Embodied creativity. An epistemic inquiry into schizophrenia and autism
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4396/20250308Keywords:
embodied creativity, divergent thinking, schizophrenia, autism, neurodivergenceAbstract
This contribution introduces the notion of “embodied creativity” in light of the psychopathological conditions of autism and schizophrenia, understood not as deficits but as embodied variations of subjectivity. Starting from the structural limitations of standard definitions and psychometric tools, the paper offers a critical analysis of quantitative evidence on divergent thinking in neurodivergent populations, integrating it with a phenomenological and aesthetic reading of creative practices. While autism manifests a systematic, perceptual, and hyper-detailed creativity, schizophrenia gives rise to expressive configurations that elude ordinary criteria of utility, yet reveal a cathartic and symbolic potential. In both cases, creativity emerges as an embodied and situated mode of exploration, inscribed in specific body–environment configurations. The paper argues that the epistemic investigation of autism and schizophrenia challenges the implicit universality of normative models and expands the very concept of creativity toward heterogeneous and transdisciplinary territories. From this perspective, embodied creativity is not a pathological deviation but an alternative form of knowledge that questions our categories of meaning, subjectivity, and otherness.
Downloads
References
Acar, Selcuk, Chen, Xiao, and Cayirdag, Nur (2018), «Schizophrenia and creativity: A meta-analytic review», in Schizophrenia research, 195, pp. 23-31.
Amabile, Teresa (1982), «Social psychology of creativity: A Consensual Assessment Technique», in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43, pp. 997-1013.
Amabile, Teresa, Conti, Regina, Coon, Heather, Lazenby, Jeffrey, & Herron, Michael (1996), «Assessing the work environment for creativity», in The Academy of Management Journal, 39, pp. 1154-1184.
Andreoli, Vittorino (2009), Il linguaggio grafico della follia, Milano, Rizzoli.
Barron, Frank, Harrington, David (1981), «Creativity, intelligence, and personality», in Annual Review of Psychology, 32, pp. 439-476.
Bergson, Henry (1996), Materia e memoria. Saggio sulla relazione tra il corpo e lo spirito, Roma-Bari, Laterza.
Bobon, Jean (1962), Psychopathologie de l’expression, Paris, Masson.
Borgna, Eugenio (1981), «Fenomenologia della creatività schizofrenica», in Rivista Sperimentale di Freniatria, 105, 627.
Bucca, Antonino (2019), The Cathartic Function of Language: The Case Study of a Schizophrenic Patient, in A. Capone, M. Carapezza, F. Lo Piparo (eds.), Further Advances in Pragmatics and Philosophy: Part 2 Theories and Applications, Cham, Springer, pp. 549-560.
Cancer, Alice, Schiattone, Sara, Monfredini, Margherita, Antonietti, Alessandro, Colombo, Barbara (2024), «Creative performance and attitudes toward creativity in adults with autism spectrum disorder», in Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, vol. 111, n. 102308.
Cardella, Valentina (2018), Language and Schizophrenia. Perspective from Psychology and Philosophy, London/New York, Routledge.
Carson, David (1999), Counseling, in Mark Runco & Steven Pritzker (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Creativity, San Diego, CA, Academic Press, pp. 395-402.
Chomsky, Noam (1976), Reflections on Language, Temple Smith, London.
Craig, Laime, and Baron-Cohen, Simon (1999), «Creativity and imagination in autism and Asperger syndrome», in Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 29, pp. 319-326.
Cropley, Arthur (2020), Definitions, in Mark Runco & Steven Pritzker (Eds.), Encyclopedia of creativity (3rd ed.), San Diego, CA: Academic Press, pp. 315-322.
Cropley, Arthur (2000) «Defining and Measuring Creativity: Are Creativity Tests Worth Using?», in Roeper Review, 2000, Vol. 23, No. 2, pp. 72-79.
Davis, Gary (1999), Barriers to creativity and creative attitudes, in Mark Runco & Steven Pritzker (Eds.), Encyclopedia of creativity, San Diego, CA, Academic Press, pp. 165-174.
Della Cagnoletta, Mimma (2010), Arte terapia. La prospettiva psicodinamica, Roma, Carocci.
De Jaegher, Hanne (2013), «Embodiment and sense-making in autism», in Frontiers in integrative neuroscience, 7, 15.
De Pisapia, Nicola, Rastelli, Clara (2022), «Creativity as an information-based process», in Rivista Internazionale di Filosofia e Psicologia, 13 (1), pp. 1-18.
Dupuis, Annie, Mudiyanselage, Piyumi, Burton, Christie L., Arnold, Paul D., Crosbie, Jennifer, Schachar, Russell J. (2022), «Hyperfocus or flow? Attentional strengths in autism spectrum disorder», in Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol. 13, n. 886692.
Fuchs, Thomas (2015), «Pathologies of intersubjectivity in autism and schizophrenia», in Journal of Consciousness Studies, 22(1-2), pp. 191-214.
Frith, Emily, Miller, Stephanie E. (2024), «Creativity in motion: Examining the impact of meaningful movement on creative cognition», in Frontiers in Cognition, vol. 3, n. 1386375.
Gallagher, Shaun (2004), «Understanding interpersonal problems in autism: Interaction theory as an alternative to theory of mind», in Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology, 11(3), pp. 199-217.
Gallese, Vittorio, Ardizzi, Martina, & Ferroni, F.(2024), «Schizophrenia and the bodily self», in Schizophrenia research, 269, pp. 152–162.
Goss, James (2011), «Poetics in Schizophrenic Language: Speech, Gesture and Biosemiotics», in Springer Science, pp. 1-17.
Guilford, Joy (1967), The nature of human intelligence, New York, McGraw-Hill.
Guilford, Joy (1975), Creativity: A quarter century of progress, in I. A. Taylor, & J. W. Getzels (Eds.), Perspectives in creativity, Chicago, Aldine, pp. 37-59.
Happé, Francesca, and Frith, Uta (2009), «The beautiful otherness of the autistic mind», in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364. 1522, pp,1345-1350.
Harrington, Denis (1999), Conditions and settings/environment, in Mark Runco & Steven Pritzker (Eds.), Encyclopedia of creativity, San Diego, CA, Academic Press, pp. 323-340.
Hetzroni, Orit, Agada, Hila, and Leikin, Mark (2019), «Creativity in autism: an examination of general and mathematical creative thinking among children with autism spectrum disorder and children with typical development», in Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 49, pp. 3833-3844.
Hirjak, Dusan, Meyer-Lindenberg, Andreas, Sambataro, Fabio, Fritze, Stefan, Kukovic, Jacqueline, Kubera, Katharina M., Wolf, Robert C. (2021), «Progress in sensorimotor neuroscience of schizophrenia spectrum disorders: Lessons learned and future directions», in Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology & Biological Psychiatry, vol. 111, n. 110370.
James, Keith, Asmus, Cheryl (2000-2001), «Personality, cognitive skills, and creativity in different life domains», in Creativity Research Journal, 13, pp. 149-159.
Jaspers, Karl (2001), Genio e follia. Strindberg e Van Gogh, Milano, Raffaello Cortina Editore.
Jauk, Emanuel, Benedek, Mathias, Neubauer, Aljoscha (2014), «The road to creative achievement: A latent variable model of ability and personality predictors», in European Journal of Personality, 28, pp. 95-105.
Johnson, David (1979), The Creativity Checklist, Wood Dale, IL, Stoelting.
Kaufman, James, Lee, Joohyun, Baer, John, Lee, Soonmook (2007), «Captions, consistency, creativity, and the Consensual Assessment Technique: New evidence of reliability», in Thinking Skills and Creativity, 2, pp. 96-106.
Koreki, Akihiro, Terasawa, Yuri, Nuruki, Atsuo, Oi, Hiroki, Critchley, Hugo, Yogarajah, Mahinda, Onaya, Mitsumoto (2024), «Altered sense of agency in schizophrenia: The aberrant effect of cardiac interoceptive signals», in Frontiers in Psychiatry, vol. 15, n. 1441585.
Kumar, V.K., Kemmler, Debra, Holman, Riley (1997), «The Creativity Styles Questionnaire–Revised», in Creativity Research Journal, 10, 51-58.
Kupper, Zeno, Ramseyer, Fabian, Hoffmann, Hoger, Tschacher, Wolfgang (2015), «Nonverbal Synchrony in Social Interactions of Patients with Schizophrenia Indicates Socio-Communicative Deficits», in PLOS ONE, vol. 10, n. 12, pp. E0145882.
Lyons, Viktoria, and Fitzgerald, Michael (2013), «Critical evaluation of the concept of autistic creativity», in Recent Advances in Autism Spectrum Disorders-Volume I. IntechOpen.
Maccagnani, Gastone (1966), Psicopatologia dell’espressione, Imola, Galeati.
Mednick, Samoff (1962), «The associative basis of the creative process», in Psychological Review, 69, pp. 220-232.
Minkowski, Eugène (1978), Il tempo vissuto. Fenomenologia e psicopatologia, Torino, Einaudi.
Morgenthaler, Walter (2007), Arte e follia in Adolf Wölfli, Padova, Alet Edizioni.
Paolucci, Claudio (2017), «Sfuggire ai cliché. Gli stereotipi tra enciclopedia, enunciazione e soggettività nel linguaggio», in Reti, saperi, linguaggi, Italian Journal of Cognitive Sciences 2/2017, pp. 353-374, doi: 10.12832/88789
Parnas, Josef, Møller, Paul, Kircher, Tilo, Thalbitzer, Jørgen, Jansson, Lennart, Handest, Peter, Zahavi, Dan (2005), «EASE: examination of anomalous self-experience. Psychopathology», 38(5), p. 236.
Pennisi, Antonio, Falzone, Alessandra (2020), The Extended Theory of Cognitive Creativity: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Performativity. Springer, Cham.
Pennisi, Paola, Giallongo, Laura, Milintenda, Giusy, and Cannarozzo, Michela (2021), «Autism, autistic traits and creativity: a systematic review and meta-analysis», in Cognitive processing, 22, 1-36.
Pennisi, Paola, Longo, Federica, Nicotra, Sara Alfia, Salehinejad, Mohammad Alì, Vicario, Carmelo Mario, Falzone, Alessandra Maria, (in revisione), «A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review on Creativity in Schizophrenia: Toward an Ecological Understanding Integrating Clinical and Philosophical Perspetcives»
Piro, Sergio (1992), Parole di follia. Storie di persone e linguaggi alla ricerca del significato e del senso, Milano, FrancoAngeli.
Plucker, Jonathan., Beghetto, Ronald, Dow, Gayle (2004), «Why isn't creativity more important to educational psychologists? Potentials, pitfalls, and future directions in creativity research», in Educational Psychologist, 39(2), pp. 83-96.
Plucker, Jonathan, Qian, Meihua, Wang, Shujuan (2011), «Is originality in the eye of the beholder? Comparison of scoring techniques in the assessment of divergent thinking», in The Journal of Creative Behavior, 45, pp. 1-22.
Plucker, Jonathan, Renzulli, Joseph (2009), Psychometric approaches to the study of human creativity, in Robert Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of creativity, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, pp. 35-61.
Postmes, Lieselotte, Sno, Herman N., Goedhart, Saskia, van der Stel, Jaap, Heering, Henriette D., de Haan, Lieuwe (2014), «Schizophrenia as a self-disorder due to perceptual incoherence», in Schizophrenia Research, vol. 152, n. 1, pp. 41–50.
Prinzhorn, Hans (2004), L’arte dei folli. L’attività plastica dei malati mentali, Milano, Mimesis.
Qela, Brendon, Damiani, Stefano, De Santis, Samanta, Groppi, Federica, Pichiecchio, Anna, Asteggiano, Carlo, Brondino, Natascia, Monteleone, Alessio Maria, Grassi, Luigi, Politi, Pierluigi, Fusar-Poli, Paolo, Fusar-Poli, Laura (2025), «Predictive coding in neuropsychiatric disorders: A systematic transdiagnostic review», in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, vol. 169, n. 106020.
Rasmussen, Andreas Rosén, Stephensen, Helene, Parnas, Josef (2018), «EAFI: examination of anomalous fantasy and imagination», in Psychopathology, 51(3), pp. 216-226.
Roth, Ilona (2020), «Autism, creativity and aesthetics», in Qualitative Research in Psychology,17(4), pp. 498-508.
Runco, Mark (2007), Creativity. Theories and themes: Research, development and practice, Amsterdam, Elsevier.
Runco, Mark, Jaeger, Garrett (2012), «The standard definition of creativity», in Creativity Research Journal, 24, pp. 92-96. doi: 10.1080/10400419.2012.650092
Sass, Louis (2013), Follia e modernità. La pazzia alla luce dell’arte, della letteratura e del pensiero moderni, Milano, Raffaello Cortina Editore.
Sass, Louiss, Pienkos, Elizabeth, Skodlar, Borut, Stanghellini, Giovanni, Fuchs, Thomas, Parnas, Josef, & Jones, Nev (2017), «EAWE: examination of anomalous world experience», in Psychopathology, 50(1), pp. 10-54.
Selby, Edwin, Shaw, Emily, Houtz, John (2005), «The Creative Personality», in Gifted Child Quarterly, 49(4), pp. 300-314.
Sternberg, Robert, O’Hara, Linda (2000), Intelligence and creativity, in Robert Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of intelligence, New York, Cambridge University Press, pp. 611–630.
Torrance, Ellis (1977), Creativity in the classroom: What research says to the teacher, Washington, DC, National Education Association.
Torrance, Ellis (2008), The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking-norms-technical manual-figural (streamlined) forms A and B, Bensenville, I, Scholastic Testing Service.
Tréhin, Gilles (2006), Urville, London, Jessica Kingsley.
Tschacher, Wolfgang, Giersch, Anne, Friston, Karl (2017), «Embodiment and Schizophrenia: A Review of Implications and Applications», in Schizophrenia Bulletin, vol. 43, n. 4, pp. 745–753.
Volmat, Robert (1956), L’art psychopathologique, Paris, PUF.
Wallach, Michael, Kogan, Nathan (1965), Modes of thinking in young children: A study of the creativity intelligence distinction, New York, Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Wechsler, Solange (2008), Criatividade: descobrindo e encorajando, Campinas, Brasil, LAMP/IDB.
Williams, Frank (1980), Creativity assessment packet, Buffalo, DOK.
Zeng, Liang, Proctor, Robert, Salvendy, Gavriel (2011), «Can traditional divergent thinking tests be trusted in measuring and predicting real-world creativity?», in Creativity Research Journal, 23, pp. 24-37.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Works published in RIFL are released under Creative Commons Licence:Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
