July 20, 2026
New article in Creative Education by Nestar Russell , Jasmine S. Teed, Nazario Robles Bastida
Based on Jasmine S. Teed PURE project under the supervision of professors Nestar Russell and Nazario Robles Bastida and on research on Stanley Milgram conducted by Dr. Russell, the project, which analyzed 17 introductory psychology and sociology textbooks, found that most conventional advice on generating research ideas stands in direct conflict with the creative process used by Milgram, one of social psychology's most influential and inventive figures. While the majority of textbooks steered students toward consulting prior literature as a first step, Milgram's approach was strikingly different: often working with students in a single session, he would envision, develop, and refine a research idea while simultaneously mapping out its full methodological design — only turning to the existing literature afterward, if at all. Though textbooks cautioned that this method risked duplicating already completed work, the study argues this criticism overlooks a significant creative advantage — that Milgram's unfamiliarity with prior research kept his thinking original and free from the constraints of established conventions. The authors stop short of abandoning traditional guidance, instead calling for a more balanced approach in which students are exposed to both standard textbook methods and the unconventional strategies employed by high-impact creative scholars, equipping the next generation of researchers with a broader and more flexible creative toolkit.