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Science

Are People With ADHD Better at Creative Tasks? (scientificamerican.com) 75

Posted by EditorDavid from the battle-of-the-brains dept.
"ADHD may also bring with it an advantage: the ability to think more creatively," argues a new article in Scientific American: Three aspects of creative cognition are divergent thinking, conceptual expansion and overcoming knowledge constraints... Previous research has established that individuals with ADHD are exceptionally good at divergent thinking tasks, such as inventing creative new uses for everyday objects, and brainstorming new features for an innovative cell phone device. In a new study, college students with ADHD scored higher than non-ADHD peers on two tasks that tapped conceptual expansion and the ability to overcome knowledge constraints. Together with previous research, these new findings link ADHD to all three elements of the creative cognition trio...

ADHD may create difficulties for individuals in many contexts that required focused, sustained attention — such as school, where students are expected to sit still and pay attention. On the other hand, the same distractibility and chaotic mind can give people with ADHD an edge when it comes to creative, original thinking. This new study suggests that ADHD may be especially beneficial when the goal is to create or invent something new without being locked into — and constrained by — old models or conventions.

The innovative, original thinking style of people with ADHD may be a great fit for innovative fields where it's an advantage to be on the cutting edge.
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Are People With ADHD Better at Creative Tasks? More

Are People With ADHD Better at Creative Tasks?

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  • Adderall (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Lots of people who use drugs are more creative.

    • Microaggressions (Score:3, Insightful)

      by whoever56 ( 6670354 )
      Now-banned "Speedy Gonzalez" was a stereotype of a Maxican mouse high on cocaine. He could also be likened to someone with ADHD, so be careful of your audience there. Adderall is the cocaine of the 21st century.

      • Adderall tends to level out people with ADHD (which is extremely counter-intuitive). So while you're on point with with Speedy, Adderall doesn't act like a stimulant at therapeutic doses with the relevant types of ADHD (or just ADD). Frankly, I think the bar is set too low for calling someone a sufferer of the disorder, but that's a personal opinion

        ADD and ADHD affect executive function - We can't just choose to pay attention to things as well as most people, to a point where it negatively affects normal li

        • "to a point where it negatively affects normal life choices" This, 1000x times. I just got on actual mediation about a decade ago; the amount of damage I've had to fix since then is tremendous. The most surprising result is an increase in empathy; like the medication has enabled dysfunctional mirror neurons or something.

        • Absolute this ^^

          As a developer with very strong, ADHD it's definitely a double edged sword but to me, a lot more of a disadvantage.
          The advantages a wandering mind seems to bring, includes being more likely to consider the bigger picture on tasks/projects, see unconsidered risks and tend to find more novel or creative uses for things and unconventional approaches.
          I'm consistently more productive at applying my knowledge to the tasks, however when acquiring new knowledge, which is probably the biggest par

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by PPH ( 736903 )

        You are thinking of the abuse of the drug, not it's proper prescription. People with true ADHD respond differently to Adderall and other stimulants than people with normal physiology. It stabilizes their behavior. That said, the major problems with Adderall/stimulants is their mis-prescription (to people who don't actually suffer from ADHD) as well as leakage into the illicit drug market.

    • Define creative. Does it mean doing random things without regard to yourself, the people around you and the environment?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by MrKaos ( 858439 )

      Hook a young boy up to a play station, feed him sugar and don't let him run around like a like a crazy kid of course they're going to misbehave. However instead of giving the little kid something constructive and energetic to do so that he is calm the answer is to feed him drugs? If you never give a boy a way to tame his creative energies, what do you think is going to happen when it stays wild with a brain that was or is dependent on amphetamines?

      Generations of boys have been failed and manipulated int

      • Hook a young boy up to a play station, feed him sugar and don't let him run around like a like a crazy kid of course they're going to misbehave. However instead of giving the little kid something constructive and energetic to do so that he is calm the answer is to feed him drugs? If you never give a boy a way to tame his creative energies, what do you think is going to happen when it stays wild with a brain that was or is dependent on amphetamines?

        Generations of boys have been failed and manipulated into being slaves or classed as criminals because the society around them *has* to make them conform to this or that behavior. You're wrong because you're male, you're a fool because you're male, you're a toxic cuck who should be ashamed of himself because you're a male. You need to be treated with drugs because you're a male.

        Male creative energy is not a disorder. When will this insanity end?

        So, do you have any personal experience of being cucked in this way Mr Kaos?

        • Re: (Score:1)

          by deadb0y ( 410650 )

          Maybe he doesn't but I do. I have ADHD but was schooled in the 80's so I was treated as a bad kid (Hyperkinetic impulse disorder, Hyperactive child syndrome)... Not a medical case... I didn't have a game console and was very free to run outside of school so I dread to think how bad I'd have been if my parents had got me a console!

          In the average class back then I'd do the work set for me quite quickly because the education system was designed for the lowest common denominator, not me (I am intelligent believ

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by MrKaos ( 858439 )

            I'm sorry to hear that you were put through that.

            I'd do the work set for me quite quickly because the education system was designed for the lowest common denominator, not me

            Being taught to conform will never allow you to reach your full potential.

            I earned the label of "disruptive influence"...Once you are labels you tend to act as such

            Wear it with pride. I did so many things from electronics, basic, chess, writing, sports *whilst* doing my school classes I was a total wildcard, I don't think anyone knew what to make of me. My attitude was curiosity but when people tried to control me I became very recalcitrant and bombastic which was probably not very wise, but I was just a kid. I was lucky not to have drawn the k

        • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

          by MrKaos ( 858439 )

          So, do you have any personal experience of being cucked in this way Mr Kaos?

          No, sociopaths sharpened my perception of psychologically manipulative tactics.

          I've observed my Conservative Male friends being cucked because their beliefs trap them into a course of behavior where they invite it. They predictably white knight and attempt to shame a man for standing up for the rights of men and boys, precisely as you have demonstrated. I think it is because the Conservative Male has consistently failed to

      • Hook a young boy up to a play station, feed him sugar and don't let him run around like a like a crazy kid of course they're going to misbehave. However instead of giving the little kid something constructive and energetic to do so that he is calm the answer is to feed him drugs?
        [...]
        creative energy is not a disorder. When will this insanity end?

        Not until stranger danger hysteria [pineight.com] ends. Parents give their children Sony products rather than sending them to the park to play because indoor play keeps the parents from being arrested for neglect to fill some police officer's quota.

  • Assuming we harness it properly. And don't get drugged to make it go away.

    • That's why I only take the drugs on days when I need to do administrivial work or when I otherwise need to make quick decisions and can't afford to be distracted. Also, I develop a tolerance to the meds fairly quickly, so I need lots of 'days off' to be sure that they'll work when I really need them.

      A writer friend of mine who also has ADD points out that it was likely an evolutionary advantage in man's hunter-gatherer past. Our kind would be more likely to pay attention to things on the periphery of our vi

    • It's a disorder, not a lifestyle choice.

      • ADHD is an asset in many professions. It is not a disability. That being said, creativity and inventiveness is a double edged sword. There is a reason that we both celebrate thinking outside the box while at the same time discourage it. We need people on the edge in order to discover new and better things but we also need a stable society so most people tend to be sheep and discourage going against the group. This allows the group to be stable but also allows the group to occasionally reintegrate ideas

  • No. (Score:2)

    by ludux ( 6308946 )
    If you don't think creative jobs require focused, sustained attention, you've never had a job in a creative field.
  • I used a butter knife as a screwdriver once. Go, me!

  • TLDR (Score:3)

    by flyingfsck ( 986395 ) on Sunday March 08, 2020 @09:38PM (#59809616)
    What ADHD? TLDR. What next?
  • The first person to fold tinfoil into a hat likely had ADHD.

  • ADHD person here... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by SnowWombat ( 6346402 ) on Sunday March 08, 2020 @09:52PM (#59809634)

    Yeah ironically I screw up my life when I am NOT on (legally prescribed) drugs.

    I wasn't diagnosed until I was 27, and it's how I ended up becoming a Project manager because Project management frame work is the only effective way I found to offset and manage my dysfunction, and not end up unemployed and homeless because I could barely function in any modern workplace, as an IT person.

    Modern Open plan offices, are ADHD hell and we get ZERO accommodations and have to work around it as best I can. Noise cancelling headphones are a godsend.

    Also, the "real time credit reporting" we are in nowadays, means my credit rating is an absolute tire fire, as I am constantly late paying bills etc, or forgetting I have auto debits coming out, etc.

    I have given up on being able to ever get a house.

    So yeah, I would trade a slight creative advantage, to be able to function to the best of my ability.

    • Automate the payments. It can also improve your credit-rating. If you pay with a credit-card then repay the credit card right away, then it counts as having paid back credit, on those same credit-reports. I've heard this can gradually improve your rating.

      • Point being, if you need to improve your credit-rating, pay everything with a credit-card, but only when you have money in the bank, them immediately pay off the credit. This stuff can be automated, or you can have automated reminders.

      • That is just a great way to also get overdrafted for ADD. I know from personal experience, good luck keeping track of all those withdraws when you do random impulse buys and such.

      • Gee! Why didn't "I" think of that! /S

        That doesn't work for ADHD when you have a bad week, impulse buy, Savings are almost impossible, (we're terrible with long term planning) and I have everything in my calendar when it comes out. I have been burned so many time with auto debits coming out double, or early.. or getting paid late.

        Also, I don't have a credit card, because Credit cards are the LAST thing ADHD with impulse control issues, should have.

        I used to have one, and got 20K in the hole before I was diag

        • Exactly. You cant save you from yourself, and you are your worst enemy when it comes to goals.

  • ... written by a Betterige-loving, uncreative person.

  • ADHD is a diagnosis given to people with normal, healthy brain function who have difficulty adapting to the stifling constraint, boredom, and forced conformity of school/work under a totalitarian regime.

    • ADHD is a diagnosis given to people with normal, healthy brain function who have difficulty adapting to the stifling constraint, boredom, and forced conformity of school/work under a totalitarian regime.

      While ADHD is a diagnosis given to many people with normal, healthy brain-function, it's also a diagnosis given to people who are actually not normal or healthy. It's unfortunate that the over-diagnosis suggests that the actual disorder isn't "real", but it is.

      I know two people (one 48, one about 9) who are absolutely not well in that specific way that fits what ADHD is. The kid is diagnosed. The adult has a massively difunctional life with really crappy personal relationships. Not because they're a ba

      • The kid sounds like a normal, healthy kid whose normal, healthy cognitive behavior has been medicalized and thereby stigmatized.

        • The kid sounds like a normal, healthy kid whose normal, healthy cognitive behavior has been medicalized and thereby stigmatized.

          And there are your assumptions, exposed. The kid isn't medicated. He's merely diagnosed. I also didn't describe his symptoms beyond my general interpretation of ADHD. He is most definitely not normal, nor healthy. But you're not - evidently - willing to learn on this topic.

      • It is most likely caused by wrong food. One suspect is to much phosphor.

        There are many countries where this disorder basically does not exist at all, especially not in adults.

    • Re:fake disease (Score:4, Insightful)

      by seebs ( 15766 ) on Monday March 09, 2020 @08:49AM (#59810650) Homepage

      I don't think that's correct.

      When I was a kid, some friends of mine and I were playing with firecrackers. A small one blew up in my hand (no serious injuries yay) because I forgot I was holding it. During the 2 seconds after I lit the fuse. I got distracted.

      I assure you, ADHD is not a result of stifling constraint, boredom, etcetera. It's an actual thing.

  • One would suppose that those with ADHD have what economists call a comparative advantage in creative tasks. That is, they are relatively better at tasks which require creativity without also requiring disciplined, organizing thinking. If ADHD people are more often employed in the arts than the sciences, a comparative advantage alone would explain why, with no absolute advantage in creativity. A comparative advantage would be consistent with expectations though, so maybe not so interesting.

    What would be

  • As always, Betteridge.

  • ADHD is a differently specialized neurotype that has been spoken of only in terms of its downsides. This is not to minimize the hardship of those who are forced to work in situations that ignore their strengths and further corrode weak points. Medication is an appropriate response to surviving that situation, but thriving comes from getting to the strengths that have made ADHD conserved within the human genome. This neurotype has a lot to offer the human village.

    https://www.quora.com/Do-those... [quora.com]

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by epine ( 68316 )

      I worked with a guy with ADHD. He excelled in taking a novel problem, proposing a solution, and then satisfying seven of eight constraints. Then he would hand it to be as "almost done" and I would have to satisfy the eighth constraint. Which would have been fine, because I can search Google 1000 times in a single twelve-hour session to find the last puzzle piece. Only it never turned out that the eighth constraint had a viable solution without going back to unwind half the "almost done" solution.

      ADHD person

  • Creative genius or inspiration requires a certain sort of openness—exactly the sort of openness your child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) displays. Creativity often requires reframing or rethinking old problems. ________________________ https://www.collegeapps.com/ [collegeapps.com]

  • As per evolution that is. We're constantly in combat/alert mode which makes us useful in extreme situations or 'thinking outside the box'. For us there simply is no box. This all puts us closer to a bum than regular people when things are going fine in general. It makes us very bad at regular tasks that don't have epic importance, are boring as hell or are something we consider a by and large pointless endeavor. It also makes us very bad at usual everyday politics which in turn makes us regular victims of people taking advantage of our straight-forwardness and resulting honesty.

    That's all not easy to deal with, but stoicism, activity and a minimalist lifestyle do help.

    That's two cents from an ADHD person who just got dumped from a job yet again. Will finally try out medication this year.

  • I have ADHD, I have two patents, every browser is using my patent but I do not see a penny, a grad degree in EE, but I still was homeless for a few years.
  • For a small number of workers, being ditzy but very creative might be a workable combination but for everyone else, the inability to finish a task or pay attention to communications might be a disadvantage. Sure there are some benefits but let's not withhold treatment for those who struggle in the workplace. Even geniuses would say that their success is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration!
  • I was labelled "creative" at a young age; always drawing or making something. Labelled "ADHD" in my teens, was on Ritalyn for a short time (and it WORKED - it was a revelation to me to be able to just sit down and crank through schoolwork) but I didn't like the way I felt when it wore off (as I lost the ability to focus, every little thing drove me NUTS), so I elected to stop using it. About 2 years into college I jumped off into a career as an engineer and product designer, and I have designed or been invo
  • If we're interested in what we're doing, we can be utter geniuses, and the degree of genius is directly proportional to how interested we are in the subject at hand.
    The flip-side of that coin however is that if we're bored, or dreading whatever it is, we're dumb as a box of rocks. :p
    The key to living with ADHD is to learn to somehow make whatever you're doing fun for yourself, make it into a game, even if the game is just with yourself. Make whatever it is interesting, make it a challenge. Hyperfocus [wikipedia.org] can

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