Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Living Abroad and Thinking Outside of the Box


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Two weeks ago, I had the exciting opportunity to visit my sister in London where she is studying for the year. As she showed me her new lifestyle and daily routine, we reflected on some of the benefits she has gained from her time abroad thus far, such as greater knowledge about European history and new friends from different countries. We also talked about some less tangible advantages, like changing the way she thinks about the world, learning to interpret behaviors from a new perspective, and improving her ability to solve problems. In other words, we came to the conclusion that living abroad has helped foster her creativity.

The notion that living abroad enhances creativity may be quite familiar to you. There is certainly plenty of anecdotal evidence to support this idea and a long tradition of the “expatriate artist.” For example, while visiting Westminster Abbey, my sister and I saw memorials to George Händel and Henry James – two artists who were not born in England but who produced some of their most famous works while living there. It’s easy to conjure up glamorous ideas of artists living and working abroad, their creativity sparked by new environments and lifestyles, as in the movie Midnight in Paris. But can the rest of us improve our creativity by living abroad? Were my sister and I right to think that her experience abroad has fostered her creativity? In this post, I’ll present some evidence that such a connection does exist and that it occurs not just for artists, but also within the general population.

In multiple studies with MBA students and undergraduates, researchers William Maddux and Adam Galinsky have demonstrated that the amount of time spent living abroad, and not traveling abroad, is a significant predictor of creativity. They have also shown that time spent living abroad predicts creativity even when controlling for personality characteristics that might influence creativity, such as openness to experience.

Duncker Candle Problem
Researchers measure creativity in all kinds of ways. In some of these studies, creativity was assessed as performance solving problems that have hidden, unexpected solutions. One of these tasks is the Duncker candle problem. For this task, participants are shown a picture with a candle, a pack of matches, and a box of tacks on a table against a wall. They are told to figure out how to attach the candle to the wall so that it burns properly and doesn’t drip wax on the table or the floor. You can see the solution in the picture on the left – participants must empty the box of the tacks and attach it to the wall as a candleholder. Maddux and Galinsky's results showed that the more time participants had spent living abroad, the more likely they were to solve this problem.

When I first heard about these studies, I wanted to know why living abroad is so strongly associated with people’s creativity. Especially since time spent traveling abroad does not predict better performance on these tasks, there must be something important about the experience of actually living in a new environment that leads to more creativity. One aspect of living abroad that Maddux and Galinsky have found facilitates creativity is adaptation to one’s environment. If I’m traveling, I can bring most of the essentials I will need, stay in comfortable hotels, and potentially even eat at familiar, chain restaurants. I can pretty easily see the sights without changing my normal routine or going too far outside of my comfort zone. Living in a new culture, though, really requires people to learn how to think and behave differently.

To get some real-life examples, I asked my sister about the adjustments she has had to make, even in an English-speaking, Western country. If you take a look at what she said, you can get a sense for the kinds of changes in thinking and behavior that people make when immersed in a new culture.


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1) Crossing the street
My biggest hurdle was just trying to stay alive on my commute to school by re-training my brain to look right-left-right when I cross the street. I have finally adjusted, but I initially distrusted looking right-left-right, and I used to sneak one final look to the left, just to make sure a car wasn't coming.

2) Queuing
British people are very proud of their ability to queue (form a line) in any situation. At the grocery store, people will form a single file line that winds around several aisles without any trouble. When I arrived in London, I had to learn to become more aware of when/where a queue was forming so that I did not unintentionally do something very rude!

3) Interpersonal communication
It has taken me a while to understand the intention that is behind what people say and do. Upon arrival, London seemed to be the friendliest city, but once my courses started and I interacted more with students and faculty, I realized that the “friendliness” was actually more like politeness. Just because someone is being very polite doesn't mean they want to be your best friend. But that kind of behavior in the U.S. would mean that someone really wants to get to know you.

Maddux and Galinsky have found that experiences like these of adapting to a new culture help create the link between living abroad and greater creativity. I’m sure those of you who have lived abroad can come up with your own examples too!

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It turns out that you don’t have to be an artist like Ernest Hemingway or Gertrude Stein in order to benefit creatively from living abroad. Living in a new culture and adapting to new ways of thinking and behaving seems to be helpful for creativity even for your average Joe. When my sister finishes her year in London, I’ll expect her to return with more than just pictures and souvenirs. Based on this research, I predict that she will have enhanced her creativity as well!

If you have lived abroad, do you think your creativity was improved? What specific experiences do you think may have helped foster your creativity? Let us know in the comments!

Further reading:

Maddux WW, Adam H, & Galinsky AD (2010). When in Rome ... Learn why the Romans do what they do: how multicultural learning experiences facilitate creativity. Personality & social psychology bulletin, 36 (6), 731-41 PMID: 20445025

Maddux WW, & Galinsky AD (2009). Cultural borders and mental barriers: the relationship between living abroad and creativity. Journal of personality and social psychology, 96 (5), 1047-61 PMID: 19379035

15 comments:

  1. Interestingly, I find that in meetings or engagements outside of my home country my focus and intensity is much higher. I am very aware that I might miss a cultural nuance or an unfamiliar business convention or custom. I need to pay very close attention to the task at hand. I am less distracted by the background "noise" of daily life that I constantly have in my home market. Consequently, it has been noted by my colleagues that most of my best work is done "on the road". A slightly different take on your insightful post.

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    1. Very interesting! I love that your colleagues even notice the quality of your work improving when you’re abroad. Perhaps being more focused and attuned to one’s environment is a somewhat different advantage of being abroad that may also facilitate performance. Thanks for the comment!

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  2. I found your sisters comment that she has to "retrain her brain" to look right-left-right when crossing the street very interesting. Perhaps people who spend a great deal of time travelling have unknowingly "trained their brains" to think outside of the box or to approach problems from multiple angles/perspectives. This would certainly help to explain the Duncker Candle Problem. It would also help to explain why those who travel may find it easier to get their creative juices flowing. I am not one to keep a journal -unless I am traveling. The combination of down time and sight seeing (and maybe my brain having to process information/approach problems a little differently) certainly inspires me to write quite a bit more than I do on the mainland!

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    1. This is great that you keep a journal when traveling! There is definitely more to process and find inspiration from when away from home. Thanks for reading ☺

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  3. Well done, on the mark in my view. Consistent with my own experiences and I hope lasting benefits from a Junior Year abroad in Vienna many years ago. I'm guessing the Directors of many of these Year Abroad Programs would appreciate having your blog post and supporting research references included in their marketing materials. SJR

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    1. Hopefully they would! Maybe I can exchange my post for some help with data collection before and after people go abroad ;) Thank you for your comment!

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  4. Kate!
    Of course you are engaging in this intellectual analysis of being abroad...most people would be just taking in the sights
    I love that you even cite references
    Plus, I think you are absolutely right...though, I've found traveling to places that are REALLY different than home have a similar mentally stimulating effect...without having to live there.
    And then there's the re-adjustment of the right-left-right back to left-right-left when you get out of those countries
    Thanks for sharing,
    Su

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    1. Hi Su! I agree – there is also the reverse culture shock that comes with being home and trying to get used to that lifestyle again. Hopefully all these changes help keep us more flexible in our thinking. Thanks so much for reading!

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  5. I loved this post even as a non psych person! It made me think through many overseas experiences and brought me right back to navigating cultural difference here at home as well. I am definitely a good meter for the left right thing, mixing up words, pointing left or right in reverse, and windshield wipers instead of blinkers when arriving from Australia from here or here to there? Also I am struck by the complexities of negotiating directness/indirectness in speech. In more relaxed paced cultures it is clear that direct statements american style just register as pushy and rude rather than direct and clear. The real value of human time over coffee is varies with place or cultural subgroup whether proposing a business partnership or collaborating on an art work. Time is different not only in its velocity but also its texture. And then one could go on for a lifetime about the primacy or irrelevance of the individual in relation to the group. Yes, spending time abroad makes you much more creative in your negotiations because the responses we learn at home don't always work as expected abroad.
    Carol

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    1. Hi Carol – glad you enjoyed the post! I love what you say about time just feeling different in other cultures, which I agree is related to the directness/indirectness of speech. What do we have time for? What should we fill it with? Navigating interpersonal communication when we view time differently is certainly tricky. Thanks for writing about your experiences!

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  6. As a Bates senior, Class of 1960, I received an opportunity from Bates after graduation to spend the summer in France, working at a wholesale florist business all expenses paid. Unfortunately, this opportunity was lost because the French family never forgot the massacre on St. Bartholomew's Day. When the French family learned that a classmate, who was already there, was Catholic, as was I, they cancelled my trip. Undeterred, I went to France anyway the following year, stayed with a family and got a good deal out of the experience, so much so that I returned to study in Tours, met some fine people and went back over and over to enjoy the company of new friends, and this helped to perfect my French. It also led to a 40 year friendship with a French teacher of Spanish, a wonderful friendship with an actor and his wife in the Comedie Francaise, along with his family; another friendship with a family in Chambery, who treated me like the son they never had. Traveling abroad is not only exciting, but, if one is young enough, enthusiastic enough, and adventurous, long-lasting and important and warm and close relationships are not only made, but they endure. I thank Bates for opening the door and for making my life fulfilled. This is the type of experience I would hope more young adults could experience.

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    1. Hello, fellow Batesie! I love hearing about your experience abroad, and I am so glad that you had such an enriching one. I like that you point out some other benefits of living abroad – like lifelong friends. Being abroad and unfamiliar with the way of life around us can really force us to ask for help from others and gives others the opportunity to help us in return, strengthening relationships from both directions. I thank Bates for many similar, fulfilling experiences as well :) Thanks for reading.

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  7. I spent the second semester of my junior year in London. The first few weeks you are getting adjusted to different dialects and new currency. Over time it became routine. Towards the end of my semester I saw american currency for the first time in months and it just looked weird. It took time to get adjusted to crossing the street it also took time to ride as a passenger in a car on the other side of the road!
    Living abroad has influenced many of the choices I made in my career. I have taken risks and been open to experiences that I don't think I would have done if I hadn't spent that time in London.

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  8. Hi Liz – yes, I think the experience of living abroad, especially for college students, is one that not only helps them be creative, but that also facilitates greater comfort with new experiences in general. Thanks for your post!

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  9. Excellent post, Kate. I often find that students who went abroad behave differently in upper-level seminars compared to students who stayed on campus. I think you're right to zero in on creativity in particular. The students who traveled tend to be more willing to think divergently and to entertain different ways of thinking.

    It's great to "see" you - and I love the idea behind this blog. Well done!

    Rebecca Fraser-Thill

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