Changing Perspective: Building Creative Mindsets

The search for new ideas often frustratingly cycles back to old ones, a phenomenon known as fixation. Recent research has shown ways to kick-start finding new uses for familiar objects, a prototypical creativity task: wandering in the mind or the world or working on a messy desk. Those techniques seem to succeed by helping break fixation, but do not guide the search for new ideas. The perspective-taking or human-centric or empathic mindset championed by many in HCI and in design firms does provide a search strategy. We compared the mind-wandering mindset to a perspective-taking mindset, the latter priming thinking of ways that people in different roles (gardener, artist, etc.) might use the objects. In two studies, the Perspective-Taking mindset yielded more ideas and more original ideas than Mind-Wandering, which did not differ from a No-Mindset control. Original ideas came late, rewarding persistence. The perspective-taking mindset is productive for problem-solving, forecasting, and social interactions as well as innovation.     

The Creative Identity: Creative Behavior From The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective

This paper outlines a framework for understanding the motivation of certain creative behaviors from the perspective of symbolic interactionism. The fundamental tenets of symbolic interactionism are described, followed by a discussion of the mechanics of symbolic interactionist-based role-identity theory, and how the theory can be applied to the motivation of creative behavior. The paper also addresses directions for practical application and future research in this area.     

Bereavement and Transformation: A Psycho-spiritual and Post-traumatic Growth Perspective

In the aftermath of loss, it is not uncommon for individuals to disclose psycho-spiritual experiences that lead to personal changes and psychological growth. This article argues for and outlines a broad conceptual framework that captures and acknowledges the significance of these subjective experiences. The model synthesises and integrates two approaches to healthy growth: Lawrence Calhoun and Richard Tedeschi’s post-traumatic growth model and Stanislav and Christina Grof’s model of psycho-spiritual transformation. A rationale for a broader model and underpinning theory is briefly discussed, and their shared understandings about the human potential for growth in the struggle through loss are explored.     

从信息加工的角度看创造力过程

传统意义上定义的创造力并不能完全揭示创造性行为和认知的本质,最近的研究从认知信息加工的角度提出了创造力活动中的认知过程具有一定的普遍性和规律性,并将认知过程分为初级过程和次级过程,初级过程为产生合成过程,提取和组织信息;次级过程则是对信息进行更高层次的筛选和监控,同时初级过程和次级过程存在一定的交互作用     

Creative Pseudo-Reality as a Defensive Factor in Jewish Wit: A Dialectical Perspective

Theoretical dynamics of ethnic humor are juxtaposed with Jewish wit, showing that there is a distinct factor which operates in the Jewish humor response to oppression. Drawing from Ziv's (1986) rich anthology of research and case studies, this factor is conceptualized as creative pseudo-reality. It is hypothesized that Jewish wit features this element of self-effacing humor besides the factors which it shares with the ethnic humor of other marginal groups. The implicit ability to construct a perceived environment which is bound neither to reason nor to logic, is seen as the last line of defense for an oppressed minority whose other options have been denied. Irony and triumph, suggested as key elements in this factor, are illustrated in annotated stereotypical excerpts of Jewish wit. Throughout the analysis, the dialectic principle—maintaining the co-existence of inconsistent dynamics—is highlighted in contrast to the reductionistic either/or approach commonplace in psychological and sociological discourse.     

Trauma,War, and Spiritual Transformation: A Mythological Perspective

The statistics are staggering: Approximately 22 veterans commit suicide every day. A previous study done just a few short years ago put the numbers at 38 a day. Why? It is in the pursuit of an answer that this article came to be written, and a mythological lens seemed to bring the most understanding and depth to the possible answer. Out of the four functions of myths, it is the metaphysical one that helps us the most with understanding the causes and conditions of PTSD and the most profound reasons for suicide. With the help of philosophers such as Schopenhauer and Kant, we pierce the veil of the temporal forms of sensibility and experience the oneness of all life, as the soldier experiences it in the moment of life and death, the moment of killing. With the help of Martin Buber, we observe these veterans coming to a metaphysical understanding of a spiritual nature that they cannot undo. This truth is both the root of their suffering and the key to their healing.     

Toward More Creative and Innovative Group Idea Generation: A Cognitive-Social-Motivational Perspective of Brainstorming

In many meetings and work sessions, group members exchange ideas in order to come up with novel, creative solutions for problems and to generate ideas for future innovations. This type of group idea generation or brainstorming process has been studied in detail, and we have discovered much about the cognitive and social processes that underlie group idea generation. It appears that the brainstorming performance of groups is often hindered by various social and cognitive influences, but under the appropriate conditions, group idea exchange can be quite effective. In this article, we summarize the present state of knowledge, point out some significant gaps in our knowledge, and suggest a cognitive-social-motivational perspective to integrate the major findings and to guide future research in the area of group creativity and group idea generation.     

The Mediation Effect of Ethical Leadership and Creative Performance: A Social Information Processing Perspective

Drawing upon social information processing theory, the study examined how ethical leadership shapes creative performance. Specifically, we tested a theoretical model integrating the sequential roles of psychological safety and creative self‐efficacy. A two‐waved sample of 512 supervisor‐subordinate dyads from frontline employees of three service industries located in Ghana was administered. The results of the hierarchical linear modeling analysis revealed that there is a positive relationship between ethical leadership and creative performance and that psychological safety positively and significantly mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and creative performance. Similarly, creative self‐efficacy significantly and positively mediates the relationship between ethical leadership and creative performance. Moreover, both psychological safety and creative self‐efficacy sequentially mediate the relationship between ethical leadership and creative performance. We discuss the implications of these results for research and practice.     

孟子对传统天命报应论的创造性转化--兼论性善论的价值合理性

在建立以性善论为核心的道德天命观过程中,文化根基的问题观照和传统文化的资源借续是孟子的理论立足点。通过以性善言天善、以心性的价值合理性印证天命的价值理性和“德福合一”的新解释,孟子重建了人的道德信仰,完成了对天命报应论的全新构想。心性的价值合理性与天命的价值理性之间的相互印证,是孟子性善论及其天命观中最有创意的理论运思。     

Creative Thinking From An Information Processing Perspective: A New Approach To Mednick's Theory Of Associative Hierarchies

Mednick (1962) proposed a theory of the creative thinking process which asserts that in generating associative responses to a stimulus, creative individuals are characterized by a flatter associative hierarchy than are less creative individuals. In order to assess this idea, an associative priming paradigm was used to measure latencies to lexical decisions primed by associations of low, medium, or high strength. Mednick's theory was not supported. However, it was found that the responses of creative subjects were uniformly less facilitated at all levels of associative strength. The set of associative strengths employed in the experiment may not have ranged low enough to provide a realistic test of creative processes. If so, then the obtained findings may be consistent with Mednick's theory as it applies to the upper end of the associative continuum.     

中国哲学的创造性转化--访郭齐勇教授

郭齐勇,1947年10月生,湖北省武汉市人。1978年至1984年在武汉大学哲学系攻读学士和硕士学位,毕业后留校任教至今。1987年至1990年在职攻读博士学位,师从萧父教授。1993年起,任哲学系教授、博士生导师。现任武汉大学人文学院院长,教育部聘全国高校哲学教学指导委员会副主任,国际儒学联合会理事,国际中国哲学会执行委员,中国哲学史学会副会长等职。主要著述有:《文化学概论》(湖北人民出版社,1990)、《熊十力思想研究》(天津人民出版社,1993)、《天地间一个读书人·熊十力传》(业强出版社,台北,1994;上海文艺出版社,1994)、《钱穆评传》…     

A Creative Model: The Three-Selves

This article presents a Three-Selves Model illuminating ways the self can be expressed: closed, absorbent, and flexible. This model integrates three counseling approaches which are described, and a creative poster is offered to illustrate the model. Then, the model is applied to a hypothetical case to reveal how the model can promote awareness, congruence, and choice.     

Measuring the Creative Process: A Psychometric Examination of Creative Ideation and Grit

Within the investment theory of creativity (Sternberg & Lubart, 1996), creativity is defined as a 2-part process of buying low by investing in unusual ideas and then selling high by convincing others of the value or usefulness of these new ideas. This process requires both creative ideation and perseverance. The purpose of this research was to examine the psychometric properties of instrumentation proposed to assess the 2 underlying constructs in this definition: the creative ideational behavior required to buy low and the persevering behavior required to sell high. In particular, psychometric properties of a creativity ideation measure, the Runco Ideational Behavior Scale (RIBS Scale: Runco, Plucker, & Lim, 2001) and a perseverance measure, the Grit Scale (Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly, 2007) were examined in this study. Two samples of undergraduate students (N = 187; N = 817) completed a survey including these two scales and demographic information. Factor analyses were performed on the RIBS and Grit Scales. The RIBS Scale was found to have a 2-factor structure and 2 proposed new subscales. The Grit Scale’s previously reported 2-factor structure was confirmed.     

The Creative Personality: A Synthesis and Development of the Creative Person Profile

Several constructs from the research literature on the creative personality were reoperationalized to gain further understanding of the structure of the creative personality and to develop a broad measure of relevant traits (CPP—the Creative Person Profile). From an initial pool of 38 creativity relevant personality constructs, 7 factors were identified and labeled (emotional instability, ambition, associative orientation, motivation, need for originality, agreeableness, and flexibility) in a sample of 481 participants with a mean age of 31.6 years. In a subsample, there were theoretically meaningful correlations between the 5-factor model of personality and 5 of the CPP factors. Moreover, most of the 7 components correlated with at least 1 ability test or self-report criterion of creativity (creative problem solving, remote associates test, ideational fluency, items from a creative activities checklist). Finally, in a discriminant validity study, scores on the 7 factors clearly differentiated between a group of professional artists (n = 69) and the remainder of the sample, and between a group of marketing students (n = 40) and the remainder of the sample.