am excited about sharing the discoveries we have made in our journey over the
past few years; that is the purpose of this new, updated edition.

Let me provide a brief guide to the updated edition. The original Preface, the
body of the book (Chapters 1-10), and the References section for the original 10
chapters are unchanged. We felt that it was important to preserve these original
statements on the social psychology of creativity, because they largely served as the
foundation for the field as it has developed in the past several years. The Updates
directly follow each chapter; they were written by me and Mary Ann Collins,
Regina Conti, Elise Phillips, Martha Picariello, John Ruscio, and Dean Whitney.
Other colleagues provided detailed and valuable suggestions on drafts of the
Update: Steve Kramer, Beth Hennessey, Karl Hill, Heather Coon, Mark Runco,
Scott Isaksen, and Dean Simonton. Neither these colleagues nor those who coau-
thored the Updates with me can be held responsible for any errors that might be
found there. Often they argued with me about the final presentation of a particu-
lar point; sometimes I listened, but sometimes I didn't! (I should also note that al-
though I use the first person plural throughout the Updates, the "we" that I use in
describing material from the 1983 edition really refers to me alone; I am respon-
sible for most of the insightfulness and all of the wrongheadedness you might find
there.)

In the original ten chapters we have placed a special symbol in the margin be- side each section or paragraph for which the Update contains substantial new the- ory or data. That symbol appears in the margin beside this paragraph.

In the Updates, we review the major changes in theory and research that have
occurred in the social psychology of creativity--and the field of creativity in gen-
eral-since 1983. Although much of the theory and research reviewed in the
Updates comes from our own work, we have tried to provide an overview of the
work done by others in the field as well.

Much of my research over the past 12 years has been supported by external
agencies and foundations, and I gratefully acknowledge their assistance: the
National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, the National
Institute of Mental Health, the Exxon Education Foundation, and the Center for
Innovation Management Studies at Lehigh University.

A great many collaborators have contributed to my research--graduate stu-
dents, undergraduate students, research assistants, research associates, and faculty
colleagues. I wish to single out two individuals who have been particularly influ-
ential in developing this program of research over the past decade, and whose pro-
ductive contributions have proved to be invaluable. Beth Hennessey began work-
ing with me as a graduate student in 1981, and after playing a seminal role in
much of the research reported in this Update began a career as a faculty member
at Wellesley College. In that capacity, she has continued to serve as a valued re-
search associate, colleague, and friend. Karl Hill too began as a graduate student
at Brandeis (in 1983) and during his years in my laboratory began to move the re-
search program toward more complex, ecologically valid models. Karl continued

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