING ‘WHAT IS’WHILE THEIRINTROVERTEDPEERS ARE ASKING‘WHAT IF.’ ”
INTROVERTS, NOT SURPRISINGLY,BUT ACCORDING TO SUSAN CAIN,LIKE TO WORK ALONE AND MAY NOT“GROUP BRAINSTORMING DOESN’TBE GREAT AT GROUP ACTIVITIESACTUALLY WORK.”LIKE BRAINSTORMING
48“MARVIN DUNNETTE, A PSYCHOLOGIST PROFESSOR ATTHE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, GATHERED FORTY-EIGHTRESEARCH SCIENTISTS AND FORTY-EIGHT ADVERTISINGEXECUTIVES AND ASKED THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN BOTHSOLITARY AND GROUP BRAINSTORMING SESSIONS” 48
48 “DUNNETTE WAS CONFIDENT THAT THE EXECUTIVESWOULD BENEFIT FROM THE GROUP PROCESS. HE WASLESS SURE THAT THE RESEARCH SCIENTISTS, WHOM HECONSIDERED MORE INTROVERTED, WOULD PROFIT FROMGROUP WORK” 48
44484444444444 “DUNNETTE DIVIDED EACH SET OF FORTY-EIGHT. INTOTWELVE GROUPS OF FOUR. EACH FOURSOME WAS GIVENA PROBLEM TO BRAINSTORM EVERYONE WAS ALSOGIVEN A SIMILAR PROBLEM TO BRAINSTORM ON THEIROWN” 4444444444448
444444444444 “THE RESULTS WERE UNAMBIGUOUS. THE MEN IN TWENTYTHREE OF THE TWENTY-FOUR GROUPS PRODUCED MOREIDEAS WHEN THEY WORKED ON THEIR OWN THAN WHENTHEY WORKED AS A GROUP. THEY ALSO PRODUCED IDEAS OFEQUAL OR HIGHER QUALITY WHEN WORKING INDIVIDUALLY.”44444444444
“THE ‘EVIDENCE FROM SCIENCE SUGGESTS THAT BUSINESSPEOPLE MUST BE INSANE TO USE BRAINSTORMING GROUPS,’WRITES THE ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST ADRIANFURNHAM. ‘IF YOU HAVE TALENTED AND MOTIVATED PEOPLE,THEY SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED TO WORK ALONE WHENCREATIVITY OR EFFICIENCY IS THE HIGHEST PRIORITY.”
IS THE TENDENCYTOWARD INTROVERSIONOR EXTROVERSIONHARD-WIRED INTO USFROM BIRTH?
ONE OF THE GREATDEVELOPMENTALPSYCHOLOGISTS OFTHE RECENT ERAJEROME KAGAN(HARVARD PROFESSOR)
“IN A SERIES OF LONGITUDINALSTUDIES HE FOLLOWED CHILDREN FROMINFANCY THOUGH ADOLESCENCE,DOCUMENTING THEIR PHYSIOLOGIESAND PERSONALITIES ALONG THE WAY.”KAGAN EXPOSED A GROUP OF 4MONTH-OLDS TO A CAREFULLY CHOSENSET OF NEW EXPERIENCES - LOUDVOICES AND BALLOONS POPPINGCOMBINED WITH COLORFUL MOBILESAND STRONG SCENTS LIKE ALCOHOLJEROMEKAGAN
ABOUT 20% CRIED LUSTILY ANDPUMPED THEIR ARMS AND LEGSHIGH-REACTIVITY GROUPABOUT 40% STAYED QUIET AND PLACIDLOW-REACTIVITY GROUPTHOSE IN THE HIGH-REACTIVITY GROUP WERE MORE LIKELY TOBECOME INTROVERTS WITH SERIOUS, CAREFUL PERSONALITIESTHOSE IN THE LOW-REACTIVITY GROUP WERE MORE LIKELY TOBECOME EXTROVERTS WITH RELAXED, CONFIDENT PERSONALITIESJEROMEKAGAN
HIGH-REACTIVITY CHILDREN: PAY ATTENTION TO PEOPLE AND THINGS THINK AND FEEL DEEPLY“HIGH-REACTIVE TYPES ARE LIKEORCHIDS: THEY WILT EASILY, BUTUNDER THE RIGHT CONDITIONS CANGROW STRONG AND MAGNIFICENT” JEROMEKAGAN
“ORCHID CHILDREN ARE MORE STRONGLY AFFECTED BYALL EXPERIENCES, BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE” “THESE KIDS ARE ESPECIALLY VULNERABLE TO CHALLENGESLIKE MARITAL TENSION, A PARENT’S DEATH, OR ABUSE. THEY’REMORE LIKELY THAN THEIR PEERS TO REACT TO THESE EVENTS WITHDEPRESSION, ANXIETY, AND SHYNESS” JEROMEKAGAN
“ORCHID CHILDREN ARE MORE STRONGLY AFFECTED BYALL EXPERIENCES, BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE” “HIGH-REACTIVE KIDS WHO ENJOY GOOD PARENTING, CHILDCARE, AND A STABLE HOME ENVIRONMENT TEND TO HAVEFEWER EMOTIONAL PROBLEMS AND MORE SOCIAL SKILLS THEIRLOWER-REACTIVE PEERS. OFTEN THEY’RE EXCEEDINGLY EMPHATIC,CARING AND COOPERATIVE” JEROMEKAGAN
“ORCHID CHILDREN ARE MORE STRONGLY AFFECTED BYALL EXPERIENCES, BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE” “THEY ARE KIND, CONSCIENTIOUS,AND EASILY DISTURBED BY CRUELTY,INJUSTICE, AND IRRESPONSIBILITY” JEROMEKAGAN
“ORCHID CHILDREN ARE MORE STRONGLY AFFECTED BYALL EXPERIENCES, BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE” “EVERYTHING ABOUT THESE KIDS (HIGH-REACTIVE)WAS DIFFERENT. THEIR EYES DILATED MORE WIDELYWHEN THEY WERE SOLVING PROBLEMS, THEIR VOCALCHORDS BECAME MORE TENSE WHILE UTTERING WORDS,THEIR HEART RATE PATTERNS WERE UNIQUE” JEROMEKAGAN
“ORCHID CHILDREN ARE MORE STRONGLY AFFECTED BYALL EXPERIENCES, BOTH POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE” “THE FOOTPRINT OF A HIGH- OR LOWREACTIVE TEMPERAMENT NEVERDISAPPEARED IN ADULTHOOD."JEROMEKAGAN
INTROVERTS SALIVATE MORETHAN EXTROVERTS WHENTHEY TASTE LEMON JUICEWHEN ASKED TO ADJUST SOUNDLEVELS FOR COMFORTABLELISTENING, INTROVERTS CHOOSE 17DECIBELS LOWER THAN EXTROVERTSINTROVERTS SWEAT MORETHAN EXTROVERTS
THE TENDENCY TOWARD HIGH REACTIVITY OR LOWREACTIVITY IS KNOWN TO RESIDE IN THEPORTION OF THE BRAIN CALLEDTHE dala
“OUR INBORN TEMPERAMENTSINFLUENCE US REGARDLESS OF THE LIVESWE LEAD, BUT WE CAN STRETCH OURPERSONALITIES UP TO A gdala
“THE NEOCORTEX, AND PARTICULARLY THE FRONTALCORTEX CANBE FOCUSED TO TEMPERREACTIONS IN THE amygdala
“IF YOU WERE A HIGH-REACTIVE BABY, THENYOUR AMYGDALA MAY, FOR THE REST OF YOURLIFE, GO A BIT WILD EVERY TIME YOUINTRODUCE YOURSELF TO A STRANGERAT A COCKTAIL gdala
“BUT IF YOU FEEL RELATIVELY SKILLED INCOMPANY, THAT’S PARTLY BECAUSE YOURFRONTAL CORTEX IS THERE TO TELLYOU ‘CALM DOWN, EXTEND AHANDSHAKE, AND SMILE.’ ”neocortexfrontalcortexprefrontalcortexamygdala
“IN FACT, A RECENT FMRI STUDY SHOWS THATWHEN PEOPLE USE SELF-TALK TO REASSESSUPSETTING SITUATIONS, ACTIVITY IN THEIRPREFRONTAL CORTEX INCREASES IN ANAMOUNT CORRELATED WITH A DECREASEOF ACTIVITY IN THEIR amygdala
ARE YOU AN INTROVERT OR AN EXTROVERT?HOW CAN YOU USE THE INHERENTSTRENGTHS OF YOUR TEMPERAMENT TOMAKE YOU A BETTER PROBLEM SOLVER?HOW MIGHT YOU ADJUST YOURINHERENT TEMPERAMENT TO GETJUST THE RESULTS YOU WANT?
INTROVERTS AND QUIET CREATIVITY
CREATIVEPROBLEMSOLVING
susan cain quiet: the power of introverts in a world that can't stop talking. but how did extroversion tural ideal? 20th century transformation to businessman and salesmanship. america shifted from a culture of character to a culture of personality according to cultural historian warren susman.
