Abstract

ARANGUREN, María. Review of the Blind Variation and Selective Retention Model of Creativity. Interdisciplinaria [online]. 2010, vol.27, n.2, pp.315-334. ISSN 1668-7027.

The main objective of this work was to examine some of the most relevant articles on the blind variation and selective retention model of creativity (BVSR) presented by Simonton (1999a, 1999b, 2005, 2007a, 2007b). The BVSR model is an explanatory model of creativity grounded in a larger theoretical framework known as secondary Darwinism. Darwinian theories of creativity can be classified in two groups (Feist, 2001; Simonton, 1999a, 2005). The first group, known as primary Darwinism or primary theories of Darwinism, is directly connected with Darwin's original formulation of biological evolution (Simonton, 2005). The principal purpose of primary theories is to understand the evolutionary processes underlying the emergence of species whose members are able to show creative behavior. In other words, primary theories attempt to explain how creative and aesthetic skills emerge in the human being, focusing the attention on the origin and evolution of those behaviors. On the other hand, Secondary Darwinism, "holds that creativity operates in a fashion analogous to the Darwinian Theory of Biological Evolution" (Simonton, 2005, p. 299). In this sense, the BVSR model of creativity applies Metaphorically the Darwinian Theory to the cognitive processes involved in creativity. Thus, the mechanisms underlying the generation of new ideas are similar to the mechanisms that explain biological evolution in Darwinian terms. One of the leading expert of this model is Simonton (1999a, 1999b, 2005, 2007a, 2007b), who has expanded and redefined some of the main issues considered by the original model raised by Campbell (1960). Both, Campbell as Simonton suggest that there is no teleology in the creative process as well as discovering new ideas. It's for this reason they call their Blind Variation and Selective Retention model (BVSR). The attribute of blind is intended to highlight the lack of foresight in the production of variations: the inability to generative deliberately more adaptive variations. Thus, according to Campbell's theory (1960), for the production of genuinely new knowledge is essential to generate blind variations. Simonton (1999a, 1999b, 2005, 2007a, 2007b) takes the BVSR model and suggest throughout his studies and publications some modifications that extend the original model proposed by Campbell. In this sense, this article proposes to review some contributions and evidence presented by Simonton in the last decade. Then, five of the most crucial objections are examined (individual volition, social and cultural determinism, human rationality, expertise and human emotion). In order to achieve this goal, the criticisms made by some recognized authors in the area of psychology of creativity were considered, such as: Beghetto and Plucker (2007), Gardner (1999), Martindale (1999), Mumford and Antes (2007), Russ (1999), Sternberg (1999), Weisberg and Hass (2007). Finally, taking into account the ups and downs of creative ideas when confronted with reality, it is stressed Martindale's (1999) suggestion about whether it would be desirable to take into consideration the Lamarckian perspective of evolution rather than Darwinian perspective. Maybe the fact that some ideas are selected and changed over the time, it is not the result of a blind variation process but an artificial selection process according to the purposes or objectives set previously, either by the creators, either by the social group they belong to. In this sense, Csikszentmihalyi (1996/1998) has pointed out that creativity should be understand not only as an individual's process, but as a dialectical process that take place between the individual, the domain and the field.

Keywords : Creativity; Explanatory model; Blind variation; Selective retention; Darwinism.

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