This is Episode 18 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology. Download here.

Can psychology help us become more creative? Our presenter Ginny Smith learns how we can develop our creativity with practice, and discovers that our best “Eureka” moments often come when we step away from the task at hand. She also investigates how members of the public fare with the riddles psychologists use to study creative problem solving — see how you get on at home.

Our guests, in order of appearance, are: Professor James C Kaufman, an educational psychologist at the University of Connecticut and author of several books on creativity, and Dr Gillian Hill, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Buckingham and part of the CREATE research team.

Episode credits: Presented and produced by Ginny Smith. Mixing and editing Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw.

Background reading for this episode:

James C Kaufman’s paper Creativity Is More Than Silly, More Than Art, More Than Good: The Diverse Career of Arthur Cropley is free to read thanks to our sponsors, Routledge Psychology.

Research Digest has plenty of posts on creativity in the archives, including:

And over at The Psychologist, check out Rocky Horror Pixel Show, in which Arne Dietrich explores the problems in figuring out how creativity is represented in the brain.

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Past episodes:

Episode one: Dating and Attraction

Episode two: Breaking Bad Habits

Episode three: How to Win an Argument

Episode four: The Psychology of Gift Giving

Episode five: How To Learn a New Language

Episode six: How To Be Sarcastic 😉

Episode seven: Use Psychology To Compete Like an Olympian.

Episode eight: Can We Trust Psychological Studies?

Episode nine: How To Get The Best From Your Team

Episode ten: How To Stop Procrastinating

Episode eleven: How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep

Episode twelve: How To Be Funnier

Episode thirteen: How to Study and Learn More Effectively

Episode fourteen: Psychological Tricks To Make Your Cooking Taste Better

Episode fifteen: Is Mindfulness A Panacea Or Overhyped And Potentially Problematic?

Bonus episode (sixteen): What’s It Like To Have No Mind’s Eye?

Episode seventeen: How To Make Running Less Painful And More Fun

PsychCrunch is sponsored by Routledge Psychology.

Routledge interviewed PsychCrunch presenter Christian Jarrett about the aims of the podcast and engaging with the public about psychology research.