Haskins Publications

Number	1001
Year	1996
Drawer	19
Entry Date	07/01/1998
Authors	Repp, Bruno H.
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Publication	Psychological Science, Vol. 7, No. 2, 121-122.
url	http://www.haskins.yale.edu/Reprints/HL1001.pdf
Abstract	In a recent article in this journal, Weisberg (1994) examined the hypothesis that creative individuals suffering from manic-depressive disease not only are more productive during hypomanic phases (which they commonly are) but also produce works of high quality than during normal or depressed periods. As his test case, the took the composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856), who suffered from a bipolar affective disorder (Jamison, 1993; Ostwald, 1985; Slater & Meyer, 1959) and who left extensive records of his mood swings in letter and diaries. A plot of the number of Schumann’s compositions by year of completion (Weisberg’s Fig. 1) reveals two period of particularly intense activity: the years 1840 and 1849-1851, especially 1949. According to Slater and Meyer (1959), the years 1840, 1849, and 1951 coincide with hypomanic periods in Schumann’s life. Years classified as mostly depressive periods, by contrast, show very low productivity.
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