Contemporary Studies on Creativity and Psychopathology

Abstract

The mad genius link remains one of the most heated debates in contemporary research on creativity (Silvia and Kaufman, 2010). Authors hold completely opposing positions; some contending that psychopathology have nothing to do with creativity (Rothenberg, 1995; Sawyer, 2012b; Schlesinger, 2009, 2012), while others assert the two to be profoundly associated (Andreasen, 2008; Jamison, 1996; Ludwig, 1995). Discussions on the topic are often collared by strong emotions and less often founded on empirical research (Silvia and Kaufman, 2010). The current chapter therefore aims to present a complete overview of original contemporary research conducted on the question of creativity and psychopathology, while also discussing the results of these studies in relation to some of the major criticism that has been evoked by these studies.