Download Theories and Definitions Part 1

Introduction
Theories and Definitions
CRS 560 Foundations of Creativity
(Creative Problem Solving)
Spring 2014
Why Lie?
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•
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Detecting patterns
Taking a risk
Elaboration
Originality
• Storytelling as a creative talent
Why Man (& Woman) Creates?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
The Edifice
Fooling Around
The Process
The Judgment
The question
A parable
A Digression
The Search
Lets discuss why humans create…
 The nature of creative process.
 The variety, richness & importance of creative vision.
 Observation, exploration, commitment and hard
work as a part of creativity.
 How play relates to the creative process.
 Failure as a necessity in creativity.
 How society responds to new ideas and to the
creative process.
Brainstorm –
a list of 40 creative words
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11.
21.
31.
2.
12.
22.
32
3.
13.
23.
33.
4.
14.
24.
34.
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15.
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35.
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16.
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36.
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17.
27.
37.
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18.
28.
38.
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19.
29.
39.
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20.
30.
40.
Hilda Taba* Technique
1. List the words on individual slips of
paper.
2. Group the words.
3. Label the groups.
*Hilda Taba is an educational theorist who developed the
concept attainment model.
Grouped words and their respective
labels
Lets Define Creativity…..
Use the categories to fashion a
definition. Create a visual that shows
the definition either as a model or a
metaphor
Purpose of this course: Understanding
the Theory
• most researchers agree that creativity involves
“originality, appropriateness and the
production of work of value to society
• An alternative conception of creativeness is that
it is simply the act of making something new.
• Although intuitively a simple phenomenon, it is
in fact quite complex. It has been studied from
the perspectives of behavioural psychology,
social psychology, psychometrics, cognitive
science, artificial intelligence, philosophy, history,
economics, design research, business, and
management, among others.
The studies have covered everyday
creativity, exceptional creativity and
even artificial creativity. Unlike many
phenomena in science, there is no
single, authoritative perspective or
definition of creativity. And unlike
many phenomena in psychology, there
is no standardized measurement
technique
Constructs of Creativity (David
MacKinnon)
• Process
• Product
• Person
• Press
(Situation)
Process
Process
• Creativity is a mental and
social process involving the
generation of new ideas or
concepts, or new
associations of the creative
mind between existing ideas
or concepts. Creativity is
fueled by the process of
either conscious or
unconscious insight.
• Measured by tests of
divergent thinking
• .
Product
• Anything that is experiences or made –an
idea, a work of art, a scientific theory, the
design of a building—may be a creative
product. But if they are to qualify as true
creations they must first meet certain criteria.
• Measured by rubrics with criteria often
established by the “field”
• SPAF
Novelty
• Creativeness of a product when judged in
terms of novelty, originality, or statistical
infrequency is alsways relative to a given
population of products. Those that are the
most creative are the ones that are novel or
original in the experience of an entire
civilization of humankind.
Adaptive to reality
• Must serve to solve a problem, fit the need of
a situation or accomplish some recognizable
goal.
Creative Product Must be Produced
The solution must be both true and
beautiful
• Solutions should be aesthetically pleasing.
Creates new conditions of
human existence,
transcending and
transforming the generally
accepted and change
radically the experience of
man ‘s view of the world.
Creative Person
• Most salient features of all creative groups
while remembering the uniqueness of each
individual.
• How measured?
• Checklists, interviews, observations
• SRBCSS, GIFT, WILLIAMS SCALE
http://technology.ezinemark.com/stevejobs-death-2011-most-famous-quotes-inhis-life-77371348ffa5.html
Creative Situation or Press
Task
Commitment
Above Average
Ability
Creativity
A
I
U C C
T
P
Purpose of creativity: Personal
• Our ability to express our deepest feelings is
at the core of the importance of creativity. As
humans we have a very strong need to
express ourselves and we're happiest when
other people understand what we are trying
to get across to them.
• http://www.rousingyourmuse.com/index.htm
l
Purpose of the course: Classroom
applications
• Barker, Karpova & Marcketti (2008) say that
creativity must be brought to the “center of
focus when preparing future citizens to deal
with uncertainty and to adapt to continuous
change” (p. 1).
Theories of Creativity
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Threshold definition
Personality theorists
Process
Situation
Modern
Explanations of Creativity
1.
2.
3.
4.
Psychoanalytic
Humanist
Behaviorist
Cognitive
Theories of Creativity
1. Threshold Theory
Which is the most creative?
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Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
Spielberg’s movie E.T.
Einstein’s Theory of Relativity
Shirley Cohen’s Curtains
Henree’s award winning new hair style
Reagan’s theory of “Trickle-Down” economics
Which is the most intelligent?
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Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony
Spielberg’s movie E.T.
Einstein’s Theory of Relativity
Shirley Cohen’s Curtains
Henree’s award winning new hair style
Reagan’s theory of “Trickle-Down” economics
Think Different
Threshold Theory
• Intelligence is necessary but not sufficient for
creative accomplishments to occor.
• The relationship between IQ and Creativity is
aapparent in people whose IQ is below 120.
After that there is little predictive value.
Theories of Creativity
1. Threshold Theory
2. Psychoanalytic Theorists – Unconscious drive
A.
B.
C.
D.
Freud
Kubie
Kris
Jung
Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalytic
Perspective
• Creativity is said to be the outcome of the
unconscious neurotic conflict. Creativity is at
the service of the id.
• Difference between primary process thinking
(daydreams, fantasies) and secondary process
thinking analytic and logical.
Freud on creativity
& the unconscious
Defense mechanism - sublimation
Desires of Id suppressed
Unconscious
Conscious
Creative
Act
Fantasy allows the
creativity regression to
playful thinking
Primary Process –
Relaxation Periods
Secondary Process –
Logical periods
Ernest Kris
• Fantastic, freely wandering thought processes
tend to discharge libido and aggression.
• Creativity results when there is a shift from
the preconscious to the conscious—an
illuminating experience.
• Creativity is at the service of the ego which
controls defense mechanisms.
Kris – Theory of Creativity
Creativity involves the ability to
regress to a childlike frame of mind.
U
Pre Conscious
C
Free- wandering thought processes
Creative fantasies
Importance of Playfulness!
Lawrence Kubie
• Creativity takes place between the conscious
and the unconscious that is in the
preconscious.
• Creativity is the new and unexpected
connections, metaphorical relationships
overlapping meanings, puns and allegories.
Kubie – Theory of Creativity
Continuum
U
Symbolic
Process
May be accessed
by drugs or
hypnosis.
Pre
Can engage
in free Play
Connections
Metaphors
Creativity
C
Symbol
Systems
Language
Anchored in
Reality
Carl Jung
• Archetypes–
• Psychological type: draws from the realm of human
experiences which raise the consciousness to greater
levels of understanding
• Visionary type: the creative process consists in an
unconscious animation
of the archetype and in a development and shaping
of this image till the work is completed.
Jung – Theory of Creativity
Unconscious Mind
Personal Past
Collective Past
Creativity happens through a person
by communing with both types of
unconscious thought.
Theories of Creativity
1. Threshold Theory
2. Psychoanalytic Theorists – Unconscious drive
3. Behaviorists – Reinforced behavior
A. Skinner
Behavioral Principles
of Creativity
> Product of genetic and environmental
history. (Skinner)
> Increase behavior by rewarding it.
(Maltzman)
S-R
S-R
unrelated
Combination of 2 experiences.
> Mental Associations has a large number
of verbal and non verbal associations to
connect.
Humanistic Perspective
• Self actualization is an intrinsic drive
• The self actualized person approaches all
aspects of life in a creative way
• Special talent creativity vs. Self actualized
creativity
• Conditions for creativity.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Aesthetic
Self Actualization
Self - Esteem
Belonging
Safety
Physical Needs
Characteristics of
Self Actualized People
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Spontaneous
Expressive
Natural
Less Controlled
Less Inhibited
“Relatively un-frightened by the unknown, the mysterious
and often positively attracted by it…selectively pick out things
to puzzle over, to mediate on and to be absorbed in work.”
Maslow, 1967
• Peak experiences – lost in the present.
• Self actualized creativity vs. Special talent creativity.
• Deficient needs vs. Being needs vs. Aesthetic needs.
Invention Convention
Invention Convention
Necessity is the mother of invention. Using only the
provided newspaper, scissors, and tape invent each of the
following items.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6. A hearing aid.
Something to save your
7. A teaching aid to teach
life.
children subtraction.
A wasp trap.
8. An object to help someone
A way to measure a two communicate.
story building.
9. Something a pet owner
A foolproof clue to your may need.
identity.
10. Something to help prepare
A container to hold a
food.
10lb rock.
Judging Inventions & Creativity
Score
Flexibility
Originality
Fluency
Elaboration
Theories of Creativity
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Threshold Theory
Psychoanalytic Theorists – Unconscious drive
Behaviorists – Reinforced behavior
Cognitivists- A way of thinking
Humanists – a state of being
A. Maslow
B. Rogers
Theories of Creativity
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Threshold Theory
Psychoanalytic Theorists – Unconscious drive
Behaviorists – Reinforced behavior
Cognitivists- A way of thinking
Humanists – a state of being
6. Contemporary Theorists- a systems and
developmental approach
A. Amabile Simonton
B. Gruber Csikszentmihalyi
C. Gardner
Gruber
• Studied traits of creative individuals
• Task commitment
– Through working hard you transform yourself and
what would be hard for others becomes easy for
you.
– The greatest fun is the work.
– Creative people combine a zest for work with a
capacity to play
• Sense of purpose
– Strong, robust energetic
– A feeling of who they are and where they are
going
• Risk taking
– Challenged by the unknown
– Courage can come at time depending on life’s
circumstances
• Network of Enterprises
–Multiple ongoing interests thread
through the intellectual life of a
creative individual.
–Complete and enduring sets of
purposes
–Juggling projects
Bracketing
• Technique creative people use to handle
problem that they can’t solve yet.
• Tolerance for ambiguity
• Sometimes intuitive ideas can’t be explained
for lack of knowledge must make assumptions
• Images of a wide scope
– Metaphor that holds the key to a creative
breakthrough.
–
Creative people must use their skills to devise
environments that foster their work
– They must invent new peer groups appropriate to
their projects
– Being creative means striking out in new
directions and making new friends
– Being creative means a willingness to be alone for
awhile.
A Systems Perspective on Creativity
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Happiness, Creativity, and Flow
Figure 1.1 A systems model of creativity
Domain
• Area in which a person is working (art, physics,
etc.)
• Dependent on culture (eg. computer science
in San Francisco in 60s and 70s
• Different domains are valued in different
ethnic groups
Field
• Experts/Gatekeepers in a given domain who
judge creativity (eg. museum curators and
modern art)
• Is affected by current social values
The Nature of Creativity
R. J. Steinberg
Investment Theory
• Creativity requires 6 resources
– Intellectual abilities
– Knowledge
– Styles of thinking
– Personality
– Motivation
– Environment
Attributes of Creative Students
– Buy low and sell high
– Excel in art but not as
often in writing
– Persists through
resistance
– Learn better when
information is applicable
– Can be hard to identify
Evaluating Creativity as a Teacher
• Identifying Creativity in Students
– Quality of work
– Sophistication of work
– Originality of work
• Creativity is as much an attitude toward life as
it is an ability
– This attitude CAN be taught and nurtured in our
students
What Is the Common Thread of Creativity?
Its Dialectical Relation to Intelligence and Wisdom
By Robert Sternberg
Sent June 19
INTELLIGENCE
• The ability to adapt to the environment.
• Acquire skills to adapt to their existing environment.
CREATIVITY
• The ability to produce products that novel and high quality. But not necessarily what people
expect or desire.
WISDOM
• Balance the need for change (creativity) and stability (intelligence)
“ The ideas of today's intelligence will be questioned by the ideas of tomorrow's creativity, only to
be synthesized by the ideas of post tomorrow's wisdom.”
• The ability to adapt to the
environment.
• Intelligent people are those
who somehow acquire the
skills that lead to their fitting
into existing environments.
Intelligence
Wisdom
• Individuals that balance a
need for change (creativity)
with the need for stability
and continuity (intelligence)
Sent
June 19
in human
affairs.
• A wise person is both
intelligent and creative.
• The ability to produce
products that are not only
high in quality, but novel.
• They create ideas the “defy
the crowd” by intelligently
screening their own ideas.
• Creativity is meaningful only
in the context of the system
that judges it, what is
creative in one context may
not be creative in another.
Creativity
Environment/Society
• Money in a given domain will affect creativity
(eg. art in Italy during the Renaissance)
• On an individual level, the ability to be
creative is a luxury and often not possible for
those living in poor circumstances
• Someone who is too comfortable will not be
motivated to be creative
Simonton
• Studied creativity over the life span.
–Personality
–Circumstances of their training
–Properties of their most highly
esteemed work.
Findings
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Maximal creativity 35-39
Tend to produce more bad than good
Drop out of college
Smart but not too brainy
• Developmental or early influences:
– Higher incidence of parental loss
– First born
– Environment replete with intellectually and
culturally stimulating materials
– Role models: essential tension
• Formal education
– “It is in fact nothing short of a miracle that the
modern methods of instruction have not yet
entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry for
this delicate little plant aside from stimulation
stands mostly in need of freedom; without this it
goes to wreck and ruin without fail”
(Einstein)
• As educational level increases the probability
of achieving eminence in a creative endeavor
also increases up to a certain optimum and
thereafter declines so that further formal
training diminishes the odds of achieving the
highest eminence.
Theories of Creativity
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Threshold Theory
Psychoanalytic Theorists – Unconscious drive
Behaviorists – Reinforced behavior
Cognitivists- A way of thinking
Humanists – a state of being
Contemporary Theorists- a systems and
developmental approach
Creativity Review
• There seems to be a continuum of creative abilities
C………………….c
• There is a relationship between intelligence and
creativity. This is called the threshold effect.
• Depending on the psychological paradigm, creativity
is viewed as a subconscious drive, a conditioned
response, a way of thinking, or a drive to fulfill
potential.
A man must consider
what a rich realm
he abdicates when he
becomes a conformist.
• Ralph Waldo Emerson
Creative folks :
• Have a strong sense of curiosity,
• Have a childlike sense of wonder and
intrigue.
• Enjoy exploration & experimentation.
• Have a history of taking things apart to
see how they work.
• Enjoy exploring attics, libraries, or
museums.
Characteristics of Creative Folks
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High energy
Imaginative
Risk taking
Curiosity
Argumentative, cynical
Indifferent to common conventions and
courtesies
• May not participate in class activities
ADHD
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Has difficulty sustaining attention on tasks or play activities
Often shifts from one uncompleted activity to another
Has difficulty playing quietly
Often interrupts or intrudes on others
Often does not seem to listen to what is being said
Often loses things necessary for tasks or activities in school or
at home
• Often engages in physically dangerous activities without
considering possible consequences (not for purpose of thrillseeking) e.g. runs into street without looking