Creativity refers to a mental process of generating new ideas, concepts or developing new associations with the existing ideas so that they can be viewed from a different angle. Therefore, a truly creative individual is resourceful, has high erudition and a well-developed apparatus of cognition and analysis, which means not necessarily strong logic, but rather curiosity and broad-mindedness so that the same concept or object can be studied from several perspectives. Moreover, a creative personality is motivated to invent and develop new ideas, so such people often have many hobbies and interests (Runco, 2004, p.658). Some of these characteristics are naturally influenced by the person’s culture and environment. For instance, whereas middle-class values imply the priority of erudition and personality development beyond the educational program, working-class values include the importance of developing certain practical skills which will determine the further survival of the individual (Runco, 2004, p.660). The environment might influence the formation of creativity-related qualities in the individual like curiosity and motivation and the accumulation of the knowledge needed for invention and innovation. It needs to be noted that creativity is inborn in each human being, as humans are able of abstractive thinking which determines the generation of such non-material constructs as ideas and notions (Amabile, 1996, p.29).
For instance, one of my most creative friends is an IT project manager whose interests, however, are not limited to information technology. Since his early childhood, has learned the value of erudition and thus started reading at the age of three. As he was a child, his parents tried hard to show him different paths of personality development and always satisfied his curiosity by helping him find answers to his questions. As he was growing up, he demonstrated great aptitude in mathematics and natural sciences like physics, chemistry and biology. At the age of sixteen, he received a national prize for proposing a solution for an extremely complicated university graduate-level math problem. As a university student, he was interested in creating conceptually novel business automation platforms; this interest subsequently turned into his own business. As a result, he invented new platforms for the service sector, which were not popular in the early 2000s, but which companies needed, so his bold undertaking, which started with a single concept, has been successful till the present day. Thus, owing partly to the strong family values and traditions, my friend developed a creative personality in terms of his ingenuity, curiosity, comprehensive knowledge of the subject and great motivation to bring his ideas into society.
Are there stages in the creative thinking process?
The process of creative thinking might be divided into several stages: first, identifying the problem or encounter; secondly, preparation (e.g. gathering additional information); thirdly, incubation of the new idea; fourthly, generation, clarification and expansion of the concept if necessary; and finally, judgment, evaluation and revision, which might return the subject to the first stage of the cycle (Amabile, 1996, p. 54). In case several ideas are incubated simultaneously, the subject normally elaborates and clarifies them one after another, as the stage of clarification requires maximal concentration. Each of the stages also implies generating emotional responses to the problem or encounter, as creativity belongs not merely to the faculty of reason, but also affections.
Does everyone show evidence of creativity?
The evidence of creativity is not shown by everyone, probably because of the lack of motivation for bringing new ideas into this world, low curiosity and lack of general development or erudition. It is much simpler to use the regular and common means and methods which have already proven their workability. For instance, it is much easier to reapply an old technique in a new setting than create a unique one, especially for this environment.
Why do some seek innovative as opposed to traditional approaches?
Some individuals are particularly eager to find innovative approaches as opposed to the time-honored and traditional, probably because they believe that each change in technique is a small element of the technological progress which improves human life. In addition, the interest in non-traditional methods might be interpreted as the person’s attempt to assert him/herself and make a difference, i.e. become noticed and distinguished by the society or community.
Reference list
Amabile, T. (1996). Creativity in context. Westview Press.
Runco, M. (2004). Creativity. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 657-687.