As Carl Rogers once said, the drive to create is "man's tendency to actualize himself, to become his potentialities." Understanding that drive is the core mission of Div. 10's psychologists. They explore not only how art reflects humanity and how we respond to art, but also the development, motivation and cognitive basis for the creative process itself — which has huge implications for how people and societies progress.
It's a field that has seen a renaissance over the past decade, with "a whole new generation of young people coming aboard from fields not historically in creativity and the arts," says Paul Silvia, PhD, division president-elect and associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. "You clearly see it in the popular press — creativity and arts as tools for practical problems. It's an unexpected boom period."
Strength in research
Still, many psychologists don't realize creativity is a research specialty, something the division's members hope to change, says Div. 10 Past-president James C. Kaufman, PhD, professor of educational psychology at the University of Connecticut's Neag School of Education. "Thirty years ago, nobody cared about creativity," says Kaufman. "Now, it's so popular with the average person that people think it can't be a serious topic that's studied in a scientific way."
That research includes understanding how our brains generate creative ideas, how best to use art as therapy and how to nurture creativity in both teachers and students for optimal learning.
The division showcases much of its work in its quarterly journal, which continues to gain influence, ranking in the top 20 for impact of all experimental psychology journals worldwide.
The division gives students a chance to participate in its journal reviews and editorial board, with mentors to guide their work. Special issues on neuroscience, education and industrial/organizational psychology help draw in psychologists from other fields who may not realize that creativity is an area of research in itself.
To further promote its work, the division overhauled its website last year to include a list of research labs, books and articles on creativity, aesthetics and the arts.
Meeting of the minds
Div. 10 also lends expertise to APA work on education, including the association's Coalition for Psychology in Schools and Education, which published its Top 20 Principles from Psychology for Teaching and Learning in May. Div. 10 members lobbied hard for number eight: "Creativity can be fostered."
"According to principle eight, the idea that you're either a creative person or you're not is not correct," says Rena Subotnik, PhD, of the Center for Psychology in Schools and Education. "It's important for kids to exercise being more creative. It's like everything else in school that you practice for improvement, and is a very important part of children's development."
Div. 10 is also working with the coalition on a video about creativity in the classroom that they hope to post on the APA website in early 2016.
Division members say the diversity of their close-knit fellowship is part of the group's attraction and fosters multidisciplinary, collaborative thinking.
"It's always interesting to spend time with Div. 10 people because there's every type of field and subfield coming together to share a common interest," says student representative Alexander McKay, who studies industrial-organizational psychology at Penn State University.
Creativity in practice
Many division members flourish in their own artistic endeavors. Steven Pritzker, division president and professor at Saybrook University, was a television comedy writer for decades before turning to psychology in 1990. Longtime member Paula Thomson, PhD, of California State University, Northridge, is a dance teacher and a choreographer, and Pablo Tinio, PhD, of Montclair State University, was a professional photographer. Tobi Zausner, PhD, is a visual artist. Many members are prolific writers; current works include those of two members-at-large: Scott Barry Kaufman's "Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined" (2013) and Danny Wedding's "Movies and Mental Illness: Using Films to Understand Psychopathy" (2014).
Members' passion for creativity inspires great camaraderie. The group's lively listserv includes contributions by many of the field's top researchers who take time to respond to requests for information and for help with research. The chance to get to know them is a big plus for student members, McKay says.
"We hold a fairly raucous social hour off-site at APA's Annual Convention and we encourage anyone to show up — people can bring friends from other divisions, spouses, kids and random hangers on, and there might be hundreds of people. Given that we don't have [that many] members, we get shocking crowds," Silvia says.
Other division highlights
Honor brilliant teachers
Div. 2 (Society for the Teaching of Psychology) offers several awards that recognize excellence in teaching:
- The STP Excellence in Teaching Awards honor outstanding teaching performance in six categories: four-year college or university (Robert S. Daniel Teaching Excellence Award); two-year college (Wayne Weiten Teaching Excellence Award); high school (Mary Margaret Moffett Memorial Teaching Excellence Award); first seven years of full-time teaching at any level (Jane S. Halonen Teaching Excellence Award); graduate student (Wilbert J. McKeachie Teaching Excellence Award); and the Adjunct Faculty Teaching Excellence Award. Applications are due Jan. 15. Direct questions to Eric Amsel, PhD.
In addition, Div. 2 offers these grants to further the field:
- The Instructional Research Awards support research on the teaching of psychology that can be used as a resource for the division's Office of Teaching Resources in Psychology. The division offers up to five $1,500 awards. Applications are due Feb. 1. Send applications to Elizabeth Mazur, PhD.
- The Sage Travel Award provides $1,250 for an early career faculty member and a graduate student to attend APA's 2016 Annual Convention in Denver, Aug. 4–7. Completed applications should be sent to Scott Brandhorst at along with a current vitae for the faculty member. Review of applications will begin April 1 and continue until the award has been made.
- The Conference Speaker Grant provides funding for a teaching conference to host speakers on the teaching of psychology. Div. 2 provides $6,000 total and awards $1,200 per speaker or conference. The application deadline is April 1. Send applications to Courtney Rocheleau, PhD.
Find more information on each award at www.teachpsych.orgopens in new window.
Get your CE with Div. 12
Div. 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology) has three upcoming continuing-education webinars:
- "Monitoring progress in psychotherapy" by Jacqueline Persons, PhD, on Jan. 27.
- "Empirically supported treatments: Recommendations for a new model" by David Tolin, PhD, on Feb. 17.
- "Binge drinking and alcohol misuse among college students and young adults" by Rachel Winograd and Kenneth Sher, PhD, to be held in March (date to be determined).
The webinars are $15 for Div. 12 members and $50 for nonmembers. Div. 12 will post the webinars online at www.div12.org/dashboard/webinar-series/opens in new window.
Sign up for next month's Div. 13 meeting
Registration is open for the Div. 13 (Society of Consulting Psychology) annual Midwinter Consulting Psychology Conference, to be held Feb. 3–7 in Orlando, Florida. Programming includes Pecha Kucha-style presentations (20 slides for 20 seconds each) and 11 workshops, concurrent sessions and continuing-education opportunities on such topics as breaking into consulting, financial acumen for psychologists and the role of technology in consulting. The three keynote speakers are Cathy Rose Salit, CEO of the consulting firm Performance of a Lifetime; Cecily Sommers, founder of the Push Institute, a think tank that looks at global business trends; and Dan Redecki, chief scientific officer at the Academy of Brain-Based Leadership. Register on the conference Web page at https://conference2016.societyofconsultingpsychology.orgopens in new window.
Subscribe to Div. 15's weekly digest of education news
Every Friday, Div. 15 (Educational Psychology) distributes its "Weekly Digest" — a free listing of the top headlines in education news and educational psychology news from the week. Find past issues and subscribe at https://edpsych.us/theweeklydigestopens in new window. Send questions to Wade George.
Register now for Div. 22 annual meeting
Attendees can still sign up for "Rehabilitation Psychology across the Spectrum of Care," the Div. 22 (Rehabilitation Psychology) annual conference set for Feb. 19–21 in Atlanta. The meeting will offer programming for rehabilitation psychology practitioners, researchers and educators on amputation, cardiac care, critical care medicine, oncology, pain management, pediatrics, psychiatric rehabilitation, trauma, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury and more.