Characterizing Features of Creative Writing in Older Adults

Objectives: How does creative expression change across the life span? Although creativity is generally preserved well into adulthood, certain cognitive functions, such as episodic detail and ideational fluency, have been shown to decline with age. The present study employs computational linguistic analyses to investigate the salient features of creative writing in older adults. Methods: We collected short stories from a sample of 50 older adults (age 65 <=) which were subsequently rated for creativity by an independent set of participants. Mixed-effects linear regression models were used to describe semantic diversity and perceptual details as predictors of creativity. Semantic diversity reflects the extent to which a narrative connects divergent ideas and is closely associated with creativity. Perceptual details, characterized by sensorial descriptions, have been previously associated with creative writing and may serve to transport readers to alternative times and places. Additionally, we compare these measures to a previously collected sample of stories from younger adults. Results: Results indicate that the presence of perceptual details and semantic diversity were significant positive predictors of creativity (p < .05). Moreover, we find that stories written by older adults contain fewer perceptual details compared with stories written by younger adults. Discussion: These results advance our understanding of age-related changes in creativity and highlight the potential role of episodic simulation in writing creative short stories.