Two sides on the same coin: Relationship between constraints and creativity

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Two sides on the same coin: Relationship between constraints and creativity Constraints can influence on creativity both negatively and positively. Constraints generally undermine creativity by inhibiting uniqueness and intrinsic motivation to a large extent. In a sense, the best way to improve and develop creativity is to identify and eliminate all constraints. Yet this is not always the case in most of creativity works. That is to say, constraints also have a positive impact on creativity under certain circumstances. Just as the same coin has two extremely different sides, so too does constraint. The bottom line is that the right sort of constraints can in fact stoke the innovation fire (Amabile & Kramer, 2010). It is the strategic use of constraints that matters. How time constraints influence on Creativity. The first thing that I’d like to discuss is time and creativity. Time constraint by and large reduces creativity. In most instances where involve time constraint, people are much likely to do the given tasks under pressure, such that time constraint has a detrimental effect on creativity. That being said, creativity may be enhanced by time pressure if creators are protected from distractions or if they feel like they were on a mission. In the interest of clarity of this argument, let me give a very classic creativity task, incomplete picture task, to elucidate this double-sidedness. Suppose we are asked to complete a picture, which purposely contains some shapes like the hands of a clock. And the task is needed to complete in 30 seconds. Time in this task obviously plays a role of constraint. Yet this constraint can be explained differently by notion that how we are aware of and embrace this constraint toward carrying out... ... middle of paper ... ...k is always bound up with constraints. As we have seen above, constraints do not necessarily impede creativity; in fact, it has much to do with how it is identified and managed due in part to its double-faced nature on creativity. As such, it is far to say that creativity can be improved or precluded contingent upon the use of constrains in the given situation. In a nutshell, it is the strategic use of constraints that matters. The bottom line is that if constraints dominate the purpose of task, those constraints definitely stifle creativity; however, if constraints play a role in one of mechanisms of making the task appropriate and unique, creativity can be thrived when constrained. Works Cited Amabile, T, & Kramer, S. (2011, March 25). Necessity, not Scarcity, is the Mother of Invention. Retrieved from http://blogs.hbr.org/2011/03/necessity-not-scarcity-is-the/

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