Prentky (2000-2001) states that the clinical literature appears to suggest that many famous creative individuals, examples including Franz Kafka (writer), Jean-Jacques
(poet), John Stuart Mill (poet), Edgar Allan Poe (poet and author), Virginia Woolf (writer), and Hart Crane (poet), reputedly had some “affective disturbance” (p. 101). The literature also suggests that others may have had symptoms which were more likely to be associated with schizophrenia, for example, Alan Swift (poet), August Strindberg (writer), and Charles Baudelaire (poet). These are again post-hoc diagnoses, and Prentky notes that “there are no discrete nosological entities or even nosological categories that capture all psychiatrically disturbed, highly creative individuals” (p. 101, 2000-2001). The attention now turns specifically to schizotypal creative individuals; eminent creative people who some claim may have had schizotypal personalities. Examples of these include Albert Einstein (physicist), Isaac Newton (physicist), Salvador Dali (artist), and Franz Kafka (writer) (Glazer, 2009), Lord Byron (poet and playwright), Heinrich Heine (poet), Blaise Pascal (mathematician), and August Strindberg (novelist playwright, poet and painter) (Prentky, 2000-2001), and René Descartes (philosopher, mathematician, writer) (Sass, 2000-2001). Sass (2000-2001) suggested that those with increased scores on schiztoypy measures were superior and innovative in their creation compared to those displaying affective disorders, and it is suggested that their particularly unusual or unique thinking styles coupled with their lack of psychosis could explain why they are able to produce such exceptionally creative works. To take Albert Einstein as an example: many think of a stereotypical scientist when they think of Einstein, and his reportedly eccentric and unpredictable characteristics and proneness to fantasy are emblematic of traits often typified by schizotypal individuals. Perhaps the impression that Einstein had schizotypal
atypical, overinclusive and idiosyncratic thought, characteristics which synonymous with some schizotypal behaviours as conceptualised by current researchers in the field. It is worth elaborating on an observation made earlier. Rothenberg had the notion that “Deviant behaviour, whether in the form of eccentricity or worse, is not only associated with persons of genius or high-level creativity, but it is frequently expected of them” (Rothenberg, 1990, p. 149). Again one is reminded of the „role expectation‟ of creative people which was mentioned earlier. Have those eminent in their creative fields felt the need to conform somehow to society‟s view of how „a creative‟ should behave? Or could these behaviours be associated with the cognitive styles typifying schizotypal personalities? The classic notion that creativity arose via divine intervention meant that creative individuals were traditionally bestowed with a “mystical and superior quality” (Barrantes-Vidal, 2004, p. 63), so it may not be a tenuous suggestion that some embellishment of symptoms may have ensued. However, Barrantes-Vidal makes the important point that this „myth of genius‟ does not account for the preponderance of psychopathological traits in non-eminent creative individuals. The same could be said about the disproportionately heightened schizotypy scores often related to creative performance and endeavour.
Naturally, the connection under review, that of a relationship between creativity and „madness‟, has been observed by creative individuals themselves, Salvador Dali famously declaring that “the only difference between me and a madman is that I am not mad”
(Nelson & Rawlings, 2008, p. 1), a prescient statement one may think in light of latter claims that he may have been high in schizotypy , for this could even be considered as a colloquial explanation for schizotypy itself, that is, the characteristics of „madness‟ without the psychiatric diagnosis. William Shakespeare alludes towards the tendency for people to view creativity as synonymous with mental disorder in „A Midsummer Night‟s Dream‟, demonstrated with the following quote:
“One sees more devils than vast hell can hold; That is the madman…
… The poet‟s eye, in a fine frenzy rolling,
Doth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven; And as imagination bodies forth
The form of things unknown, the poets‟ pen Turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing
A local habitation and a name.” (Shakespeare, 1590-1596, cited in Nettle, 2001, p. 2).
Having considered the empirical evidence surrounding the link between schizotypal thought and creativity, both eminent and non-eminent, it appears that there is something
about the quality of schizotypal thought which relates to unusual and novel creative productivity, or the tendency to engage in artistic pursuits. However, the evidence is mixed, and it appears that there are other factors which influence the relationships, for example, the nature of the tools and the type of creativity which is considered. The admittedly lengthy quote above reflects this and has been included for a number of reasons. Shakespeare‟s observation is pertinent as not only is he specifying a relationship between creativity and mental illness, but he is also alluding to the function of mental imagery in the creative process, a process whereby previously unanticipated forms are adapted and given meaning. The wording has a certain „schizotypal‟ quality to it; creating meaningful entities from „things unknown‟, from „airy nothings‟. This description brings to mind elements of positive schizotypy, such as the tendency to encounter shapes and forms despite there being no external stimuli present. One may again notice the somewhat stereotypical view of the „madman‟ portrayed here too, characterised by bizarre behaviour and speech, and frenzied, rolling eyes. Yet here Shakespeare is describing not a madman, but a poet. Having unusual perceptual experiences, indicated by high scores on measures of positive schizotypy, so called because it resembles the „positive‟ symptoms of schizophrenia such as hallucinations, magical ideation and other unusual cognitive experiences, is associated with increased creativity in a wide range of vocations (Nettle, 2005). For example, O‟Reilly, Dumbar and Bentall (2001) found that art students scored higher than humanities students on items measuring unusual experiences, supporting the supposition that these cognitive
an unconventional light or to make bizarre connections is common among individuals high on positive schizotypy scales, as are pseudo hallucinations and anomalous perceptual experiences (Claridge et al., 1996).
There appear to be associations with creativity between both schizotypal thought and mental imagery, yet these associations are far from straightforward. Rather than focussing on the creativity-imagery debate on one hand, and the creativity-schizotypy debate on the other, and in light of the evidence presented thus far, it may be time to consider the interrelationships between the three constructs and the possibility that schizotypy and imagery are themselves related.