What is creativity? Is it that burning feeling that you have when you must break and bend the known rules and invest your energy in making a mark on the world, be it an art piece or maybe just something a little bit more practical that helps you enjoy your life more? Is it that sudden burst of an original idea in your mental landscape? Is it the capacity to reinvent, reorganize or reinterpret the data in a single field of study or is it linking information between several? It is all that and more, as we will discover when learning about the different levels of creativity distinguished by Irving A. Taylor.
But first, we dedicate the introductory part of this article to following the footsteps of the concept of creativity that were made in the scientific world of psychology by presenting a short history of the distinct points of view on its origin and characteristics.
Creativity is the process of sensing problems or gaps in information, then identifying the difficulties and seeking solutions through trial and error or through forming hypotheses.
Short History of Creativity
The word creativity has its origin in the Latin creare which means to make, to conceive, to develop, to produce. It was introduced in the psychological vocabulary by American psychologist Gordon Allport (1937) (buy his books from Amazon) and it is replacing the old terms of innovative spirit, inventivity, talent.
We owe the first attempt at studying it using scientific grounds to the work of English savant Francis Galton, Hereditary Genius (1869). Researching the genealogical tree of a large number of famous families which gave the world many generations of highly creative personalities, Galton reaches the conclusion that heredity is the determinant factor of the creative force and that genius people are endowed with exceptional intellectual aptitudes.
The year of 1950 is considered to be the beginning of the researched psychological studies on creativity. At the American Psychology Association (APA) Congress, J.P. Guilford (buy his books from Amazon) drew attention to the scarcity of studies related to creativity and proposed several directions of research involving this human personality dimension. Following this impulse, the diverse creativity problematic entered the research programs of the great majority of American and European universities.
In the 1960s and 1970s we witness an outburst of the number of papers reserved to study the problem of creativity. In 1970, the Czech psychologist J. Hlavsa inventoried no less than 2419 titles and the 1999 edition of Creativity Encyclopaedia mentions over 10000 papers written with regard to creativity during the time interval between the years 1960 and 1998.
One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.
Two Major Opposing Views
The close examination of the definitions given to creativity reveals that novelty, originality, ingeniosity and theoretical or practical values represent essential features of the creative activity. A lack of consensus in the approach of creativity could be caused by the fact that for a long time it was thought to be only a privilege of the genius, of a single minority, and, thus, the research was conducted only towards the lives and activities of the highly creative personalities.
A scientific research lead by British psychologist M. Freya in the 1990s showed that over 70% of the interviewed professors (over 1000 in total) believed creativity to be a gift reserved only for a few.
The American point of view, on the other hand, is in stark contrast: creativity is perceived as an ability that can be developed by the vast majority of individuals. J.P. Guilford believed that the creativity phenomenon represents a general human characteristic and that everyone can be placed on different levels of a continuum scale of creativity.
Since I reached the conclusion that the essence of the creative person is being in love with what one is doing, I have had a growing awareness that this characteristic makes possible all the other personality characteristics of the creative person: independence of thought and judgment, honesty, perseverance, curiosity, willingness to take risks and the like.
Levels of Creativity
Irving .A. Taylor goes even further than Guilford and suggests that we can distinguish between five different levels of creativity:
These are unfettered ideas, generally primitive, that emerge without the benefit of any guidelines, physical laws, or other restrictions. You might think of expressive creativity as a child using a box of multi-colored crayons to draw something.
In this stage, we use rules and physical laws to constrain our thinking, with little expressive spontaneity. Think of this stage as “practicing.” Things that emerge may be new to you, but may already be known to the world.
In this stage, we develop the ability to creatively combine existing technical concepts using prior design solutions to create new designs. Examples might be to use an old item in a new way.
Emergent creativity is the highest creative level. It involves rejecting current physical laws, principals, and constraints, and forming completely new theories about how the world works. This often results in a ground-breaking idea. Few people achieve this level.
The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.
Conclusion
Creativity seems to be a highly controversial human capacity and its processes are likely connected to cognitive and emotional attributes, be them conscious or unconscious. The value of its results can resonate in the single life of the inventor or it can change the course of action for the entire humanity. Either way, we cannot underestimate its importance in the act of designing the future, so why not learn the psychological mechanisms behind the process and start developing our creative skills right now?
The ACCEPTS Skill in Dialectical Behavior Therapy DBT
The ACCEPTS skill is a core distress tolerance strategy used to help you get through intense emotions without making the situation worse. ACCEPTS stands for Activities, Contributing, Comparisons, Emotions, Pushing away, Thoughts, and Sensations. Each letter offers a different way to temporarily shift your focus when you’re overwhelmed—like distracting yourself with a task, helping someone else, generating an opposite emotion, or using strong but safe physical sensations. ACCEPTS doesn’t erase the problem; it buys you time. By using these tools when urges are high, you can ride out emotional waves more safely and protect your long-term goals.
The Science of Metacognition: How Your Brain Learns
Metacognition is a relatively recent concept, used by both cognitive psychology and education sciences, which attracts attention to the role of the subject in knowledge and in obtaining a real awareness of the knowledge by using self-control, self-appreciation and self-perfecting of one’s one cognition. Metacognition is, in broad terms, thinking about thinking.
Exploring The Social Genetic Model of Cognitive Development
During the 1970′, at Geneva, a new perspective on cognitive development has begun to emerge. The self-defined school of socio-genetical psychology advanced theories that represented a challenge addressed to the spirit of genetical epistemology.
Willem Doise, Gabriel Mugny and Jean Claude Deschamp, to name but a few of the representatives, declare that social interactions constitute the privileged setting which gives birth to the intellectual acquisitions of the child. There is a direct cause and effect link between social interaction and individual cognitive development.
Anxiousness: Understanding a Complex Personality Trait
Anxiousness, a multifaceted personality trait, significantly shapes how individuals perceive and respond to the world around them. It encompasses a spectrum of emotions, behaviors, and cognitive patterns, ranging from mild worry to severe anxiety disorders. In this article, we will delve into the intricate world of anxiousness, exploring its definition, subtypes, causes, consequences, and strategies for managing and harnessing this trait.
All-or-Nothing Thinking: Understanding and Overcoming Cognitive Distortions
All-or-nothing thinking, often termed as “black-and-white thinking” or “dichotomous thinking”, is a cognitive distortion that influences individuals to view situations, experiences, and themselves in an either/or binary manner. This form of thinking doesn’t allow for any middle ground or shades of gray. For instance, if someone doesn’t achieve perfection in a task, they might perceive the effort as a complete failure.
Understanding the roots and implications of all-or-nothing thinking can provide significant insights into how we process experiences and make judgments. In this article, we will explore the nature of this cognitive distortion, its impact on mental health, and ways to overcome it.
Equal Breathing: A Balanced Approach to Stress Relief and Mindfulness
In the diverse world of breathing techniques that promote relaxation and mindfulness, Equal Breathing, known as “Sama Vritti” in Sanskrit, stands out for its simplicity and balance. This technique involves inhaling and exhaling for an equal length of time. This article delves into the benefits, underlying principles, and practical applications of Equal Breathing, offering insights into how this ancient practice can be beneficial in our modern lives. Equal Breathing, or Sama Vritti, translates to “equal fluctuation” in Sanskrit, highlighting the technique’s focus on creating balance in the respiratory system.
