Nature of Creativity

Creativity has been defined in many ways but one feature that is always mentioned is novelty (Sternberg, 1988). That is, the product of a creative endeavor should always be relatively unlike what has been done before. Novelty presupposes that creativity is a process that allows the mind to work out new solutions to problems, to be innovative and to be original. Just how the brain works so that the individual can become creative has been the subject of debate for a long time, creativity is often thought as a component of intelligence wherein highly intelligent persons all seem to be creative thus Guilford (1989) have argued that creativity can be assessed as part of intelligence tests.

Creativity as a process involve factors like fact-finding, problem-finding, solution-finding and acceptance-finding (VanGundy, 1987). This implies that creativity is a complex process that can only be arrived at if the mentioned factors have been satisfied. Like when a writer desires to start on a new book, he/she must first research the existing facts about the topic he wants to write about, then he/she goes on to look for the issues or problems within the facts and start writing from that angle, in writing she is starting to form solutions that are different from what has been existing and then scrutinize what has been written to determine if it is acceptable to him/her and judge whether it is creative or not.

Creativity is also facilitated by cognitive skills such as visualization, imagination, expressiveness, flexibility, fluency and openness (Finke, Ward & Smith, 1992). This would mean that creative thought process can only occur if the person is able to make use of the said cognitive skills. When a child is asked to come up with new arrangements of blocks, he/she must have an understanding of what blocks are and then to be able to visualize the possible arrangements, to imagine how he/she would build the blocks, to maybe express her thoughts by acting on her imagination like moving the blocks, and to arrange and rearrange it as being flexible and open about how he/she could accomplish the task. These skills can be developed through training and learning or it can be inherent personality traits that a person is born with.

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Creativity has been compared to problem-solving since it involves the same cognitive skills and process, but creativity is different from problem-solving in the sense that creativity is finding an original solution to the problem. Problem-solving on the other hand has to rely on previous learning and understanding of the situation and to logically solve the problem.

Wherein, a person who has been asked to solve a mathematical problem has to consider the laws of numbers and to rationally find the solution to the math question using principles and concepts that govern the field of math. If it was a creative endeavor, then the person can approach the same problem in different ways and come up with the same answer. In short, problem-solving usually follow the correct way of arriving at the answer, while creativity make or develop its own and original solution.

Creativity can also be a social process, this mean that creativity is enhanced or developed by the immediate environment of the individual (Amabile, 1983). A company that values creativity encourages the individual to engage in creative thought, while a rigid and structured work environment leaves very little opportunity for creativity. Moreover, a child that grow up in a family where creativity is reinforced and appreciated would more likely become creative in their own lives and parents who stifle their child’s curiosity and punishes creative behavior would be less likely to express their own creativity.

Developing Creativity

It is important to realize that creativity is a process and that it can be developed in children and adults alike. Practical ways of training a person to become creative involves asking the person what he/she is passionate about, what he/she wants to do that makes him/her happy and which tasks challenges him/her. In this way, the person becomes aware of his/her interests which will serve as the training ground with which creativity can be geared at.

For example, the thing that the person loves doing is preparing slide shows for presentations, then the next thing to do is to give the person the opportunity to work on a task that would require him/her to be creative, like asking him/her to create a presentation that is different from the previous one he/she have presented. Another way is to instruct the individual to generate a number of ideas and to explore each idea and find out which is novel and original. The individual’s attempts at being creative should also be recognized and appreciated which would reinforce creative behavior, this is important because to produce something that is creative is subject to how people will react to it and whether it is novel or not, if the individual is praised for showing creativity then he/she would be able to differentiate what is creative thinking.

The environment of the individual should also be changed to facilitate creativity, materials for creative thinking should be readily available, he/she should be able to express his/her ideas freely and to be given ample time to work on tasks. The individual can also learn from role models who can be identified as creative personalities. The way these people create new ideas and or things can show the individual how to become creative. By providing him/her with examples, he/she would come to understand what creativity is and what behaviors are indicative of creativity.

Lastly, personal traits like being open-minded, flexible, curious, not afraid of change or of doing new things and being excited at creating something should be developed in that person. These attitudes are important because it facilitates brainstorming, innovation, discovery and critical thinking that are necessary for creative thought processes. Helping an individual become creative can only be successful if the person has the willingness and desire to explore his/her creativity, thus even if one provides every opportunity to enable them to become creative is useless if they are not interested in enhancing their creativity.

References

1. Amabile, T. (1983). The Social Psychology of Creativity. New York: Springer-Verlag.
2. Finke, R., Ward, T. & Smith, S. (1992). Creative Cognition. Cambridge: Bradford/MIT Press.
3. Guilford, J. (1986). Creative Talents: Their Nature, Uses and Development. New York: Bearly Ltd.
4. Sternberg, R. (1988). The Nature of Creativity. New York: Cambridge University Press.
5. VanGundy, A. (1987). Creative Problem Solving. New York: Quorum.

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