Presented by:-

Husnara Ansari

Definition and assessment of creativity have long been a subject of disagreement and dissatisfaction.

Creativity can be identified with particular, specifiable features of products or person or thought processes.

Creativity defined by the quality of the response that a product elicits form an observer.

Earliest definitions of creativity focus on the creative process.

John Watson’s definition is perhaps remarkable：

“How the new comes into being: One natural question often

raised is : How do we ever get new verbal creations such as a

poem or a brilliant essay? The answer is that we get them by

manipulating words, shifting them about until a new pattern is

hit upon.”

Koestler(1964) proposed creativity involves a “bisociativeprocess”-the deliberate connecting of two previously unrelated “matrices of thought” to produce a new insight or invention.

Most explicit definitions have used the creative product as the distinguishing sign of creativity.

If you were alone in a dark cabin, with only one match and a lamp, a fireplace, and a candle to choose from, which would you light first?

You would light the match first. Without it, you couldn’t light any of the other appliances.

Time

Hard work

Mental energy

How are they different?

Personality Traits

Cognitive Creativity Skills

Domain-specific Knowledge

Intrinsic Motivation

Illumination Incubation

Verification

Preparation

Stage One: Preparation (the conscious state)

In this stage the aim is to acquire more information

about the problem than you already possess. You might

brainstorm, read, collaborate with others, gather your

own past experiences, anything that can help you move

towards solving the problem at hand.

The stage of preparation may vary in length from a few

minutes, as in the case of a brainstorming session, to

months or years, as in the preparation for an invention

or a crucial experiment where more research needs to

be done.

Stage Two: Incubation (the subconscious state)

Stop thinking of the problem and turn your attention to

anything else. Go for a run, a walk, play with your kids,

read or maybe build that fence you have been meaning to

finish.

Do anything that stimulates your mind, but does not involve

solving your problem. You are going to give your

unconscious mind time to digest all the material you

gathered in the preparation stage. This is the same principal

used to solve “mental block” or “writers block”. The

incubation stage can last from a few minutes to years.

For example, a writer working on a book may write for

4 days straight, then not write for months. After

incubating, go back to your problem and begin crafting

a solution or idea.

At the end of this stage, the idea, which has been

incubating, is more clearly defined than it was at the

beginning. The stages of preparation and incubation

might overlap, but that’s ok.

Stage Three: Illumination (The “Ahaaa!” Moment.)

This is where the idea, which has been incubating, assumes definite form. Better known as the “Ahaa! Moment”.

This is the feeling you get when you have been struggling with your thoughts and can’t quite put your finger on what is missing.

The idea will appear suddenly and comes with a feeling of certainty. You will typically have an emotional reaction of joy, knowing you have found an idea, a solution.

Stage Four: Verification

This is where you challenge the idea that came to you

in the Illumination stage. Does your solution work

and/or does it need revision?

For example, a musician plays his composition on the

appropriate musical instrument to see what notes and

chords should be changed.

Brainstorming Rules

Expressiveness - Say whatever ideas come to mind

without focusing on constraints

Non-evaluation - No criticism allowed; all are valuable

Quantity - Produce as many ideas as possible

Building - Expand on other people’s ideas

Brainwriting

Hybrid of both individual and group brainstorming

Produces more ideas than brainstorming

1. Accept that you can be creative

2. Question traditional assumptions

3. Expand your problem-solving styles

4. Employ creativity techniques

5. Practice thinking in new ways

6. Learn when your creative thinking is best

Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT)

In the early 1940s, E. Paul Torrance, nicknamed “the father of

creativity”, began researching creativity in order to improve

American education. The problem is that, as any good

scientist, Torrance first needed to be able to quantify, measure

and analyze creativity.

That’s how he came up in the 60′s with the set of tests

named Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (or TTCT) where

Torrance claims to be able to measure what he calls “divergent

thinking”

Oral, written, or drawn responses

It can be scored separately by category

Teachers given the tests in a group to children

Four criterion components : fluency, flexibility, elaboration,

originality

Three categories : nonverbal tests, verbal tests using nonverbal

stimuli, verbal tests using verbal stimuli

The time limit for each test is 3 mints

The subject is expected to complete the picture and write the

name

History of the test

During World War II, psychologist J.P. Guilford

developed tests that selected certain individuals to enter

a pilot’s training program. His interests on isolating

different types of thinking for different tasks continued

after the war as he sought to understand human

intelligence and talent.

His work led him into researching IQ tests, and he soon

hypothesized that these tests did not measure creativity

– an unpopular belief during the middle of the last

century.

In fact, for most of the 20th century, psychologists

believed that IQ and creativity were linked: a high IQ

meant high creativity, and conversely, a lower IQ meant

lower creativity.

In 1967, creative psychology pioneer J.P. Guilford developed a test to measure divergent thinking, calling it Guilford’s Alternative Uses Task.

Test takers list as many possible uses for a common object, such as a cup, paperclip, or a newspaper. Scoring is comprised of four components: originality, fluency, flexibility, and elaboration.

Originality is based on each response compared to the total amount of responses from a specific group of test takers. Responses that are given by 5% of the group are unusual (1 point), responses that are given by only 1% of the group are unique (2 points).

Fluency scores relevant answers.

Flexibility is based on the difference of categories.

Elaboration is based on the amount of detail given in the response. (i.e. 0= a brick as a bed versus 2= a brick used as a bed for a child’s dolls when the child is playing outside)

A study conducted by Westby & Dawson(1995)examine

teachers perceptions of creative students.

Elementary school teachers were asked to rate their

favourite and least favourite students

They found that there was a significant difference between

the teachers judgements of favourite and least favourite

students

Judgement for the favourite students were negatively

correlated with creativity ;judgements for the least favourite

students were positively correlated with creativity