Through thick and thin: changes in creativity during the first lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 took us by surprise. We all had to face a new situation never encountered before and find new solutions to the problems it generated, either related to the disease or the lockdown’s consequences. The lockdown and pandemic crisis caused new issues and placed us in an entirely new context, changing our way of life, work time and conditions, and habits. Coping with such an unprecedented situation may have stimulated creativity. However, the situation also restricted our liberties and wellbeing and triggered health or psychological difficulties. Worrying, concerns, challenging conditions of confinement may have hampered creativity or its expression. Hence, wellbeing factors related to affective experience, living conditions, social interactions, as well as workload or available free time, may have impacted creativity during the lockdown. We carried out an online survey based on a self-administered questionnaire to examine whether the first lockdown period related to the COVID-19 pandemic (spring 2020) was associated with creativity changes and explore the role of several factors in these changes. We measured self-reported creativity changes using two approaches: changes in creative self-efficacy and creative activities and achievements. We related them to several variables estimating time availability, conditions of confinement, social interactions, and affective experience of the situation. Despite a global negative subjective experience of the situation, individuals who participated in our survey (n=380) reported that they were on average more creative during the lockdown than before and engaged in more creative activities. The converging results from self-perceived and activity-based measures showed that this positive change could be linked with more time availability, feeling more motivated or inspired, or the need to solve a problem. However, when negative changes in creativity were experienced, they were instead related to negative affective experiences, including stress and anxiety, a low mood, a feeling of pressure, or a lack of resources or opportunities. This study helps to document what happened during the first lockdown period in France regarding aspects of creativity, showing some positive outcomes of the situation despite its negative consequences, and providing cues about the key factors that stimulated or, on the contrary, blocked creativity.

Auteurs Bordeaux Neurocampus