Evolution of the creative mind

Abstract Creative thinking is one of several remarkable capabilities evolved to advanced levels in the human species. Recently a model of the Darwinian evolution of creative thinking has been proposed. The principal tenets of the model are summarized in the present paper. Creative thinking is modeled as a relinkage of connections among mental representations, or among the components of these representations, accompanied at times by the appearance of new components that subsequently participate in the relinking process. Relinking occurs in relationship to a system of causative and motivational connections between the individual, the innate regularities of their cognitive development, and group behavior. This system of connections is termed the gene‐culture heterarchy. Approaches to creative thinking via the gene‐culture heterarchy allow predictions to be made about the mechanism of relinking and how it is affected by genetic and cultural factors. The predictions are based on the methods of sociobiology and evolutionary theory. The implications of this approach to creativity research are briefly reviewed.