Contact: Kay Fike Jones
A new book on creativity and aging theorizes that the creative spark still burns within older adults--the style may just be different.
Carolyn Adams-Price, associate professor of psychology at Mississippi State University, is the editor of "Creative and Successful Aging: Theoretical and Empirical Approaches," recently published by Springer Publishing Co. of New York.
She said the 348-page text focuses on creativity in a variety of domains, including writing and problem-solving, and presents new theories.
One theory focuses on people who develop a new interest late in life and examines how aging changes the style of the creative process. Another proposes that older people are more prone to creatively solve difficult problems with simple answers.
"It's suggested that older adults are moving toward a simpler and more direct style of writing or painting, for example, that is easier for other people to understand," said Adams-Price, who also contributed a chapter to the book.
Other contributing authors include cognitive aging researchers and creativity researchers.
Adams-Price has been a member of the Mississippi State faculty for seven years. In addition to her duties as an associate professor, she chairs the interdisciplinary gerontology program.
She received her bachelor's degree from the University of California-Santa Cruz, her master's at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., and her doctorate at West Virginia University.