Creativity and
Productivity: Not Age-Specific Characteristics
Editor:
Susan S. Meyers, Extension Family Sociologist
University of Minnesota Extension Service, Specialist Research Report,
September 1991 (reviewed 2001)
University
of Minnesota Children, Youth and Families Consortium. Permission is
granted to create and distribute copies of this document for non-commercial
purposes provided that the author and CYFC receive acknowledgement and
this notice is included.
Most
of us are increasingly aware of the exceptional diversity in the older
population. We know that to speak of "the elderly" or "the
older adult population" means that there is a range of more than
40 years of life experience, cognitive, biological, emotional and social
differences within that one category (older adults). However, in popular
literature there continues to be references to "the elderly,"
as though all individuals exhibit remarkable similarities after a particular
age (usually 60 or 65). Current research indicates that there is even
more heterogeneity within the older adult population than is true of
other age groups.
Not
as much emphasis has been given to the cohort experiences of these older
adults. Glen Elder, award-winning University of North Carolina researcher,
quotes sociologist C. Wright Mills, "Historical transformations
carry meanings not only for individual ways of life, but for the very
character -- the limits and possibilities of the human being."
Elder demonstrates the strength of influence during the formative years,
yet cites some critical factors which illustrate resiliency in overcoming
extreme difficulties during these early years. In looking at longitudinal
data, the effect of the Great Depression was based on the degree of
deprivation as well as the age during critical transformations. For
the middle-income adults and youth, the Depression had minimal long-term
negative effects. For those who were low income and children or youth
during the Depression, the outcomes were not as favorable. One mitigating
factor helped increase the resiliency of these depression-era boys --
entry into military service. Such an event was not as significant for
depression-era middle-income children. Apparently the experience in
the military service enhanced the choice options for these young adults
from deprived families, and their later life achievements are quite
different from others in their cohort. (Elder, 1991)
K.
Warner Schaie, Penn State Gerontology Center director, presented information
on age-specific skills and behavior related to productivity in the work
force. He noted that problems in the work place stem from demographics
and aging of the work force, stereotypes about work and aging (like
slowing performance, burnout, obsolescence, loss of creativity, and
rigidity), and organizational needs (like renewal of work force, orderly
career progression and the role of retirement planning).
Schaie
noted that commercial airline pilots are the most frequently tested
and studied job category. With many years of longitudinal data on these
pilots, it is obvious that the characteristics most essential in piloting
commercial airplanes do not decrease at all through age 60 (and from
other data, significant changes do not appear for another 15-20 years
on average). However, commercial airline companies continue to require
retirement at age 60. Schaie's All-University Council on Aging presentation
occurred a few months following the Sioux City, IA airline accident
where the hydraulic system had failed. Some experts stated that the
loss of life would have been far greater if it had not been for the
skill of the 59 year-old pilot (and his cockpit team). (Schaie, 1989)
Schaie
cited the example of a young researcher who published extensively and
is rewarded by additional responsibilities (committee work, administration,
teaching, etc.). Within a few years, productivity (measured in research
publications) slacks off measurably, and is used as an example of loss
of creativity due to age. Seldom are the changed responsibilities considered
when measuring worth on this scale.
Productivity
typically is measured on economic terms, and thus the retired are less
productive. Products and services purchased also contribute to the productivity
of the work force. The retired tend to do more and purchase less, which
does not factor into the measures of productivity. Increasing notice
is being given to other contributions by those retired, either in formal
or non-formal volunteering activities or in work force participation
on a temporary, short-termed, or longer-termed consulting basis. Herzog
and House conclude that, "older Americans contribute to society's
ability to age well... 1) through their volunteer work, informal assistance
to others, and paid work they produce valuable goods and services...
2) by taking care of their own households and possessions they avoid
reliance on hired help and public assistance... 3) to the extent that
activities increase their health and well-being, they benefit themselves,
as well as society that might otherwise be burdened with the consequences
of their bad health and lowered well-being." (Herzog & House,
p. 52-53)
Corporate
researchers (Schrank and Waring), argue for age neutrality in the work
place. They state, "Older workers are not systematically different
from younger workers on any dimensions that are crucial for the vast
variety of jobs and work activities in the post-industrial economy."
(p. 120) It appears that many organizations may (unintentionally) favor
younger workers and overlook older workers in performance appraisals,
training opportunities, upward, lateral (or downward) mobility, and
in job redesign. Interventions which would benefit the older worker
generally benefit younger workers as well, and the researchers urge
employers to develop flexible programs, as well as provide orderly transitions
to retirement over many more years than is currently the case.
In
most of the studies of productivity in the later years, the variation
in the employees is most noticeable. There are numerous examples of
early retirement opportunities which are aimed at the less productive
in the work force. Those most likely to seize upon early retirement
options are those most creative and productive, who take the opportunity
to use these skills in a new (and often self-directed and more financially
rewarding) career. When employers speak of older workers, they would
be wise to remember the heterogeneity of the work force cohort population.
Creativity
is cited by proponents and adversaries of older workers in the work
force. The Spring 1991 Generations focuses on "Creativity in Later
Life." Simonton updated findings about creative productivity, citing
previous research that indicated a person's productivity and creativity
diminished from early adulthood through the adult years. Physicist Paul
Dirac feared the downhill slide when he poetically wrote (during his
25th year), "Age is, of course, a fever chill that every physicist
must fear. He's better dead than living still when once he's past his
thirtieth year." (Simonton, 1991, p. 13) (Dirac was a mere 31 when
he received his Nobel Prize for Physics.)
Creativity
does not appear to follow a set pattern, since the individual creative
curve is quite variable. Simonton referred to the heterogeneity in creativity,
"The generalized age curve is not a function of chronological age
but rather determined by career age." (Simonton, p. 114) Through
analyzing different measures of creative output, a gradual decline is
seen throughout the years, but the degree of decline varies drastically
with the field or discipline. Simonton notes that "creators in
their 60s and 70s will most often be generating new ideas at a rate
exceeding that of the very same creators in their 20s." (op. cit.
p. 14) In addition, there is historical and current data that indicate
a creative surge in the later years, especially nearing death. For those
whose creative field favors youth (singers, athletes, for example),
the creative vitality can be maintained through other fields. If creative
output is measured by quantity, older creators tend to lose out to younger
creators. The young tend to produce more creative products that are
"hits" than older creators, but they also produce more "misses."
The older creator may have fewer "hits" but also fewer "misses",
and, thus, the quality ratio remains remarkably stable over the years.
Creativity
is not equally distributed throughout the population. The creative potential
can thrive in an environment which encourages it and is held back by
other environments. This may help explain why some individuals have
their creative efforts only recognized much later in life. As Simonton
concluded, "predictions about the expected creativity in the last
decade cannot be made without reverence to substantial cross-sectional
variation in both the age at which the career commences and the individual's
total creativity capacity." (op. cit. p. 15)
Children
exhibit endearing traits of creativity and a sense of wonder. Chinen
suggests that "elder tales" may provide a sense of accumulated
folk wisdom and the return of wonder in old age. He cites the following
Japanese story as an example:
THE
SIX STATUES
Once
upon a time, there lived an old man and woman who were very poor.
One New Year's Eve, they found they had no money to buy rice cakes,
a traditional delicacy for the holiday. Then they remembered several
straw hats the old man had made earlier. So he took them to the village
to sell. Try as he might, though, no one bought any hats. Late in
the afternoon, he trudged up the snowy trail back to his house, wrapped
in misery. On the way, the old man noticed six statues, standing in
the snow. They were the guardian deities of children, and they looked
cold and lonely. The old man paused. "I cannot leave you to shiver
here!" he exclaimed. So the old man tied a straw hat on each
of the gods, to keep the snow off their bald heads. Then the old man
returned home. That evening, he and his wife ate a meager meal and
went quietly to bed.
At
midnight, the old couple were awakened by strange noises outside their
house. "Who could that be?" the old man exclaimed. They
listened and made out the sound of people singing. At that moment,
the door flew open and a bag landed in the middle of their hut, full
of the prettiest rice cakes the old man and his wife had ever seen.
And when they looked through their door, they saw six gods, each wearing
a straw hat, wishing them a happy New Year! (Chinen, 1991, p. 45-46)
This
tale illustrates message of loss and decline in the later years, yet
underscores the possibility of psychological and spiritual renewal remaining
-- bringing back the wonder of the first years in the last.
Cited References:
1.
Glen H. Elder, Jr., "Making the Best of Life: Perspectives on Lives,
Times and Aging" in Generations "Aging Well," Winter
1991, pp. 12-18.
2. K. Warner Schaie, "Productivity in Later Life and Discrimination
in the Workplace," AUCA Visiting Scholars in Gerontology seminar,
Oct. 1989.
3. A. Regula Herzog & James S. House, "Productive Activities
and Aging Well" in Generations "Aging Well," Winter 1991,
pp. 49-54.
4. Harris T. Schrank & Joan M. Waring, "Older Workers: Ambivalence
and Interventions" in Annals, AAPSS, Vol. 503, May 1989, pp. 113-126.
5. Dean Keith Simonton, "Creative Productivity Through the Adult
Years," in Generations "Creativity in Later Life," Spring
1991, pp. 13-16.
6. Allan B. Chinen, "The Return of Wonder in Old Age" in Generations
"Creativity in Later Life," Spring 1991, pp. 45-48.
