Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online 2025-12
Creativity in older people’s life: From leisure activities to ecological training programs [A commentary on ‘Creativity,aging,context,and culture’ by Adams-Price andMorse (2024)]
This commentary examines and expands upon Adams-Price and Morse’s redefinition of creativity in older adulthood from a socio-cultural perspective. Moving beyond traditional models focused on novelty and youthful genius, the authors highlight everyday forms of creativity as vital for well-being, identity, and generativity in later life. Empirical data from Italy are integrated to show how individuals over 70 actively engage in creative hobbies that support cognitive flexibility, cognitive reserve, and emotional adaptation. Training programs aimed at enhancing creativity in older adults, including those with neurological conditions, are also discussed. The commentary concludes by emphasizing the need for longitudinal and cross-cultural studies to better understand the role of context in creative aging.
Adams-PriceC.E.MorseL. (2024). Creativity, aging, context and culture: Reimagining creativity in everyday life in older adults. Possibility Studies & Society, 3(4), 499–523.
2.
AndolfiV. R.ValentiC.Cesa-BianchiM.CristiniC. (2016). Creatività e tempo libero in età senile. Un’indagine delle relazioni tra propensione al pensiero divergente e passatempi praticati [Creativity and leisure activity in the elderly. An investigation of the relations between attitude towards divergent thinking and practiced hobbies]. Ricerche di Psicologia, 38, 497–513.
3.
AntoniettiA. (2020). Aging. In RuncoA.PritzkerS. (Eds.), Encyclopedia of creativity (3rd ed.). Elsevier.
4.
AntoniettiA.IannoccariG. (2025). Flexi-training. Esercizi per allenare creatività e flessibilità mentale nell’invecchiamento [Flexi-training. Exercises to foster creativity and mental flexibility in ageing]. Franco Angeli Editore.
5.
BeghettoR. A.KaufmanJ. C. (2007). Toward a broader conception of creativity. Psychology, of Aesthetic, Creativity, and the Arts, 1(2), 73–79.
6.
BrunerJ. (2002). Making stories: Law, literature, and life. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
7.
CabezaR.AlbertM.BellevilleS.CraikF. I. M.DuarteA.GradyC. L.LindenbergerU.NybergL.ParkD. C.Reuter-LorenzP. A.RuggM. D.SteffenerJ.RajahM. N (2018). Maintenance, reserve and compensation: The cognitive neuroscience of healthy aging. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 19(11), 701–710.
8.
CañasJ. J.QuesadaJ. F.AntolìA.FajardoI. (2003). Cognitive flexibility and adaptability to environmental changes in dynamic complex problem-solving tasks. Ergonomics, 46(5), 482–501.
9.
CarlsenM. B. (1991). Creative aging: A meaning-making perspective. Norton.
10.
ColauttiL.AntoniettiA. (2025). Flessibilità cognitiva e creatività nell’anziano. Un training per l’invecchiamento positivo e le patologie cognitive [Cognitive flexibility and creativity in the elderly. A training programme for positive ageing and cognitive pathologies]. Edizioni Centro Studi Erickson.
11.
ColauttiL.BaldassiniD.ColomboV.MotturaS.SaccoM.SozziM.CorboM.RusconiM. L.AntoniettiA. (2018). CREC: The role of serious games in improving flexibility in thinking in neuropsychological rehabilitation. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49, 717–727.
12.
ColauttiL.BorsaV. M.FusiG.CrepaldiM.PalmieroM.GarauF.BonfiglioN. S.GiannìJ.RusconiM.-L.PennaM. P.RozziniL.AntoniettiA. (2023). The role of cognition in divergent thinking: Implications for successful aging. Brain Sciences, 13(10), Article 1489, 1–13.
13.
ColomboB.AntoniettiA.DaneauB. (2018). The relationships between cognitive reserve and creativity. A study on American aging population. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, (764), 1–11.
14.
CristiniC.ColauttiL.Della VedovaA.AntoniettiA. (2024). Creativity and humor in the elderly: Shared mechanisms and common functions to promote well-being. Neuroscience Letters, 828, Article 137762, 1–7.
15.
FisherB. J.SpechtD. K. (1999). Successful aging and creativity in later life. Journal of Aging Studies, 13, 457–472.
16.
FusiG.GiannìJ.BorsaV. M.ColauttiL.CrepaldiM.PalmieroM.GarauF.BonfiglioS. N.CaoY.AntoniettiA.PennaM. P.RozziniL.RusconiM. L. (2024). Can creativity and cognitive reserve predict psychological well-being in older adults? The role of divergent thinking in healthy aging. Healthcare, 12(3), Article 303, 1–18
17.
GarauF.AntoniettiA.BonfiglioS. N.MadedduB.CrepaldiM.GiannìJ.FusiG.ColauttiL.BorsaV. M.PalmieroM.RusconiM. L.PennaM. P. (2025). The role of well-being, divergent thinking, and cognitive reserve in different socio-cultural contexts. Brain Sciences, 15, Article 249, 1–24.
18.
GlăveanuV. P. (2020). A sociocultural theory of creativity: Bridging the social, the material, and the psychological. Review of General Psychology, 24(4), 335–354.
19.
HabronJ.ButterlyF.GordonI.RoebuckA. (2013). Being well, being musical: Music composition as a resource and occupation for older people. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 76, 308–316.
20.
HeoJ.StebbinsR. A.KimJ.LeeI. (2013). Serious leisure, life satisfaction, and health of older adults. Leisure Sciences, 35(1), 16–32.
21.
KaufmanJ. C. (2018). Creativity’s need for relevance in research and real life: Let’s set a new agenda for positive outcomes. Creativity, 5(2), 124–137.
22.
KivnickH. Q. (2019). Vital involvement in old age. Innovation in Aging, 3(Supplement_1), S407–S408.
23.
KivnickH. Q.StoffelS. A. (2005). Vital involvement practice: Strengths as more than tools for solving problems. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 46, 85–116.
24.
KotreJ. (1996). Outliving the self: How to live on in future generations. Norton.
25.
LazarusR. S.FolkmanS. (1984). Stress, appraisal and coping. Springer.
26.
LeventhalH.RabinC.LeventhalE. A.BurnsE. (2001). Health risk behaviors and aging. In BirrenJ. E.SchaieK. W. (Eds.), Handbook of the psychology of aging (5th ed., pp. 186–214). Academic Press.
27.
McDonoughIMHaberSBischofGNParkDC (2015). The Synapse Project: Engagement in mentally challenging activities enhances neural efficiency. Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience, 33(6), 865–882.
28.
MenecV. H. (2003). The relation between everyday activities and successful aging: A 6-year longitudinal study. Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences, 58B, S74–S82.
29.
ParkD. C.Lodi-SmithJ.DrewL. M.HaberS. H.HebrankA. C.BischofG. N.AamodtW. (2014). The Synapse Project: Creativity and cognition in aging. Psychological Science, 25(3), 775–784.
30.
PatilK. R.MadathilD.HuangC.-M. (2021). Neural correlates of creativity in older adults. NeuroImage, 225, 117467.
31.
PriceK. A.TinkerA. M. (2014). Creativity in later life. Maturitas, 78, 281–286.
32.
RagoS.AndolfiV. R.AntoniettiA.IannoccariG.PorcuN.ValentiC. (2020). Potenziare la flessibilità cognitiva in età anziana: gli effetti di un training [Enhancing cognitive flexibility in late adulthood: The effects of a training programme]. Ricerche di Psicologia, 42, 691–712.
33.
RagoS.CancerA.AntoniettiA. (2025). Empowering spatial abilities in middle-aged and older adults: The efficacy of a spatial training. Journal of Cognitive Enhancement (pre-print).
34.
RichardsR. (2010). Everyday creativity. In KaufmanJ. C.SternbergR. J. (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity (pp. 189–215). Cambridge University Press.
35.
RozanskiA.KubzanskyL. D. (2005). Psychologic functioning and physical health: A paradigm of flexibility. Psychosomatic Medicine, 67, 47–53.
36.
SabetiS. (2014). Creative ageing? Selfhood, temporality and the older adult learner. International Journal of Lifelong Education34, 211–229.
37.
StebbinsR. A. (2017). Serious leisure: A perspective for our time. Taylor & Francis.
