CREATIVITY

Presented by:Zil Shah.

DEFINITIONS OF CREATIVITY

• Creativity is a mental process involving the generations of new

ideas or concepts or new association between existing ideas or

concepts.

• Creativity involves the generation of new ideas or the

recombination of known elements into something new, providing

valuable solutions to a problem.

• “Any one can make the simple complicate. Creativity is making the

complicated simple” Charles Mingis.

OBJECTIVES OF CREATIVITY

• Main objectives of a creative thinking process is to

think beyond existing boundaries,

• to break away from rational, conventional ideas

and formalised procedures,

• to rely on the imagination, the divergent, the

random and to consider

• multiple solutions and alternatives

CREATIVE TECHNIQUES

1. Analytical Techniques And Intuitive

Techniques.

2. Creativity In Individuals, And Techniques,

Which Generate Creativity In Groups.

3 Divergent Thinking And Convergent

Thinking.

Main points to increase or encourage creativity in a

company are: To Be Happy, To Have Fun

Keep Channels Of Communication Open

Trust, Failure Accepted

Contacts With External Sources Of Information

Independence, Initiatives Taken

Support Participatory Decision-making And Employees’ Contribution

Experiment With New Ideas

The Quality Of Creative Thinking Can Be Judged By

Three Criteria

• Productivity.

• Originality.

• Flexibility

The 10 Mental Blocks To Creativity

Concepts are adapted from Van Oech’s book, A Whack On The Side Of The Head.

1. One “Right Answer”.

2. Logic Can Kill Creativity.

3. Be Creative – Break Some Rules

4.Be Creative – Is That Practical?

5. Play Is Creative.

6. Make Time To Think Creatively.

7. Being Creative Is “Not My Job”.

8 Don’t Be Afraid To Be Creative.

9. Creativity…How Ambiguous.

10 Is Creativity Wrong?

TWO PHASES OF CREATIVITY

Creativity can be divided into two

phases of thinking:

Divergent thinking

Convergent thinking

DIVERGENT THINKING

• Is the ability to find many possible answers to a particular

problem. Guilford (1950).

• Divergent thinking is a thought process or method used to

generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions.

• Divergent thinking typically occurs in a spontaneous, free-

flowing manner, such that many ideas are generated in an

emergent cognitive fashion.

• Psychologists have found that a high IQ alone does not

guarantee creativity. Instead, personality traits that

promote divergent thinking are more important. Divergent

thinking is found among people with personalities which

have traits such as nonconformity, curiosity, willingness to

take risks, and persistence.

ACTIVITIES WHICH PROMOTE DIVERGENT THINKING

• Creating Lists Of Questions,

• Setting Aside Time For Thinking And Meditation,

• Brainstorming.

• Subject Mapping / "Bubble Mapping",

• Keeping A Journal,

• Creating Artwork, And Free Writing.

CONVERGENT THINKING

• The term convergent thinking was coined by J.P.Guilford, a

psychologist well known foe his research on creativity.

• Convergent thinking involves the pursuit of predetermined a

goal, usually in linear progression and using highly focused

problem solving techniques.

• Convergent thinking questions are those which represent the

analysis and integration of given or remembered information.

They lead you to an expected end result or answer.

Convergent Using logic Combining what normally “belongs” together Being accurate Finding the best answer Playing by the rules

Divergent Taking risks Generating multiple answers Looking from a new perspective Combining what does not “normally” belong together Changing what is known

Example of thinking process

Adjective Checklist (ACL).

Khatena-Torrance Creative Perception Inventory.

Kirton Adaptation Innovation Inventory (KAI).

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

Personality Assessment Instruments Used in the

Field of Creativity

• PurPose: Adjectives describe a person’s attributes, 'actual’ & ‘ideal’ self; identification of potentially creative persons.

• struCture:300 item list of adjectives measures 37 traits.

• ADministrAtion:Self-assessment or by observer for10 to 15 minutes.

• Age rAnge:Widely used in adults.

Adjective Checklist

PurPose: Measures artistic inclination, intelligence, individuality, sensitivity, initiative, and self strength; imagination, appeal to authority, self confidence, inquisitiveness, and awareness of others.

struCture:Comprises two tests:

• Something About Myself

• What Kind of Person Are You?

ADministrAtion: Self report 20–40 minutes

Age rAnge: 12 years and older

Khatena-Torrance Creative Perception Inventory.

PurPose:Evaluates differences in preferred styles of problem-solving and creativity: adaptors improve things; innovators do things differently.

structure:Adaptation/ Innovation continuum.

AdministrAtion: 32 items.

Age rAnge:Teens and adults.

Kirton Adaptation Innovation Inventory

PurPose:Uses the Jungian dichotomies of:

• introversion/extroversion

• sensing/intuiting

• thinking/feeling

• perceiving/judging

structure:16 different personality types.

AdministrAtion: 166 multiple choice items.

Age rAnge:14 years and older.

Myers-Briggs TypeIndicator

Creativity requires both divergent and convergent thinking.This is mostly based on divergent thinking. It generates something new or different. It involves having a different idea that works as well or better than previous ideas.Once a person has a knowledge base (part of convergent /divergent thinking can take place). The knowledge base also makes it possible for a person to vary their thoughts from the norm and to identify a solution that may be effective

Conclusion