Researchers have known for a while that one way to come up with creative solutions is to create some distance from a problem (I blogged on it here). In other words, if you frame the problem so it’s distant in some way, geographically, temporally, etc, the solutions you come up with tend to be more creative than if you are solving a problem that’s located in the here and now.
Well, now researchers have demonstrated that you can be creative solving problems in the here and now, just solve the problems for someone else. In other words, people tend to be more creative when solving problems for others than they are when solving them for themselves.
This makes sense from an evolutionary perspective. If a social species, like humanity, is to survive, it makes sense that its members are at their best when solving problems for their fellow humans. It creates a support structure that helps increase survival odds when focused on the other.
What’s been your experience? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this!
