Cultural Barriers to Creativity

The textbook talks about cultural barriers and how they are additional barriers created by cultural expectations, and how our basic social and emotional needs are met through our membership and acceptance into a cultural network. There are quite a few cultural barriers to creativity but I will focus on five.
First the requirement for conformity: Socially and culturally we are all expected to conform with others around us in order to create a group consensus about the way we should act and they ways in which we generally behave, and when people don't conform to their group there is usually apprehension of that person and their involvement within the group.
Second the expectation of politeness and of following the rules: Within society there is an expectation of friendliness and rules abiding in regards to one another, and when one or more people in a group break the rules or treat others poorly there is definite upset within the group.
Third the expectation of practicality and efficiency: When working in a small group or social setting one expects that their fellow members will be working out of a practical mindset and not be overreaching their abilities and that people are working with efficiency so as to not miss deadlines or negate expectations.
Fourth the belief in an either/or perspective on issues: I interpret this as the belief that one can only agree or disagree with a chosen issue, and that somehow their is no gray area, and you either agree with the issue or disagree with it and that there is no place for understanding of both sides of the argument.
Fifth is the dependence on generalizations: I would assume this means that when a group generalizes anything (people, rules, ideas,etc...) there is always the fear that the group is not exploring the topic with discretion and just limiting themselves to previous ideas and ways of ways of proceeding. 

In my experiences the only thing that keeps a group from being creative is fear. Now whether or not that fear is real or imagined the group still limits themselves growth or excellence because they don't want to challenge the norm or think and act outside of their comfort zone. One example I have of this in my own life is from when I first started my job at the private school I synced up with another person that knew someone I knew, and I found that I would act rigid and tough because this person acted rigid and tough. I found that once I realized that I didn't like my personality and that I wanted to have fun with the kids and share in their childhood joy I was a whole new person. I found and still find myself dancing wildly and singing like crazy with the kids because I realized that it's not just who you are that defines you, but the things you do everyday that shapes you and the people around you. I find myself lost in the kids and their happiness because they are young and have not been beat down by the world, so like the saying goes, "How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?"