The ability to produce original, imaginative and unique ideas. What is Creativity ? The ability to produce original, imaginative and unique ideas. ‘LATERAL THINKING ?’

What is Creativity? A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something. Frank Capra INTUITION

What is Creativity? Imagination is more important than knowledge. Albert Einstein DIVERGENT THINKING

Creativity and Decision Making Phases of Creativity Theories of Creativity Blocks to Creativity Creativity Enhancing Techniques Value-Focused Thinking Approach Quality Tools for Creativity

Introduction Better decisions requires better alternatives Bad alternatives will lead to bad decisions How do we obtain these better alternatives? Extend beyond current “the box” Find ways to achieve objectives in new ways These new alternatives have elements of novelty and effectiveness

Creative? But I’m not creative enough!! There are techniques and tools to enhance creativity These tools guide the formation and flow of ideas in the mind You can be an expert in your field, and that will help the creative process You can expand your cognitive process to become more creative Other experiences, puzzles, reading, etc We want to have “fluency” and “flexibility” Quickly generate many ideas across a wide range

Psychological Theories of Creativity Well studied area; very rich literature Psychoanalytic Theory Creative thought is the product of brain processing not accessible to conscious thought Behavioral Theory Creative behavior results from environmental stimuli Appropriate awards can lead to creative behavior Cognitive Approach Creative behavior stems from a capacity for making unusual and new mental associations of concepts Creative people create more “variations”

Psychological Theories of Creativity Self-Actualization Able to perceive reality accurately Compare cultures objectively Can look at things in a fresh, naïve, simple way Be happy and thus be creative!

Phases of Creative Process Preparation Learn about the problem Examine problem from various perspectives Similar to structuring the problem Understanding the structure of the problem and how elements relate to one another is preparation for the creative process

Phases of Creative Process Incubation Preparation Explore new paths and alternatives Many include unconscious processing of information Find solutions to problems in a dream Position of pieces of information yields a creative solution How many have wanted to “think about it for a while?”

Phases of Creative Process Preparation Incubation Illumination When all the pieces come together Verification Does the solution have merit? Return to the hard logic of the problem Are all constraints being satisfied? How well does it perform with respect to the fundamental objectives?

Blocks to Creativity A “block to creativity” interferes with creativity Why should we be concerned about them? They hinder our decision analytical process If we understand what they are, and why they hinder the process, we can hopefully avoid them Framing and Perceptual Blocks Arise in the ways we tend to perceive, define, and examine the problem

Perceptual Blocks Stereotyping – fit into some standard category Tacit assumptions – impose artificial constraints Saturation Focus too quickly on “obvious” problem Focusing to much on details Getting overwhelmed with data Inability to see problem from other viewpoints Multiple objectives will be at play Must understand other’s values and objectives

Emotional or Value-based Blocks Fear of taking a risk Risk aversion is a key decision analysis concept May be counterproductive to not offer “wild” ideas Status quo bias Various levels of bias to current state of affairs Change can be hard to accept Reality versus Fantasy Some people only want realistic solutions Such people are comfortable “in their box”

Emotional or Value-based Blocks Judgment and Criticism Do not apply your values too soon in creative process Need to let ideas flow freely Inability to Incubate Not well understood Accepted as a phase Are we always given time to incubate an idea?

Cultural Blocks Taboos Humor Reason and Logic prevails Views of culturally accept behavior may block ideas Humor Good ideas can be obtained in an informal setting Often want to let the joking free-wheel for a time Reason and Logic prevails Overly analytical thinking (even though it is important) Tradition and change Often a strong resistance to changes The status quo got the decision maker where they are

Environmental Blocks Non-supportive environment Environment that dissuades humor and playfulness Organization is overly structured and routine Strictly hierarchical structure Autocratic bosses Bosses that have all the answers Over focus on awards, competition and oversight Strict timelines Often a tight suspense can lead to good results

Brainstorming Introduced in 1930s by Osborn Based on idea of eliminating perceptual blocking filters Two Principles: Defer judgment Quantity breeds quality Four rules Rule out criticism Welcome freewheeling Seek large quantities of ideas Encourage combination and improvement of ideas

Brainstorming Works due to its synergistic effect Among participants Combining of ideas is not just additive Combine pairs, triples, etc of ideas to get new ideas Generally regarded as a group technique based on a specific objective Specificity focuses the efforts Useful in situations calling for idea generation rather than judgment

Synectics Gordon in 50s found novel ideas expressed as analogies Research suggested use of analogies a key insight Reduce problem to barest essentials and search for a natural analogy Two distinguishing characteristics Attack of the underlying concept of the problem Examination of problem from many angles Three types of analogy (metaphorical thinking) Fantasy – idealistic versus realistic Direct – find personal parallel experiences Personal – place yourself in role of problem

Checklists Very simple means of generating ideas Ask and list answers to series of questions. For instance Are there other uses? Can something be adapted? Can something be modified? Can components be re-arranged? Can components be combined? Can some substitution be made? Osborn (1963) offered a series of idea spurring questions.

Obsorn’s Questions Put to other uses? Adapt? New ways to use as is Other uses if modified Adapt? What else is like this? What other idea does this suggest? Does the past offer a parallel? What could I copy? Whom could I emulate?

Obsorn’s Questions Modify? Magnify? New twist? Change meaning, color, motion, sound, odor, form shape? Other changes? Magnify? What to add? More time? Greater frequency? Stronger? Higher? Longer? Thicker? Extra value? Plus ingredient? Duplicate? Multiply? Exaggerate?

Obsorn’s Questions Minify? Substitute? What to subtract? Smaller? Condensed? Minature? Lower? Shorter? Lighter? Omit? Streamline? Split up? Understate? Substitute? Who else instead? What else instead? Other ingredient? Other material? Other process? Other power? Other place? Other approach? Other tone of voice?

Obsorn’s Questions Rearrange Reverse? Interchange components? Other pattern? Other layout? Other sequence? Transpose cause and effect? Change pace? Change schedule? Reverse? Transpose positive and negative? How about opposites? Turn it backward? Turn it upside down? Reverse roles? Change shoes? Turn tables? Turn other cheek?

Obsorn’s Questions Combine? How about a blend, an alloy, as assortment, an ensemble? Combine units? Combine purposes? Combine appeals? Combine ideas?

Forced Relationships Generate ideas by relating seemingly unrelated ideas Use combining concept from brainstorming Ideas may be related yielding more mundane solutions Use ideas related to the problem and possible to each other if more practical ideas are required Less effort validating the ideas Start with the more general ideas and increase the specifics used later Somewhat related is “Attribute Listing”

Morphological Analysis Develop a grid of attributes along several dimensions Examine combinations of attributes Try to determine a solution/alternative to each combination Really provides a framework within which to screen all combinations and determine the most appropriate combinations Strategy-generation table is closely related

Strategy-generation Table Inputs Process Outputs

FACTORS FOR CREATIVITY Mastery of the Subject Curiosity Divergent Thinking Take Risks Motivation and Persistence Serendipity

THE CREATIVE PROCESS Preparation Incubation Insight Evaluation Elaboration

REFERENCES Amabile, T.M. (1983). The social psychology of creativity. New York:Springer-Verlag New York Incorporated. Amabile, T.M. (1999). How to kill creativity. Harvard Business Review, september-october, 1998, 77-87. Creativity in Education. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2004, from http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/creativity/ Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New York: Haper Collins.

REFERENCES Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1999). Implications of a systems perspective. In R.J. Sternberg (ed.) Handbook of Creativity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. De Souza Fleith, D. (2000). Teacher and student perceptions of creativity in the classroom environment. Roeper Review, 22(2), 148-158. Driver, Michaela (2001). Fostering creativity in business education: developing creative classroom environments to provide students with critical workplace competencies. Journal of Education for Business, 77 (1), 28-33.

REFERENCES Finke, R.A., Ward, T.B., & Smith, S.M. (1992). Creative cognition. Cambridge: MIT Press. Galloway, C.A. (2001). Vygotsky's learning theory. In M. Orey (Ed.), Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology [Electronic version]. Retrieved April 29, 2004 from Website: http://www.coe.uga.edu/epltt/vygotskyconstructionism.htm Glover, J.A., Ronning, R.R., & Reynolds, C.R. (Eds.). (1989). Handbook of creativity. New York: Plenum Press Learning and Teaching Scotland (2004). Creativity counts: portraits in practice [Electronic version]. Retrieved April 21, 2004, from http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/creativity/files/portraitsofpracticelts2004.pdf

REFERENCES Lubart, T.I. (1999). Creativity across cultures. In R.J. Sternberg (ed.) Handbook of Creativity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Lubart, T.I. (2000). Models of the creative process: past, present and future. Creativity Research Journal, 13(3/4), 295-303. Mumford, M.D., Mobley, M.I., Uhlman, C.E., Reiter-Palmon, R., & Doares, L.M. (1991) Process analytic models of creative capacities. Creativity Research Journal, 4, 91-122. Nickerson, R. S. (1999). Enhancing creativity. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of Creativity. Cambridge: Cambridge Press.

REFERENCES Simonton, D. K. (2000). Creativity: cognitive, personal, developmental, and social aspects. American Psychologist, 55(1), 151-158. Sternberg, R.J. (2001). What is the common thread of creativity: its dialectical relation to intelligence and wisdom. American Psychologist, 56, 360-362. Sternberg, R.J. & Lubart, T. (1995a). Defying the crowd: cultivating creativity in a culture of conformity. New York: Free Press Sternberg, R.J. & Lubart, T. (1995b). An investment approach to creativity. In S.M. Smith, T.B. Ward, and R.A. Finke (eds.) The Creative Cognition Approach. Cambridge: MIT Press. Sternberg, R.J. & Lubart, T. (1996). Investing in creativity. American Psychologist, 51(7), 677-688.

REFERENCES Amabile, T.M. (1983). The social psychology of creativity. New York:Springer-Verlag New York Incorporated. Amabile, T.M. (1999). How to kill creativity. Harvard Business Review, september-october, 1998, 77-87. Creativity in Education. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2004, from http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/creativity/ Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New York: Haper Collins.

Selected Online Resources http://www.apa.org/monitor/nov03/creativitytoc.html Articles from American Psychological Association http://www.erz.uni-hannover.de/~urban/compmod.htm URBAN's Components Model of Creativity http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/1996sternberg/intro.html Introduction: Theory of Creativity http://www.buffalostate.edu/library/creative/ E. H. Butler Library - Creative Studies Library http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/creativity/ Creativity in Education - Learning and Teaching Scotland http://www.ncaction.org.uk/creativity/ Creativity: find it; promote it - National Curriculum in Action

QUESTIONS/COMMENTS? Philomena Bernard School Counselor Central Middle School 457-5895 Highland Elementary 457-5161 pmb2809@slp.k12.la.us