relationship or "confluence" of cognitive processes, knowledge, thinking style, personality, motivation, and environment across the lifespan. It is said to be associated with the creation of meaning as well as the human ability to resolve problems and improve the quality of life. It may or may not be a novel or innovative response, the main element here is not its uniqueness as a response but its adaptiveness. In other words, current notions of creativity associate this element of intellect with coping.
Regarding creativity as it relates to adult intellectual development and aging, Albert (1996) reports that formal education, to at least some degree, actually inhibits the tansformation of childhood creative abilities into adult creativity. It is speculated that schooling and/or stage of cognitive development at that age emphasizes logical rather than divergent thinking, or that schools (and families) value conventional behavior, well-defined problems, and good grades more than creative thought. Indeed, Albert (1996) states that creativity found among certain adolescents and adults really shows a minimal degree of continuity from childhood and that adult and older adult creativity is essentially different from childhood creativity.
There is some disagreement on this notion in the literature. For example, Keegan (1996) states that there is indeed continuity in creative cognitive processes from childhood to adulthood and that the only differences are a matter of degree rather than kind. Keegan feels that the observed difference between creativity in older adults and children can be explained
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