creativity

Overview: As we’ve seen in this course, researchers have found a strong connection between new and unusual experiences and creativity. Further, Creative Problem Solving methodologies require open-mindedness, the ability to defer judgment, and the ability to view ideas from different vantages The Creativity Assignment challenges you to pursue a new experience and reflect on the experience in order to nurture a creative personality and develop the abilities required to engage successfully with Creative Problem Solving methodologies.

1. New Experience. Choose an experience, song, movie, or food that you’ve never experienced before and try it for the first time. You can choose something you know nothing about or something that you have negatively judged without actually experiencing it for yourself. Whatever you choose, give it a try. In your entry name your chosen new experience, explain why you chose it, and describe the experience. Of course, please be responsible, safe, and make a choice that honours your own well-being and others around you. This section should be the equivalent of two pages double spaced 12 point text (equivalent for those considering a video submission).

2. Reflect Upon Your Experience. In your entry reflect upon the experience by considering a couple of the following questions: How did it make you feel? Did you change your mind about the experience? Did you learn anything valuable? Do you normally try new things or do you find it difficult? How might you work towards opening yourself up to new experiences in the future? How might trying new experiences enhance your creativity? Did you feel that this experience helped you think differently? How do you think this experience will translate toward your ability to be an effective Creative Problem Solver? Be sure to focus not only on the specifics of the experience, but dive into the more meta aspects of how this singular experience might impact your thinking and Creative Problem Solving ability more broadly. This section should be the equivalent of two pages double spaced 12 point text (equivalent for those considering a video submission).

use the following 

DEPTH OF INSIGHT: Did the entries strive for depth and include enough detail to facilitate personal learning? Did the entries connect to course themes and material? Did the entries draw upon personal experience or other relevant material to illustrate the observations and to make the responses individualized? Did the student complete every section? Is the Assignment of an appropriate length and effort?

ORIGINALITY: Did the entries strive for forms of novelty that are appropriate for the assignment and educational environment? Did the entries take full advantage of the medium? Did the entries exhibit the use of creative thinking skills? Are the entries unique to the individual? Was the diversifying experience novel?

STYLE: Was the entry polished, organized and appropriately presented? 

CPS
Week 4: Creative confidence

What is creativity, anyway?
“Creativity is the ability to produce work that is both novel and appropriate”
~ Sternberg & Lubart

What is creative confidence?
Rauth et al. (2010): “a development of trust in one’s own creative skills”
Kelly Bros. (2013): “Creative confidence is the ability to come up with breakthrough ideas comcombined with the courage to act on them”…
Kelly Bros. (2012): “Confidence doesn’t simply mean believing your ideas are good. It means having the humility to let go of ideas that aren’t working and to accept good ideas from other people”

Do most people have creative confidence?
Poll by Adobe Systems, “80 percent of people see unlocking creative potential as key to economic growth. Yet only 25% of these individuals feel that they’re living up to their creative potential” (T. Kelley and D. Kelley 2013a, 4).

Creativity anxiety
“We first created a new measure, the Creativity Anxiety Scale (CAS), demonstrating validity, internal reliability, and specificity. Applying the CAS revealed that creativity-specific anxiety predicted individual differences in creative achievement and attitudes toward creativity over and above effects of general anxiety. Moreover, across diverse content domains, from science to arts, anxiety was greater for situations that required creativity than similar situations that did not. Notably, this effect was especially pronounced in women. These findings suggest that creativity anxiety may have wide-reaching impacts and distinguish creativity anxiety from anxiety about noncreative aspects of performance.”
Daker, R. J., Cortes, R. A., Lyons, I. M., & Green, A. E. (2019). Creativity anxiety: Evidence for anxiety that is specific to creative thinking, from STEM to the arts. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

What is holding us back?
“In an interview with Inc., the Kelleys (2013b) claimed, “The big fear holding people back from creative confidence is the fear of being judged” (92),
In the Harvard Business Review they note three other similar restraints: “fear of the messy unknown,” “fear of the first step,” and “fear of losing control”

Building your creative confidence
“Choose creativity”
To be more creative, the Kelleys argue, “the first step is to decide you want to make it happen”
Be-Creative Effect: just being told to ‘be creative’ before a divergent thinking task makes the responses more creative”

Building your creative confidence
“Be empathetic”
“Daniel Pink says that as we move into the Conceptual Age, one attribute that will be necessary is what he calls high touch, “the ability to empathize with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction, to find joy in one’s self and to elicit it in others, and to stretch beyond the quotidian in pursuit of purpose and meaning””

Building your creative confidence
“Set a creative goal”
“The Kelleys suggest keeping a journal and shooting for at least one new idea a day.”

Building your creative confidence
“Embrace a bias toward action”
“Rather than merely stare at the problem or think about it, do something.”

Building your creative confidence
“Build a low-res prototype”
Translation of creative idea into reality is act of innovation; even a quick attempt toward this can help stimulate further ideas and prepare for next steps

Building your creative confidence
“Collaborate”
The best way to work is to work together

Amygdala
Brain region responsive to fear/threat

Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, the present study examined the effects of trait and primed attachment security on amygdala reactivity to threatening stimuli

participants who received attachment-security priming showed attenuated amygdala activation
(pictures depicting people engaging in caregiving behaviours and enjoying close attachment relationships (e.g. hugging loved ones).

Turning off fear
Thinking of social support and human connection can make us fearless
Intentionally remembering the causes and people we care about can drive us to be courageous and achieve more than we ever dreamed possible

What determines whether the ideas we generate are truly creative? Recent research of ours finds that one common factor often gets in the way: we tend to undervalue the benefits of persistence.

Grit

“perseverance and passion for long-term goals”
“working strenuously toward challenges”
“maintaining effort and interest over years despite failure, adversity, and plateaus in progress”
“approaches achievement as a marathon; his or her advantage is stamina”
https://sasupenn.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_06f6QSOS2pZW9qR
Angela Lee Duckworth

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How to be Gritty
May be determined in part by:
“beliefs about one’s capabilities”
“attributions of positive and negative events”
“beliefs about the relative influence of external causes”

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Principles of Creative Problem Solving

Divergent Thinking

Unit 3

1

Today’s Plan
PART I: Review from Units 1 and 2
What is Creativity
What is CPS
Efficacy of CPS

PART II: Lecture
Defining Divergent Thinking
Measuring Divergent Thinking
Divergent thinking tools

2

Divergent Thinking
TOPICS
Defining Divergent Thinking
Measuring Divergent Thinking
Divergent Thinking Tools

3

WHAT SHOULD I READ?
Chapters 5 & 6
In Creativity Rising (Your Text Book)
Pages 25 -42
Creativity Unbound (Your Textbook)

4

Introduction
Two fundamental thought processes linked to creativity
Generating and evaluating
Generating options = divergent thinking
Quickly generating options and alternatives and not stopping to evaluate
Evaluating and selecting = convergent thinking
Application of judgement to determine which option is the most promising

5

Dynamic Balance

Dynamic Balance
It’s all about Dynamic Balance
Divergence & Convergence
If the balance is off your outcome is less likely to be creative

7

What is Divergent Thinking?
Broad search for many diverse and novel alternatives
It creates choices
It is an essential capacity for creative thinking

8

Principles of Divergent Thinking
Defer Judgment
Go for Quantity
Make Connections
Seek Novelty
You get to the best answers/ solutions/ ideas etc by applying these

9

Principles for Divergent Thinking
1. Defer Judgment
Expands awareness and respect for other possibilities
Replaces “can’t” with “can-do” attitude
Makes someone more open to new ideas
Broadens range of usable choices
Requires (and promotes) a shift in perspective.

Hold on and evaluate later.
10

Principles for Divergent Thinking
2. Go for Quantity
Increases likelihood of a breakthrough idea
Increases original ideas
The more you produce, the more you learn
Prevents the mistake of going with the first (and possibly wrong) idea

To be a fluent thinker generating many ideas options and alternative
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Principles for Divergent Thinking
3. Make Connections
Increases range of unusual ideas
Promotes flexible thinking
Aids in the elaboration or extension of initial ideas
Provides cross-fertilization of ideas and results

Combine things that had not been combine or draw fro one think when working on another

12

Principles for Divergent Thinking
4. Seek Novelty
Leads to breakthrough ideas
Encourages other ideas that may be useful or advantageous
Promotes originality
Encourages play and a creative spirit in groups

13

How do we measure divergent thinking?
There are many tests
Two popular ones
TTCT- Torrance Test of Creative Thinking
AUT- Alternative Uses Test

14

J.P. Guilford’s
Alternative Uses Task (1960)
Divergent task that consists of
Presenting examinees with common objects
Asks them to list other uses for which the object or parts of the object would serve.

15

Torrance Tests of Creative
Thinking – “TTCT” (1966)
Based on earlier divergent thinking work by Guilford.
Measures creativity across domains: Verbal and Figural.
Verbal: ask-and-guess, product improvement, unusual uses, unusual questions, just suppose.
Figural: picture construction, picture completion, repeated figures of lines or circles.

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Kaufman, 2006

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Both Tests
Both tests evaluate creativity using:
Originality (subjective evaluation of creativity)
Fluency (total number)
Flexibility (different categories of uses)
Elaboration (amount of details in a given use)

18

Divergent Thinking Tools

19

First Start with the Challenge

How to word your challenge with statement starters

20

Tools for Divergent thinking
Why What’s Stopping You?
Word Dance
Stickem up Brainstorming
Brain writing
Forced Connections
SCAMPER
Excursions
Idea Box
Generating ideas
Understanding the Problem

21

For Next Class
Read Pages 57-66 in creativity Rising
Read pages 43-57 in Creativity Unbound
Read through CPS tool assignment instructions
Read through Annotated bibliography instructions

22

Principles of Creative Problem Solving

Important Course Structure and Expectations

&

Week 1

1

Today’s Plan
PART I: Overview of the Course
Getting to know each other
Course structure and expectations
Part II: Lecture
Defining creativity
Demystifying creativity
Importance of studying creativity

2

Creative Thinking: Theory and Practice
Part I
TOPICS
Getting to know each other
Course structure and expectations

3

Textbooks (no need to purchase)
Title: Creativity Rising
Authors: Gerard Puccio, Marie Mance, Laura Barbero Switalkski and Paul Reali
Cost: <$20 New Title: Creativity Unbound Authors: Blair Miller, Jonathan Vehar, Roger Firestien, Sarah Thurber and Dorte Nielsen Cost: $34.25 4 About the Class Creativity Assignment (20% of final grade) Assignment instructions are posted on SLATE 3. Final FourSight Team Project (30% of final grade) - Assignment instructions are posted on SLATE Test 1 (25% of final grade) GRADING Test 2 (25% of final grade) 5 About this Class Show up Be on time Participate Read ahead of time Check Slate Print notes & Activities TAKE NOTES! STUDY! EXPECTATIONS Why should you come to class? I explain things better than the book and I talk about things that are NOT in your book We have class activities that help you master important tools and concepts. 6 Principles of Creative Problem Solving Part II TOPICS Defining Creativity Demystifying creativity Importance of studying creative thinking 7 WHAT SHOULD I READ? Chapters 1 to 4 In Creativity Rising (Your Text Book) Pages 8 - 20 Creativity Unbound (Your Text Book) 8 Psychological Conceptualizations of Creativity The scientific study of creativity is fairly new 1950s in psychology Hay Day of Behaviourism and Psychoanalysis Exceptional creativity a by product of high intelligence The talk that changed it all Sept 5, 1950- J. P. Guilford APA Conference 9 What is Creativity? 10 There is no standard definition of creativity. There are many definitions. Creativity is notoriously difficult to define and measure. This is because it is complex, has various forms of express and it has many potential influences. It is not necessarily the same thing as intelligence or giftedness, Just as predicting weather is not an exact science understanding creativity and coming up with a good definition for it can be just as elusive. The is “No one thing that is truly creativity, but rather multiple things are” In fact some people believe creativity is something that cannot be defined. Creativity can be defined on a spectrum. It is unfixed its dynamic. The minute we define it we kill it. There is a certain dynamic nature to it. But because of how it is we need to pin it down. 11 Popular Western Views of Creativity The essence of creativity is the moment of insight- the aha moment. Creative ideas emerge mysteriously from the unconscious Creativity is more likely to occur when you reject convention- creative people often go against the grain Creative contributions are more likely to come from an outsider rather than an expert People are more creative when they are alone Creative ideas are ahead of their time Creativity is a personality trait Creativity is based in the right brain Creativity and mental illness are connected (Creative people are more likely to be mentally ill and it allows an outlet for the illness) Creativity is a healing life affirming activity 12 One Definition “The ability to modify self-imposed constraints” Ackoff & Vergara (1988) 13 Some Other Definitions “The tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others” (Franken) “Any act, idea, or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new one” (Csikszentmihalyi) The process of bringing something new into existence (Rollo May) Turning new and imaginative ideas into reality. It involves two processes: thinking, then producing (Linda Naiman) Seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought. (Einstein) 14 Defining Creativity Most Popular Modern Psychological Definition “Creativity is the ability to produce work that is both novel and appropriate” ~ Sternberg & Lubart It is an ability It is an attitude It is a process Ken Robinson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfjqIJiOlHI Ability implies… All people are creative People vary in regard to their creative ability Whatever your level of creative ability it can be enhanced It is an attitude: A willingness to accept change and newness to play with ideas and possibilities. A flexibility of outlook It is a process: Creative people work hard and continually to improve ideas and solutions. Contrary to the mythology surrounding creativity, very few creative works of excellence are produced with a single stroke of brilliance or in a frenzy of rapid activity. Creative people may understand and conscious utilize the stages of the creative process. 15 Commonalities Across the Definitions 1. Creativity produces something 2. Creativity leads to change 3. Creativity involves originality NOTE: None of these things by itself is sufficient to be called Creativity. 4. Creativity has value 6. Creativity is complex 5. Creativity Is useful/ adaptive/functional Source: Everyone has creative potential – Mark Runco Creativity produces something- it may be tangible and tactile or it may be a thought or an idea. It may be useful or it may not be. It changes with world the person the environment It involves originality – Original things are uncommon, they might be unique- sometimes originality is used interchangeably with novelty, NOT common: having value, useful 16 Little C and Big C Little c - Creativity Day-to-day processing, decision making, problem solving Automatic Essential for daily functioning Big C- Creativity Genius or expert-level achievement Far-reaching social/cultural impact Day-to-day processing, decision making, problem solving Automatic, unselfconscious Essential for daily functioning Relevant at the personal level Examples… Writing a letter Playing a musical instrument or drawing (not professionally) Deciding what to wear or make for dinner What we would associate with genius or expert-level achievement. Far-reaching social/cultural impact with their creativity Examples: Nobel Prize winners Innovators in the arts and sciences 17 Types of Creativity Personal Creativity Your life as art Artistic Creativity Expressive Style Creative Problem Solving 18 “The genuinely creative accomplishment is almost never the result of a sudden insight, a light bulb flashing on in the dark, but comes after years of hard work.” From Creativity, by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi 19 What is Creative Thinking? Why is it important ? Personally? Professionally? Institutionally? Nationally? Globally? 20 Creative Thinking This century is marked my rapid change Change is essential and inevitable BUT…. Change makes us uncomfortable Creativity helps us be prepared for change and respond better to change Welcome to the 21st Century! 21 Creative Thinking Jobs and Job Market Where are we seeing the most changes? Affluence of developed nations and automation + Out sourcing of jobs Rise of the “creative class” Frequent changes in jobs. Jobs becoming obsolete Asia automation abundance- Pink Florida’s creative class 22 Creative Thinking Goods and Services Where are we seeing the most changes? Shorter product life cycles More technology in smaller sizes Consumer has a voice We can make our own videos, publish our own books. Things are not are controlled as they used to be. The bottoms line is in the face of change we have a few options We can ignore it We can grow with it Or drive it. To live a health and productive life in the 21century you have to have an attitude and skills et that opens you up to change. The 21century is a call to action. It calls for us to participate. 23 Creative Thinking Problems can be sorted into two categories Algorithmic problems Heuristic problems We can approach these problems in two ways Proactive Reactive What’s Your Problem? Algorithmic: “Problems with a known solution, or an established process that leads to a single right answer.” Heuristic: “Problems without a known solution.” Examples? Algorithmic and heuristic problems can be approached in two ways… Proactive: before a problem arises Reactive: after a problem arises 24 Creative Thinking Predicament What’s Your Problem? Opportunity Formulaic Maintenance Approach to the Problem Reactive Proactive Nature of the Problem Heuristic (open ended) Algorithmic (close- ended) All creative thinking efforts start as a response to a situation Two of these can be resolved with known solutions and therefore might be seen as straight forward. While two are more complex and therefore require creative thinking and creative problem solving Formulaic problems (Algorithmic, Reactive): Has a known solution we simply implement it. No need to think creatively. No need to invent something new when the current solution works perfectly well Maintenance issues (Algorithmic, Proactive): The solution is known and we need only to implement it. We anticipate the appropriate time to implement known procedures that have proven effective in the past….e.g. oil changes Predicaments (Heuristic, Reactive): Sometimes change happens and we don’t have a ready answer. The solutions we have don’t seem to fit. The newness of the situation render old approaches useless. You need to apply creative thinking here which helps you creative a new solution path. Opportunities (Heuristic, Proactive)Change comes with opportunity. It is not always about a problem…post it notes. Some opportunities are forthcoming. Others are not. You might need to seek out opportunities When facing a predicament or an opportunity it is an awareness of the situation that serves as a catalyst to creative thinking. 25 Finally the Definition! Creative Problem Solving (CPS) The stages people go through when they attempt to solve a problem for which they do not have the solution It is an intentional form of creativity 26 Why is Creative Thinking Important? 27 Creativity as a 21st Century Skill Need for change and adaptability Response to technology A tolerance for ambiguity and complexity Active citizenry Working with others The ability to shift perspective (think outside the box) Generate novel and useful ideas Creative and critical thinking Problem solving 28 Other Job Related Research Conference Board of Canada Innovation Skills http://www.conferenceboard.ca/cbi/innovationskills.aspx IBM CEO Study World Economic Forum 29 Innovation skills Profile from Conference Board of Canada 30 Creativity: Fact vs. Fiction? A. “Creativity is the result of innate talent” OR B. “Creativity is the result of hard work” A. “Creativity is mainly associated with arts” OR B. “Creativity cuts across all areas of life” A. “Children are more creative than adults” OR B. “True creative achievement requires years of life experience” A. “Creativity is the same thing as originality” OR B. “Creativity is the intersection of novelty and usefulness” A. “Creativity cannot be taught” OR B. “Creativity can be enhanced through teaching or training” Source Chapter 3. Creativity Rising by Gerrard Puccio Yes innate talent plays a role but the dedication to one’s craft is needed to develop that talent. Think about it. How many of us can sing well? Why aren’t we singers? Green: Answer. creativity has played a role in many of our technological advances, the design of buildings etc. Its not just in the arts Purple: Sure children colour and many of us saw things differently they might even show creative tendencies. But research shows that life experiences play an inmportant role in our being creative. In fact, Ruth Noller says that creativie is a function of attitude that is applied to knowledge, imagination and evaluation– creativity only emerges when these things interact and these things are complex mental process that come as we get older and have more experiences Knowldege is necessary for understanding but it is limited. So you need imagination to produce new ideas…with out it we get stuck at our current level of knowledge. But you also need to be able evaluate which ideas have the best promise. Attitude is what drives it all!- Its your motivation, its your vision its your choice a deliberate practice to use creative strategies. BLACK: the belief is that orginiality must be accompanied by usefulness Why do we need to explain creativity? Partly because what the world says in common sense ways does not necessarily match with what the research in human behaviour says. So we need to take a step back and objectively assess what we know and how it works. 31 There are MANY Models There are some consistent themes It’s a balance It takes effort It’s a process (Conscious and/or unconscious) Creative Thinking Models of Creative Thinking 32 Models of Creative Thinking 1926- Wallas Social psychologist one of first models of creative process. Preparation (definition of issue, observation, and study) Incubation (laying the issue aside for a time) Illumination (the moment when a new idea finally emerges) Verification (checking it out) 33 Alex Osborn: Father of brainstorming Guidelines for brainstorming Defer Judgment Go for quantity Encourage wild ideas Build on ideas Models of Creative Thinking 34 Sidney Parnes Worked with Osborn Developed CPS Has been refined over the years Models of Creative Thinking 35 J.P. Guilford Distinguish between divergent and convergent thinking Divergent Thinking Spontaneous, free flowing, generation of many ideas Convergent Thinking Analyzing and synthesizing ideas to find the best ideas Models of Creative Thinking 36 Vertical Thinking Looks for the RIGHT Approach Is sequential Excludes the Irrelevant Lateral Thinking Looks for as many approaches as possible Richness Makes jumps Doesn‘t have to be correct Welcomes intrusions Models of Creative Thinking Edward de Bono’s Vertical and Lateral Thinking 37 Ned Hermmann’s Whole Brain Model Facts Futures Form Feelings Models of Creative Thinking 38 IDEO’s design thinking Define Research Ideate Prototype Implement Learn Puccio’s et al.’s Foursight Model Clarify Ideate Develop Implement Models of Creative Thinking Modern Model: Implies conscious, purposeful and deliberate creativity. 39 Creative Change Model: A Systems Approach Person(s) Process Environment Product (theories, solutions to problems, ideas, services, inventions) Creative Change (social change, personal change, innovation) Adoption leads to Interaction leads to Source: © 2011 Puccio, Mance & Murdock. 40 The review of the myths tell us what creativity is and isnt. It does not tellus how creativity works For that we use the systems approach Many people as a result of research by Mel Rhodes believe that 4 things make up creativity the 4 Ps. They influence each other create a system for how things work to lead to creative change. Tells us how creativity operates. The four Ps. Theses four a discrete but they influence each other. They interact. Creative change does not automatically occure because some one has developed a creative product. Process is the thinking stages thorugh which individuals and teams progress as they develop. We define creative change as the adoption of a creative product that can come in many forms. Creative Change Model The 4 Ps Person How creative someone is personality, skills, knowledge, experience motivation Characteristics we associate with creativity Mel Rhodes 41 Creative Change Model The 4 Ps Product Outcome of a creative endeavour How do we tell if a product is creative? Three dimensions help determine if it is creative Novelty Resolution Elaboration and Synthesis Discuss the different types of products. Class activity. 42 Creative Change Model The 4 Ps Process How we create How we apply our creativity Stages we go through in responses to problems or opportunities Mel Rhodes 43 Creative Change Model The 4 Ps Press The environment surrounding the other three Ps Where creativity is encouraged or inhibited Can be physical or psychological Mel Rhodes 44