Everyday creativity as a sociocultural value: stability, social divides, and cross-national variation in Europe
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3846/cs.2026.25861Abstract
This study examines everyday creativity as a sociocultural value orientation across European societies, conceptualizing creativity not only as an individual capacity but also as a culturally embedded framework. Drawing on longitudinal and comparative data from the European Social Survey, it investigates cross-national variation in the valuation of everyday creativity, its stability or change over time, and its sociodemographic structuring. The results reveal persistent cross-national differences in creativity values and the absence of a uniform temporal trend. Although everyday creativity is widely valued across Europe, the extent to which it is socially structured varies substantially between societies.
Keywords:
everyday creativity, creative values, cross-national comparison, European Social Survey, sociocultural contextHow to Cite
Share
License
Copyright (c) 2026 The Author(s). Published by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Baer, J., & Kaufman, J. C. (2008). Gender differences in creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 42(2), 75–105. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2162-6057.2008.tb01289.x
Beghetto, R. A., & Karwowski, M. (2017). Toward untangling creative self-beliefs. In M. Karwowski & J. C. Kaufman (Eds.), Explorations in creativity research. The creative self: Effect of beliefs, self-efficacy, mindset, and identity (pp. 3–22). J. C. Kaufman (Series Ed.). Academic Press/Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-809790-8.00001-7
Boden, M. A. (2004). The creative mind: Myths and mechanisms. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203508527
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1997). Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. HarperPerennial.
ESS Data Portal. (2026a). Datafile Builder (Wizard). https://ess.sikt.no/en/data-builder/
ESS Data Portal. (2026b). Dive into the data. https://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/data-portal
European Social Survey. (2026). European social survey. https://www.europeansocialsurvey.org/
Feist, G. J. (1998). A meta-analysis of personality in scientific and artistic creativity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2(4), 290–309. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327957pspr0204_5
Glăveanu, V. P. (Ed.). (2016). Palgrave studies in creativity and culture. The Palgrave handbook of creativity and culture research. V. P. Glăveanu & B. Wagoner (Series Eds.). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-46344-9
Guilford, J. P. (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist, 5(9), 444–454. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0063487
Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations. Sage Publications.
Howkins, J. (2001). The creative economy: How people make money from ideas. Penguin Books.
Karwowski, M., Lebuda, I., & Wiśniewska, E. (2018). Measuring creative self-efficacy and creative personal identity. The International Journal of Creativity and Problem Solving, 28(1), 45–57.
Kaufman, J. C., & Beghetto, R. A. (2009). Beyond big and little: The Four C model of creativity. Review of General Psychology, 13(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013688
Lubart, T., Glăveanu, V. P., Vries, de H., Camargo, A., & Storme, M. (2019). Cultural perspectives on creativity. In J. C. Kaufman & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of creativity (pp. 421–447). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316979839.022
Reckwitz, A. (2017). The invention of creativity: Modern society and the culture of the new. Polity Press.
Richards, R. (2007). Everyday creativity: Our hidden potential. In R. Richards (Ed.), Everyday creativity and new views of human nature: Psychological, social, and spiritual perspectives (pp. 25–53). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/11595-001
Runco, M. A., & Jaeger, G. J. (2012). The standard definition of creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 24(1), 92–96. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2012.650092
Sawyer, R. K., & Henriksen, D. (2023). Explaining creativity: The science of human innovation. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197747537.001.0001
Schwartz, Sh. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoretical advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 1–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60281-6
Simonton, D. K. (2003). Creative cultures, nations, and civilizations: Strategies and results. In P. B. Paulus & B. A. Nijstad (Eds.), Group creativity: Innovation through collaboration (pp. 304–325). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195147308.003.0014
Tierney, P., & Farmer, S. M. (2002). Creative self-efficacy: Its potential antecedents and relationship to creative performance. Academy of Management Journal, 45(6), 1137–1148. https://doi.org/10.2307/3069429
View article in other formats
CrossMark check
Published
Issue
Section
Copyright
Copyright (c) 2026 The Author(s). Published by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.