Creativity And Thinking

Creativity has been always connected to the way people think. When you think in a different way from what other people think it's called creativity. Creativity has been defined in many several ways.  Creativity is defined as the act of generating solutions to problems requiring the creative process of going beyond previously learned concepts and rules.  Creativity contains divergent and convergent thinking to produce new ideas (Crowl et al., 1997).  Creativity Its place in the network of higher order thinking skills was well articulated in Pasteur’s observation that “chance favors only the prepared mind” because “only a trained mind can make connections between unrelated events, recognize meaning in a serendipitous event,” and produce a solution that is both novel and suitable (cited in Crowl et al., 1997, pp. 192–193).

Creativity is also defined as something different from intelligence, (Michalko, 1998). “Creativity is often defined as a parallel construct to intelligence, but it differs from intelligence in that it is not restricted to cognitive or intellectual functioning or behavior. Instead, it is concerned with a complex mix of motivational conditions, personality factors, environmental  conditions, chance factors, and even products.”  (Feldhusen and Goh, 1995)

The research on creative thinking deals with the individual and how the creative process works. There are some articles about corporate creativity such as the one by Keith Sawyer (Sawyer 1999) that explores group creativity involved in improvisational theater. Many of the articles deal with application of creativity in the workplace, and the removal of the barriers that force individuals from being creativity. There are many models presented, involving convergent/divergent thinking, the four P’s: a process, a product, a person and a press. (Rhodes and Brown, quoted by Feldhusen and Goh, 1995), deBono’s Lateral thinking, etc.  In order to be creative one of the common themes is letting go of the restrictions that define what is “right” and postulating numerous hypotheses. “Everyone knows that instant judgment is the enemy of creativity,”

Some speak of creativity as the process of discovery. It is more than cognitive functioning. Albert (1990, as quoted in Feldhusen and Goh, 1995)  proposes six guiding ideas to “grasp the essence of creativity.”

1. Creativity is expressed through decisions, not products.

2. Knowledge of self and of one’s world is the medium of creative behavior.

3. Creative behavior is highly intentional.

4. Creativeness and personal identity are emergent.

5. #3 and #4 are mutually dependent.

6. Creative behavior engages individuals at the personal level of their identities and abilities

References

Crowl, T. K., Kaminsky, S., & Podell, D. M.  (1997). “Educational psychology:  Windows on teaching.”  Madison, WI:  Brown and Benchmark

Feldhusen, J. F. and B. E. Goh (1995). "Assessing and accessing creativity: An integrative review of theory, research, and development." Creativity Research Journal 8(3): 231, 17p.

King, F.J., Goodson, L., Rohani, F. (n.d). “Higher Order Thinking Skills: Definition, Teaching Strategies, Assessment.” Educational Services Program, Center for Advancement of Learning and Assessment. www.cala.fsu.edu

Marrapodi, J., (2003). “Critical Thinking And Creativity: An Overview And Comparison Of The Theories.” A Paper Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements of ED7590 Critical Thinking and Adult Education

Michalko, M. (1998). "Thinking like a genius:  Eight strategies used by the supercreative, from Aristotle and Leonardo to Einstein and Edison." The Futurist 32(4): 21.

Sawyer, R. K. (1999). "The emergence of creativity." Philosophical Psychology 12(4): 447

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