Nurturing the Creative Spark: A Psychological and Developmental View

What’s the impact of AI on creativity? I’m concerned and since I’m not versed in using AI tools, I decided to dip my toe into what appears to be the infinite AI sea. When I instructed AI to write an article about creativity, I was awed by the result. I had been working on the article for days and thought I would use it as my test case for learning how AI works and how I can work with it. I’m enjoying the experience.

A bit of backstory: As a teacher, psychologist, parent and grandparent, my deep desire is for children to be encouraged to tap into their creativity—and for adults to encourage, inspire, and join them. With the wide-ranging influence of AI in our society, I realize how it can influence creativity. I just wonder whether it is a collaborator or a constraint. Following is the article, jointly written by AI and me.

While some of us fear AI may stifle originality, early research points to a more nuanced view. AI systems, especially generative models, can serve as creative partners—providing stimuli, recombining known ideas in novel ways, and supporting ideation across writing, visual arts, music, and design. I remember being “stuck” (in what seemed like forever) in an “uncreative ditch” while writing a book. I wonder, as I look back on that time, whether an AI engagement offering a prompt or a different perspective might have helped nudge me out of that place. A 2024 study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that individuals who used AI co-creation tools reported greater creative confidence and output—but only when they retained agency and critical engagement over the process. In contrast, passive use of AI correlated with lower satisfaction and diminished originality. I don’t think I would have trouble retaining agency and remaining critically engaged.

It seems clear that, at this moment in time, AI’s impact depends on how it’s used. Is it a tool that complements human thought or is it a replacement for it? In educational and therapeutic contexts, AI can spark new insights, but it must be integrated mindfully, preserving space for emotion, ambiguity, and reflection. We need to be vigilant, attentive, and careful as we engage without losing ourselves in the process of collaboration. AI can be used to provoke ideas, not replace them. It can extend, not substitute for our own voice.

Many people believe that creativity is a rare gift, a flash of brilliance reserved for artists or innovators. From a psychological and developmental standpoint, I believe creativity is a human birthright, rooted in how we grow, explore, and connect with the world. I see creativity as democratic.

Curiosity as Our Earliest Teacher

From the moment infants reach for a mobile or gurgle at a patterned toy, their curiosity is at work; this is a nascent form of creativity. Researchers in developmental psychology show that this intrinsic drive to explore—what we call motivational curiosity—is foundational for learning and growth. Studies find that when children encounter manageable challenges, their brain rewards them with dopamine, reinforcing the delight of discovery.

Flow: The Sweet Spot of Engagement

Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi described flow as that immersive state when time seems to dissolve, and our full attention is captured. Achieving flow isn’t about innate talent – it’s about matching challenge with skill. Think of a child learning to jump rope: too easy, and they’re bored; too hard, and they get discouraged. But in that sweet spot where creativity and confidence meet, they flourish.

Safe Spaces and the Power of Play

Psychologically, creativity thrives in environments where failure isn’t shameful and where play has cognitive and emotional room to breathe. Research in attachment and family dynamics shows that children who feel securely supported are more willing to take creative risks. These formative moments – whether it’s doodling without judgment or inventing new games – build the developmental foundation that becomes creative resilience.

Modeling Mindfulness and Emotional Flexibility

Creative expression is not just cognitive – it’s deeply emotional. A loving, mindful adult presence can help children name and regulate their feelings, especially when a creative effort doesn’t go as planned. This kind of inner calm allows the child to pause, reflect, adjust, and try again – an emotional arc that nurtures creative growth and life skills beyond art, like patience and self-compassion.

Cultural Continuity and Creative Evolution

Creativity doesn’t spring up in isolation – it carries the echoes of what’s come before. Psychology and cognitive science point to creativity as a culturally cumulative phenomenon: each new idea builds on previous ones, evolving in utility, meaning, or beauty. This is less about reinventing the wheel and more about making the idea your own. As we walk through life, we can be open to looking at both the familiar and the new with eyes and mind wide open.

A friend of mine is touring Europe as I write this newsletter. Her trip is an emotional one filled with visits to historical sites memorializing the highs and lows of humanity throughout history. As an artist and designer, she is documenting her trip by creating small collages. Each one incorporates materials and objects from the place, using symbols, text, form, and texture. By creating these art forms, she is mentally, kinesthetically, emotionally, and spiritually processing her experiences. She will keep these “collage postcards” to remind her not just of each place, but of her state of mind and heart at the time of this visit.

I believe creativity is a psychological and developmental capacity we can all grow within ourselves. It is not something we outgrow; it simply shifts forms. A child paints boldly with their fingers; an adult may write poetry or learn new techniques to enhance their photography. Across all stages of life, we benefit from environments that value curiosity, allow for emotional expression, and support the joy of discovery.

Creativity, seen through this psychological lens, is a deeply human way of meeting the world with attention, courage, and heart. When we nurture it – through curiosity, emotional safety, and supportive challenge – we help people of all ages remain engaged, resilient, and connected to what matters. With emotional safety, cognitive challenge, and now, thoughtful use of AI, creativity becomes more than expression. It becomes an essential practice of living with awareness, adaptability, and meaning. And what is life without meaning?

Bringing It All Together – A Developmental Pathway to Creative Well-Being

Using my friend’s European journey as inspiration, here are ways to nurture creativity across the lifespan:

Cultivate curiosity as a daily habit: Ask open-ended questions that prompt exploration. Our brain’s reward centers respond to the challenge of the unknown. “What else could this be?” “How might I try it differently?” Like my friend collecting materials from each place she visits, encourage the gathering of ideas, textures, sounds, or images from daily experiences and see how they can relate to each other in a new form.

Design challenges intentionally: Adjust challenges to match interests and abilities. Balance novelty with the ability to encourage flow and deeper engagement. Just as my friend chooses which materials to incorporate into each collage, we can discover ways to match creative challenges to our current skills while gently stretching our capabilities.

Foster safe environments: Allow play, mistakes, and emotional security to encourage creative experimentation. Create judgment-free zones for expression. My friend’s willingness to experiment with unfamiliar materials in her collages reflects the kind of creative courage that grows in psychologically safe spaces.

Support emotional reframing: We can reappraise frustration or failure as opportunities for insight. Name and discuss emotions when frustrations arise. When my friend’s collages don’t turn out as planned, she uses those moments to explore what the materials are telling her about her experience thus gaining insight into what does and doesn’t work.

Honor incubation and rest: Allow time for ideas to simmer as well as problem-solve. Build in reflection time, such as just before sleeping or upon awakening. Celebrate reinterpretations of familiar stories, traditions, and ideas. We can sit quietly with materials before beginning a collage, or any project, letting the day’s experiences settle so we are ready to create.

Connect creativity to culture: Honor traditional stories, patterns, and customs, then invite reimagining them. Be open to building bridges between inherited traditions and personal expression.

These practices remind us that creativity isn’t a luxury—it’s a fundamental way of processing our experiences and connecting with what matters most to us. Whether we’re five or eighty-five, we all benefit from approaches and activities that honor our need for creative expression and our capacity for growth.

Refocus Pause

Each morning, we can remind ourselves that multitasking and distraction are natural. Set an intention to notice when your attention splits.

Throughout the day, when we catch ourselves multitasking – or realize the mind is scattered – pause for a moment. Then take a single, slow breath and acknowledge, “I’m aware my mind has wandered.”

At that point, without criticism, we can gently guide our focus back to the one task that we left and allow ourselves a moment of presence before continuing.

In the evening, before bed, again, without criticism, we can recall the times we noticed our distraction. Did we pause and refocus? And if we did, how did it feel to return to single tasking?

By building the “Refocus Pause” into our daily routine, each moment of distraction becomes an opportunity – not a setback – to strengthen mindfulness and attention.