: Creativity

Summer, 2012

Blogging debrief

• Telling the lie…• Finding the lie…• Context – typical vs. atypical information

Why the lie?• Lies encourage an atmosphere for

creativity.• Lies require us to overcome cultural

blocks & prohibitions.• Lies are often told in patterns.• Lying requires risk taking.

Why Man Creates on Hard drive.

Why Man (& Woman) Creates?

1. The Edifice2. Fooling Around3. The Process4. The Judgment5. The question6. A parable7. A Digression8. 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

1. 11. 21. 31.

2. 12. 22. 32

3. 13. 23. 33.

4. 14. 24. 34.

5. 15. 25. 35.

6. 16. 26 36.

7. 17. 27. 37.

8. 18. 28. 38.

9. 19. 29. 39.

10. 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

Constructs of Creativity

• Person• Process• Product• Press (Situation)

Purpose of this course: Understanding the Theory

• most researchers agree that creativity involves “originality, appropriateness and the production of work of value to society

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.

• .

• 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

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).

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.html

Theories of Creativity

1. Threshold definition2. Personality theorists3. Process4. Situation5. Modern

Explanations of Creativity

1. Psychoanalytic2. Humanist3. Behaviorist4. Cognitive

Theories of Creativity

1. Threshold Theory

Which is the most creative?

• 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?

• 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 Theory2. Psychoanalytic Theorists – Unconscious drive

A. FreudB. KubieC. KrisD. 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

Conscious

Desires of Id suppressed

UnconsciousSublimation

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 CPre Conscious

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

U

Continuum

CPreRepressed experience

Can engage in free Play

Connections Metaphors

Creativity

Symbolic Process May be accessed by drugs or hypnosis.

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

Creativity happens through a person by communing with both types of unconscious thought.

Personal Past Collective Past

Unconscious Mind

Theories of Creativity

1. Threshold Theory2. Psychoanalytic Theorists – Unconscious drive3. Behaviorists – Reinforced behavior

A. Skinner

Behavioral Principlesof Creativity

Combination of 2 experiences.

S-R

> Product of genetic and environmental history. (Skinner) > Increase behavior by rewarding it. (Maltzman)

S-Runrelated

> 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

Safety

Belonging

Self - Esteem

Self - Actualization

Physical Needs

Characteristics of Self Actualized People

• 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.