The role of attention in the development of creativity.

Creativity is typically defined as an output that is both novel and effective, and creative ability in adults is strongly linked to attentional processes. Creative thinking requires the attentional flexibility to combine information from internal and external inputs and to switch between ideas and representations, together with the attentional control to resist distraction and persist with an idea over time. There are also indications that attention style may be qualitatively different in highly creative people, although we do not yet have a complete picture of the optimal attentional profile for creativity. However, the relationship between attention and creativity has hardly been explored in children. Consequently we have little understanding of what the developmental attentional milestones for creativity might be. Here we consider the evidence that the development of attention in children is as integral to the development of creativity as it is to other aspects of cognition, and suggest potential avenues for future research.