This is Episode 18 of PsychCrunch, the podcast from the British Psychological Society’s Research Digest, sponsored by Routledge Psychology.

Can psychology help us become more creative? Our presenter Ginny Smith learns how we can develop our creativity with practice, and discovers that our best “Eureka” moments often come when we step away from the task at hand. She also investigates how members of the public fare with the riddles psychologists use to study creative problem solving — see how you get on at home.

Our guests, in order of appearance, are: Professor James C Kaufman, an educational psychologist at the University of Connecticut and author of several books on creativity, and Dr Gillian Hill, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Buckingham and member of the CREATE research team.

Episode credits: Presented and produced by Ginny Smith. Mixing and editing Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Art work Tim Grimshaw.

Background reading for this episode:

James C Kaufman’s paper Creativity Is More Than Silly, More Than Art, More Than Good: The Diverse Career of Arthur Cropley is free to view thanks to our sponsors, Routledge Psychology.

We have dozens of posts on creativity in the Research Digest archives, including:

Thinking About Their Multiple Identities Boosts Children’s Creativity And Problem-Solving Skills

Here’s What The Evidence Shows About The Links Between Creativity And Depression

The Four Ways To Promote Creativity In Children Come More Naturally To Some Mothers Than Others

How Keeping A Dream Diary Could Boost Your Creativity

Psychologists Have Devised A Test For Measuring One-Year-Olds’ Creativity

Teams Are More Creative When Their Leader Is Confident In Her Or His Own Creativity

New Study Finds Strength Of Imagination Not Associated With Creative Ability Or Achievement

And over at The Psychologist, check out Rocky Horror Pixel Show, in which Arne Dietrich explores the problems in figuring out how creativity is represented in the brain.