Story from the UK Telegraph about creativity in relation to life abroad:
Are expats more creative than stay-at-homers?
Living in another country has long been considered a worthwhile learning experience, but new research suggests it might also increase creativity.
The study, published by the American Psychological Association, showed that people who lived abroad tended to be more creative than those who lived in their home country.
The study required a group of students to undergo a variety of standard psychological tests for measuring creativity, such as the Duncker candle task.
In this test, students were asked to work out how to fix a candle to a wall so it did not drip wax onto the floor, using only a box of pins, a book of matches and a candle.
The solution is to attach the empty pin box to the wall and place the candle inside it. This is considered a test of creativity because it requires the test subjects to use an object for an unconventional function – in this case, a box as a candle holder.
The tests showed that 60% of those who had lived abroad solved the problem, whilst out of those who had not lived abroad, the success rate was only 42%.
Professor William Maddux, the lead author of the study, said: “The theory that living abroad somehow opens your mind is an old one, which we know through stories of artists like Hemingway who lived in France. Running tests like this however gives us actual empirical evidence for the first time.”
According to the study, creativity levels were unlikely to be high in people who had travelled abroad for a short period of time, or who had not attempted to adapt to the culture they were living in. But creativity was far more prominent in people who had made efforts to learn the language of their new home.
“Interestingly, high levels in creativity only seemed to show in people who had lived abroad, and not in those who had a superficial exposure to foreign countries through travel, “said Professor Maddux.
“In order to widen their creative abilities, it seems that people have to really try and fit into a different environment, and learn how to do things in a totally different way."
The study also showed a positive correlation between entrepreneurship and creativity.
“There are a lot successful businessmen in the United States who came from abroad, or have worked abroad for some time,” said Professor Maddux. “Whether it’s in solving a corporate dispute, or coming up with a new project, living abroad seems to be able to be to help people approach ideas from different and innovative ways.
“Knowing that experiences abroad are critical for creative output makes study abroad programs and job assignments in other countries that much more important, especially for people and companies that put a premium on creativity and innovation to stay competitive," he added.
Professor Maddux’s research was carried out on groups of students at INSEAD business school in France and at Northwestern University in the United States in collaboration with Professor Adam Galinsky.
Professor Maddux said that his interest in the subject arose from his own experiences as an expat.
