Fickle fashion versus immortal fame: Transhistorical assessments of creative products in the opera house

Journal/Book: J Personal Soc Psychol. 1998; 75: 750 First St NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Amer Psychological Assoc. 198-210.

Abstract: Although the output of creative products provides a valid measure of individual differences in creativity, this criterion assumes that judgments of a product's creativity have long-term stability. This assumption was tested with a sample of 496 operas by 55 composers whose work spanned 332 years (1607-1938). In addition to examining the functional relation between initial reception and current acclaim, the investigation determined whether the interperiod consensus exhibited transhistorical stability, exponential decay, gradual attrition, or fashion cycles. Reception by contemporaries was assessed by 2 measures, whereas current status was gauged by 7 alternative assessments. Current aesthetic success was consistently found to vary as a positive monotonic function of initial reception, but the relationship changed over time in a cyclical manner. The results have important implications for the study of creativity in both historical and modern populations.

Note: Article Simonton DK, Univ Calif Davis, Dept Psychol, 1 Shields Ave, Davis,CA 95616 USA

Keyword(s): SHAKESPEARE SONNETS; CLASSICAL COMPOSERS; EMINENCE; PSYCHOLOGY; REPUTATION; ZEITGEIST; GENIUS; MODEL; TIME

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