Chapter 7 - Press: Creativity and the Role of the Environment

Abstract

The last of the 4Ps—Press—examines the role of the environment on the creative and engineering problem-solving process. The Press takes two forms: the more general social environment and the more specific institutional environment. Both act not only to directly constrain or enable creativity, but also to define what creativity is. Important for the process of engineering creativity is the range of organizational factors that enable or resist creativity. A congenial environment will act to help creativity, but a hostile environment can shut it down. Other important Press factors include gender and teamwork. As well as study these elements of the Press, this chapter also reviews different methods available to assess aspects of the climate. Consistent with the previous chapters, the interaction of the Phases of creativity and the Press is considered. Once again, what is good for creativity in one phase may be bad for creativity in another.