Dr. Patricia Simko

Click the class for description
The Psychology of Creativity
The Psychology of Dreams
Dimensions of Narcissism

Instructor: Patricia A. Simko, Ph.D., J.D.
Class Time for all classes: Thursday, 10:00 AM – 11:50 AM

The Psychology of Creativity

Course NPSY 3839
Fall, 2008

Class Overview: In this 15-week class, we explore the psychological theories of creativity: the origins in the human psyche of the creative process, the factors that contribute to the expression and development of creativity, the psychodynamic correlates of creativity such as fantasy, the unconscious, primary process, ego functioning. We explore theories of creativity from various sources – Koestler, Freud, Jung, Kohut, Maslow, Csikszentmihalyi and others. Along the way, we encounter concepts such as genius, self-actualization, the flow. We also look at brain activity and its association to the creative process, an exploration made possible by recent technological advances. Finally, we explore the often posited associations between mental illness – especially bipolar disorder – and creativity. In addition, there are countless exercises during the class using our own creative process as it applies to the theories we are studying. With all of this, we manage to have a very good time!

Class Requirements: Much of the important learning of this material takes place in the classroom. Therefore, students are expected to attend all classes. The New School adheres to a Zero Tolerance Policy regarding absences and requires all credit students to attend every class. Any unexplained absence or tardiness will adversely affect your grade and will result in a lower grade.

There are many handouts for this class, so please arrange for a “buddy” to pick them up for you if you are not here. I will not be carrying handouts from week to week, so you must make arrangements with classmates if you miss a class. If you need help finding a buddy, let me know and I will help you connect with someone.

Your grade will be determined as follows:

• Class participation and attendance: 20%. Students should come to class ON TIME and having read the assigned reading.
• A mid-term project, a written analysis and discussion of various concepts from the class presentation and readings: 25%. The topic of this paper will be discussed in class.
• Additional short written exercises: 20%. These exercises will consist of 1-2 page written summaries of various readings, and analyses of questions assigned. There will be 3-4 of such assignments over the course of the semester.
• A final paper of 15 pages (longer would be fine) will be assigned. The subject of this paper will be discussed in class: 35%.
• A book report of 8 pages may be done for extra credit. The approved books for such a report will be discussed at the beginning of the semester.

Assignments must be turned in on the due date. These dates will be announces at the beginning of the semester. All written assignments must be hard copy, typed and double spaced. No email submissions will be accepted.

READINGS:

There is an extensive bibliography for this class, which is attached. Over 50 books have been used in the development of this class – only some of them will be assigned. The required books are all available in paperback editions. We will discuss the bibliography and the assigned readings in the first session.

Required reading:

Arieti, Silvano (1976) "Creativity: The Magic Synthesis" New York: BasicBooks, ISBN 0-465-01443-7.

Csikszentmihaly, Mihaly (1990) "Flow: The Psychology of Optional Experience" New York: Harper & Row, ISBN 0-06-016253-8. ----(1996) "Creativity: Flow & the Psychology of Discovery & Invention" New York: Harper Collins, ISBN 0-06-017133-2.

Koestler, Arthur (1964) "The Act of Creation" Hutchison of London.

Morrison, Andrew (1989) "Shame, The Underside of Narcissism" New Jersey: The Analytical Press, ISBN 0-88163-082-9.

Sternberg, Robert (1998) "The Nature of Creativity" Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-33892-1.

Weisberg, Robert W. (1993) "Creativity: Beyond the Myth of Genius" New York: W.H. Freeman, ISBN 0-7167-2367-0.

Wise, Anna (1997) "The High Performance Mind" New York: Tarcher/Putnam, ISBN 0-87477-850-6.

Recommended readings will be listed throughout the semester.

Classes:

Week 1: Introduction to the theories of creativity. Creativity as product, process, trait. Measuring creativity. Self as source. The stages of the creative process.

Weeks 2-3: The role of fantasy, the unconscious, primary process. Accessing the unconscious wellspring. The relationship between creativity and intelligence. Freud, Kohut and psychodynamic theoreticians. The role of ego functioning and creativity.

Weeks 4-5: Jung’s contributions to the theories of creativity. Intuition, synchronicity, archetypes. Other modalities for accessing the unconscious. Visualization, hypnosis and other tools.

Weeks 6-7: The Creative Personality. Questions of nature v. nurture. Identity issues. Personality characteristics and behaviors. Arieti.

Weeks 8-9: Family dynamics, Sociological dynamics and creativity. Blocks to creativity; fostering and cultivating creativity. Culture and creativity. Arieti.

Weeks 10-11: Cognition and creativity. Creative problem solving. Characteristics of creative thinking. Convergent and divergent thinking. Lateral thinking. Symbolic equivalents. Shame. Sternberg, Morrison.

Week 12: Analogic transfer, humor. Self-actualization and experiences of the flow. Maslow, Csikszentmihaly.

Week 13: Genius and creativity. Weisberg, Gardner.

Week 14: The brain and the creative process. Brain activity and associations to creative production. Left brain/right brain. Perspectives from cognitive neuroscience. C. Maxwell Cade. Wise.

Week 15: Mental illness and creativity. Manic-depression (bipolar disorder) and unipolar depression and creativity. Jamison, Kavaler-Adler, etc.

Other topics as they arise may also be included in our discussion.

The Psychology of Dreams

Course NPSY 2444 Date

15 sessions.

From earliest times, dreams have been our attempt to make sense of our inner and outer worlds. We dream for many purposes--to resolve a problem, to gratify a wish, to relive an event, to give expression to our emotions. What all dreams have in common is the depth of their message, for dreams come from the most profound part of the self. In dreaming, we explore that mysterious part; we evolve and become. The class studies the history of dream theory, with a focus on 20th-century psychoanalytic theories of dream formation and analysis (Freud, Jung, Erikson, Kohut, etc.). We also explore the creative expression of the self through dream interpretation and work together on understanding ourselves and growing through our dreams. (3 credits)

Class Overview: Welcome to this class on the Psychology of Dreams. In this class, we present and discuss the various theories of dream formulation and meaning. We explore the psychodynamic origins of modern dream theories, and proceed to the present biophysically based theories.

Class Requirements: Because of the experiential nature of the learning in this class, students are expected to attend all classes. The New School adheres to a zero tolerance policy regarding absences and requires all credit students to attend all classes. Your grade will be affected if you are late or absent. Classes are largely lecture-format, but interactive with much class participation and discussion.

There will be two major assignments throughout the semester, with other short written assignments. All work must be submitted, hard copy, in class unless other arrangements are made.

YOUR GRADE will be determined as follows:

Class participation and attendance: 20%. Students should come to class having read the assignments.
A mid-term project, a written analysis and discussion of various concepts form the class presentation and readings: 25%. The topic of this paper will be discussed in class.
Additional short written exercises: 20%. These exercises will consist of 1-2 page written summaries of various readings, and analyses of questions assigned. There will be 3-4 such assignments over the course of the semester.
A final paper of 12 pages (longer would be fine) will be assigned. The subject of this paper will be discussed in class: 35%

Assignments must be turned in on the due date, These dates will be announced at the beginning of the semester, All written assignments must be hard copy, typed and double-spaced. No e-mail submissions will be accepted.

READINGS:

Required Reading:
Gay, Peter "The Freud Reader" Norton and Co., 1989 (Barnes & Noble)
Jung, Carl "Man and His Symbols" Doubleday, 1964 (Barnes & Noble)
VandeCastle, R. "Our Dreaming Mind" Ballantine Books, 1994 (Amazon.com)
Rock, Andrea "The Mind at Night" BasicBooks, 2004 (Barnes and Noble)

Recommended Reading:
Barrett, D. "Trauma and Dreams" Harvard University Press, 1996 (Amazon)
Garfield, P. "Creative Dreaming" Simon and Schuster, 1974 (Barnes & Noble)

WEEKLY OUTLINE: Specific pages to be read will be assigned the week before the date for class discussion.

1. Introduction to dream theory. Overview of the semester. Presentation of the history of dream analysis. Reading requirements. Techniques for remembering dreams.

2. Classical dream concepts. The ground-breaking work of Freud in the Analysis of Dreams.
Reading Assignment: Freud

3. Freud, continued. Concepts of primary process, drive theory, structural theory.
Reading Assignment: Freud

4. Carl Jung and his contributions to the theory of dreams.

5. Jungian concepts, continued. Archetypes, primary process, the collective unconscious.
Reading Assignment: Jung

6. Erik Erikson and the manifest dream. Discussion of the validity of the manifest content in dream analysis.

7. Content analysis, themes, narrative, meaning of various symbols in dreams.
Reading Assignment: Van De Castle

8. Heinz Kohut and the concept of the self-state dream. Analysis of the self through dream symbols.
Reading Assignment: VanDeCastle

MID-TERM PAPER DUE

9. Trauma and dreams; nightmares.
Reading Assignment: Van De castle, Barrett

10. The repetitive dream; dream work, generally; grief and dreams, creativity and dreams.
Reading Assignment: Van De Castle, Garfield

11. Healing in Dreams.
Reading Assignment: Van de Castle, Garfield

12. Lucid dreaming
Reading Assignment: Van de Castle, Garfield

13. The physiology of the dream state. Latest findings in physical research. The state of the brain and the body in dreaming.
Reading Assignment: Rock

14. Latest findings, continued.
Reading Assignment: Rock

15. Overview of class and review

FINAL PAPER DUE

Dimensions of Narcissism
Course NPSY

Class Overview: The study of narcissism is of increasing interest to students of the human mind and personality. Current psychological theory recognizes the early life phase (the narcissistic phase) as being critical to the formation of the key components of the self. In this class, we learn about the dimensions of the self commonly known as the “narcissistic dimensions,” how they are formed, and the meaning of the part of the self in the overall healthy psychological functioning of the individual.

Class requirements: Much of the important learning of this material takes place in the classroom. Therefore, students are expected to attend all classes. The New School adheres to a Zero Tolerance Policy regarding absences and requires all credit students to attend every class. Any unexplained absence will adversely affect your grade and will result in a lower grade.

Your grade will be determined as follows:
• Class participation and attendance: 20%. Students should come to the class having read the assigned reading.
• A mid-term project, a written analysis and discussion of various concepts from the class presentation and readings: 25%. The topic of this paper will be discussed in class.
• Additional short written exercises: 20%. These exercises will consist of 1-2 page written summaries of various readings, and analyses of questions assigned. There will be 3-4 of such assignments over the course of the semester.
• A final paper of 12 pages (longer would be fine) will be assigned. The subject of this paper will be discussed in class: 35%.

Assignments must be turned in on the due date. These dates will be announced at the beginning of the semester. All written assignments must be hard copy, typed and doubled spaced. No e-mail submissions will be accepted.

READINGS:

Required reading:

Freud, S. "On Narcissism, Standard Edition, 7" Hogarth Press, 1953.
Miller, A. "The Drama of the Gifted Child" Basic Books, Inc., New York, NY, 1981.
Morrison , A. (Ed.) "Essential Papers on Narcissism" NY University Press, NY, NY, 1986.
Morrison, A. "Shame" The Analytic Press, New Jersey, 1989.

Suggested Reading:

Almaas, AH "The Point of Existence" Diamond Books, Berkeley, CA., 1996.
Kohut, Heinz "How Does Analysis Cure" University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1984.
Rogers, Annie "A Shining Affliction" Penguin Books, New York, NY, 1995.
Stern, Daniel "The Interpersonal World of the Infant" Basic Books, NY, NY, 1995.
Ulman, R and Brothers, D. "The Shattered Self" The Analytic Press, New Jersey, 1988.

WEEKLY OUTLINE: Specific pages to be read will be assigned the week before the date for class discussion.

Introduction: Why study psychological theories of narcissism? What is it? And why is it relevant today?
The concept of the self: the narcissistic constellation in the personality.
Reading assignment: Morrison, A. (Ed.) Stern.

Etiology of self disorders: object relations (Mahler) and narcissism.
Reading assignment: Morrison, A. (Ed.)

Parsing narcissism: Almaas, Kohut and Bursten.
Reading assignment: Morrison, A. (Ed.), Almaas

Concept of the continuum of self organization; narcissistic traits, characteristics and defenses.
Reading assignment: Morrison, A., (Ed.)

Identity and self representations: who we are…and why.
Reading assignment: Almaas, Stern.

Other dimensions of the self: idealization and twinship.
Reading assignment: Kohut.

Heinz Kohut’s concepts: the selfobject, optimal frustration, transmuting internalization.
Reading assignment: Kohut, Almaas

MID-TERM PAPER DUE

Damage to the self: trauma and other narcissistic injury.
Reading assignment: Morrison, A. (Ed.) Kohut, Ulman.

Shame, the underbelly of narcissism.
Reading assignment: Morrison, Kohut.

Narcissistic affects: feelings specifically associated with narcissistic dimensions of the self: rage, elation (bliss), emptiness, terror.
Reading assignment: Morrison.

Empathy: the path to healing.
Reading assignment: Morrison, Rogers, Stern, Kohut.

A call to grief:
Reading assignment: Alice Miller.

As narcissism matures: maturity, wisdom, humor, creativity.
Reading assignment: Kohut.

Summary of course material

FINAL PAPER DUE

This applies to all classes:

Plagiarism
The New School adheres to a Zero Tolerance Policy regarding plagiarism. Plagiarism will result in an F in the course at the discretion of the instructor and in accordance with the University's policy on plagiarism (see Student Handbook). Students should purchase A Writer's Reference by Diana Hacker, available at most book stores, for information on proper citation format.

Incompletes
A grade of “incomplete” may be assigned by an instructor at his/her discretion. If an instructor is inclined to offer an incomplete, then the student has a maximum of 4 weeks after the last day of class to complete and submit to the instructor the outstanding work and/or the work agreed upon by the instructor and student. An incomplete becomes an “Unofficial Withdrawal and Failure” (WF) if the work is not submitted in a timely fashion.

Students with Disabilities
In keeping with the University's policy of providing equal access for students with disabilities, any student with a disability who needs academic accommodations should contact the office of Student Disability Services. All conversations will be kept confidential. Students requesting any accommodations will also need to meet with Tom McDonald in the office of Student Disability Services, who will conduct an intake, and if appropriate, provide an academic accommodation notification letter. Mr. McDonald's office is located in the Graduate Faculty building at 65 Fifth Avenue, Room 409. His direct line is (212) 229-5472. You may also access more information through the University's web site.


Teaching Schedule, Description The New School University 66 West 12th St. (btw. 5th & 6th Ave's.) New York, NY 10011 (212) 229-5600 www.newschool.edu Dr. Patricia Simko 24 East 12th St. #605 New York, NY 10003-4403 (212) 627-0731 simko@mac.com ...................................