Domain-generality versus domain-specificity of creativity

Robert Sternberg

pp. 25-38

in: Peter Meusburger, Joachim Funke, Edgar Wunder (eds), Milieus of creativity, Berlin, Springer, 2009

Abstract

If Einstein had trained as an artist, would he have been as creative a painter as Van Gogh? How about if Van Gogh had trained as a physicist—would he have been as creative as Einstein? One feels, in answering questions such as these, that the answer is probably "no." But why? Certainly there are people who are multitalented. William Blake achieved great renown as both a writer and a painter. Leonardo da Vinci showed great talent in painting and invention. Richard Feynman is known primarily as a physicist, but his popular books achieved great renown. Is creativity the same or different across different domains, and why? This essay addresses the question of the domain-generality versus domain-specificity of creativity through a theoretical analysis of the construct. As argued in the following pages, there is no general answer to the question of whether creativity is domain-general or domain-specific; creativity varies across individuals as a function of three variables.The greatest challenge in understanding the domain-generality versus specificity of creativity is in understanding the concept of a domain itself. Is literature a domain, or German literature, or modern German literature, or modern German literature in its original language, or what? Is cognitive psychology a domain, or psychology, or behavioral science, or social science? Because no consensual definition of a domain currently exists, it is impossible at this time to have a clear sense of exactly what domain-specificity means. Domains may themselves be defined at varying levels of generality or specificity.

Cited authors

da Vinci Leonardo

Blake William