Pronita Mehrotra 
Table of Contents
By Dr. Pronita Mehrotra
Creativity has become one of the most desired skills in the 21st century. It is envisioned to be the answer to rapid automation that is taking away routine jobs and the essential ingredient for solving complex global problems we currently face. As a uniquely human trait, creativity has allowed us to adapt and thrive as a species so far and can potentially do so in the future.
But is creativity really unique to humans, or do other species show any evidence of creativity?
Understanding how creativity evolved in other animals can help us better understand our own creative abilities. Recent research suggests that creativity is a spectrum, with other animal species showing rudimentary forms of creativity.
Animal Creativity Spectrum
According to one model, creativity is a spectrum that starts with novelty recognition and seeking, then observational learning, and finally progresses to innovation.
Novelty Recognition
At the most basic level, an animal has to be able to assess its environment and recognize if there is anything novel or different in the environment. How an animal responds once they detect novelty can lead to either neophobia or neophilia. In an interesting experiment with orangutans, researchers discovered the “captivity effect” concerning creativity. They presented a set of novel objects to both wild orangutans and captive orangutans in zoos.
They found that captive orangutans were more willing to explore novel objects than their wild peers, who exhibited high levels of neophobia. In captive environments, orangutans are more frequently exposed to novel items that turn out to be pleasurable (e.g., treats hidden in toys),. Over time, they built positive associations towards novelty. They also build more trust with their human caretakers and are more willing to explore objects handed to them by humans. In contrast, wild orangutans view novelty with suspicion and are significantly less willing to take risks.
Novelty Seeking
Beyond the ability to recognize novelty in the environment is the desire to seek novelty, which requires some risk-taking. For example, male bowerbirds are known for their novel courtship dances. The success of their courtship ritual depends on the intensity and attractiveness of the display. However, too much novelty can deter females, so male bowerbirds adjust their dance based on the reactions they get. By reducing the level of novelty when needed, the bowerbirds can increase their chances of mating. This ability to modulate the level of novelty is essential for creativity, as the novel outcome also needs to be useful to be creative.
Observational Learning
The first two stages of the creativity spectrum deal with creativity at an individual level, but this third stage allows creativity to spread from an individual to a larger group. When animals can copy one another, they learn and adapt faster to their environment. In a study of capuchin monkeys, researchers found that younger monkeys are less adept at using stones to crack nuts spent more time observing more proficient monkeys. This social learning ability allows the younger capuchin monkeys to get better at scrounging faster than discovering techniques themselves.
Innovation
The highest level of creativity is creating a novel product to solve a problem. An example is animal tool creation or modification to access food more readily. New Caledonian crows are highly intelligent and known for their sophisticated tool use. In one experiment, researchers presented a crow with a setup containing food and an aluminum strip that needed to be bent or unbent to get to the food source. In each trial, the bird successfully modified the tool and got its reward.
Lessons From Animal Creativity
Rudimentary creativity skills demonstrated by different animal species give us clues about our creativity. Here are three lessons from the animal world that apply to human creativity as well:
Psychological Safety
While we no longer live in the wild like orangutans, we still need safety to be fully creative. A psychologically safe environment makes it easier for people to explore and share ideas with others. In other words, safe environments move us towards neophilia, whereas in unsafe ones, we tend to shut down.
Openness to Experience
The novelty-seeking behavior is similar to the “openness to experience” trait. People who are more open to new experiences tend to be more creative than others. But like bowerbirds, this novelty-seeking needs to be balanced, as too much of it can be risky.
Social Learning
We learn more from others than we do from individual exploration. Most innovation around us is incremental – it builds upon other existing ideas. Our ability to learn from others and our ability to imagine different scenarios has allowed us to innovate at much larger scales than other species.
While most people consider creativity, a uniquely human trait, evidence from nonhuman animals suggests otherwise. Creativity evolved to help us better adapt and survive in our environments, and elements of it abound in the animal world. Given today’s daunting challenges that threaten our survival, we need creativity and innovation more than ever.
Further Reading
- edCircuit – Pronita Mehrotra Articles
- Science Friday – What Puzzle-Solving Crows Can Teach Us About Animal Intelligence
- Futurity – Can Sea Slugs Help Make AI Smarter?
