Interesting. For me, sometimes a familiar place is conducive to creativity (my office, library, favorite coffee shop or wine bar) — but I also like to go to unfamiliar, unrelated places to think on creative problems.
Creativity is commonly thought of as a personality trait that resides within the individual. We count on creative people to produce the songs, movies, and books we love; to invent the new gadgets that can change our lives; and to discover the new scientific theories and philosophies that can change the way we view the world. Over the past several years, however, social psychologists have discovered that creativity is not only a characteristic of the individual, but may also change depending on the situation and context. The question, of course, is what those situations are: what makes us more creative at times and less creative at others?
Link:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=an-easy-way-to-increase-c
