Training to Generate Creative Metaphors by Reviving Dormant Analogies

Most creativity techniques encourage breaking away from stored knowledge and known solutions. Counter to this approach, this study assessed the effectiveness of an intervention based on introducing minimal variations to well-established knowledge structures. Two groups were tasked with generating creative metaphorical titles for short essays. While the experimental group had been trained in extending and reinstantiating conceptual metaphors, the control group had been trained on creativity techniques unrelated to the task. Training increased the number of novel metaphorical titles derived from conceptual metaphors, and these titles were more creative than novel metaphorical titles not derived from conceptual metaphors. Finally, the titles generated via the deliberate use of the trained heuristics were as creative as those of the same type that were spontaneously produced by the control group. The implications for interventions to promote creativity are discussed.     

Potential Originality and Effectiveness: The Dynamic Definition of Creativity

Given the central role of creativity in the future post-information society, a call for a pragmatist approach to the study of creativity is advocated, that brings as a consequence the recognition of the dynamic nature of this phenomenon. At the foundation of the proposed new theoretical framework lies the definition of creativity itself, which is turned from static to dynamic through the introduction of the concept of potential originality and effectiveness. Starting from this central definition, and through the introduction of the auxiliary definitions for focus area, creativity goal, creative agent, creative potential of an agent, creative potential of an environment, creative process, product of a creative process, creativity potential of a process, representation of the product of a creative process, and estimator, we arrive at the definitions of creative achievement and creative inconclusiveness. Although both aspects are key in the creative process, creative inconclusiveness was not part of previous definitions, but it is argued that its role is fundamental for effective education in creativity. The new definitions are shown to have full backward compatibility with the extant corpus of scientific research in creativity, as well as forward effectiveness in suggesting novel investigation approaches to support the consideration of new theoretical hypotheses.     

Teaching Creative Writing Skills to Primary School Children in Hong Kong: Discordance Between the Views and Practices of Language Teachers

Although creativity has been valued in ancient and contemporary Chinese literature, the degree to which creativity is valued and incorporated into teaching by Chinese language teachers is not known. This information is important given that creativity has been increasingly recognized in the education literature as a component of effective writing. The purpose of this study was to compare the views of Chinese language teachers in Hong Kong about creativity and the acquisition of creative writing skills by primary school children, and their teaching practices. A total of 449 Chinese language teachers, employed at primary schools throughout Hong Kong completed a survey questionnaire. The 14‐item questionnaire focused on teachers' views of creativity, their perceptions of how to develop students' creativity, their awareness of creative writing strategies, and teaching practices related to creative writing. With respect to the definition of creativity, teachers identified imagination foremost, followed by inspiration, and original ideas. Teachers identified developing students' confidence, and providing an open atmosphere as essential means of fostering creativity. Despite the apparent value of creativity expressed by the teachers and their familiarity with methods for enhancing creativity, the majority reported using traditional methods of teaching writing. Strategies are recommended for reconciling this discrepancy, and promoting creative writing skills by primary school teachers in Hong Kong and other Chinese speaking societies.     

Are Teachers' Implicit Theories of Creativity Related to the Recognition of Their Students' Creativity?

We examine the structure of implicit theories of creativity among Polish high schools teachers and the role those theories play for the accuracy of teachers' assessment of their students' creativity. Latent class analysis revealed the existence of four classes of teachers, whose perception of a creative student differed: two of these classes defined a creative student incoherently with the existing theories of creativity, and the other two classes did that in accordance with Kirton's (1976) theory of creativity styles, that is, as adaptors or innovators. Teachers who perceived a creative student as an adaptor tended to more accurately assess the creativity of females, whereas teachers perceiving a creative student as an innovator more accurately assessed the creativity of males. We discuss the theoretical and practical consequences of these findings.     

Teachers' Conceptions of Creativity and Creative Students

Teachers' conceptions of creativity and creative students were investigated. Questionnaires were administered to elementary school teachers to examine their attitudes, beliefs, and current classroom practices. Teachers were found to possess inaccurate concepts regarding what constitutes creativity and revealed conflicts with the classroom behaviors demonstrated by creative students. The paradox between teachers' reported support for creativity enrichment and virtual lack of related classroom practice is explored as a result of multiple misconceptions and contributing variables.     

Understanding the Relationship Between Information Technology and Creativity in Organizations

Creativity is vital to organizational success. Information technologies (IT) have increasingly become a major influence on organizational efficiency and effectiveness. However, there has been a paucity of research aimed at specifying the relationship between these two areas of scholarship. This article will begin to fill this gap by exploring the ways that IT might influence creativity in organizations. This is important for organizational studies, given that knowledge and information are among the most important ingredients for creativity and are the very things that IT exist to manage. In this article, the creativity literature and much of the management oriented IT literature will be explored to suggest that IT plays an integral role in the creative process within organizations. Specifically, the main benefits that IT affords organizations will be considered and then applied to the requirements for creative production, the stages of the individual creative process, the process of organizational learning as related to creativity, and the creative process within large-scale project-based work. In addition, the conclusion will address the potential limitations of IT in relation to creativity as well as several thoughts concerning future research.     

The Mediating Role of Creative Process Engagement in the Relationship between Shyness and Self‐Rated Creativity

Shyness has been found to have a negative impact on creativity. However, little attention has been given to the underlying process of the relationship between shyness and creativity. On the basis of literature, we hypothesize that shyness has an indirect impact on creativity through creative process engagement. Two studies were conducted on undergraduate students (Study 1) and working adults (Study 2) to test the hypothetical relationship. Analysis on participants self‐report showed that shyness was negatively associated with self‐reported creativity as well as creative process engagement. There was a positive relationship between creative process engagement and creativity. More importantly, mediation analysis supported that shyness was indirectly linked to creativity via creative process engagement. Specifically, shy people are found to be less involved in creativity‐relevant processes such as information searching and idea generation. The low level of creative process engagement, in turn, hinders their creativity. The findings not only lend support to the detrimental effect of shyness on creativity but also shed light on the underlying mechanism of the relationship.     

A Dynamic Definition of Creativity

The aim of this article was to review the definitions of creativity on which many previous studies have been based. Prior literature has merged creativity and creation into its understanding of the construct. By describing creativity with reference to its end result, that is, a creative outcome, theorists have not been able to pay attention to the dynamic process of creativity that may or may not lead to creation. This article reviews critical literature in creativity and departs from accepted definitions of creativity. Considering the various elements that are involved in creative acts, a dynamic definition is proposed; it emphasizes providing insights into the creative act itself, a factor that has been neglected in earlier definitions of creativity.     

Commentary on Malevolent Creativity

In Malevolent creativity: A functional model of creativity in terrorism and crime, Cropley, Kaufman, and Cropley (this issue) insightfully highlight two important aspects of the creative process. First, although it may not be popular nor initially obvious to discuss negatively applied, malevolent creativity, or terrorism/crime as potentially creative acts, it is certainly to our detriment not to if we truly seek to understand the full-spectrum under which the creative process operates. The second issue examined is the process by which a creative product's novelty declines with the passing of time. Each are briefly discussed.     

Teachers’ Perceptions of Creativity in the Classroom

Teachers’ implicit understandings of creativity may not align with current research-based understanding of creativity and characteristics associated with creative students. Even teachers who say they value creativity may actually find creative characteristics undesirable. Participating teachers (n = 371) rated student characteristics on a scale of very undesirable to very desirable. Participants also completed a brief self-assessment of personal creativity and rank-ordered a set of educational objectives based on what they perceived as most important. Results indicated that teachers found student characteristics associated with creativity less desirable than those characteristics contraindicative to creativity (d = 2.70). No effects were found based on the grade level (d = 0.07) and small effects were found for subjects taught (η² = 0.023). Similarly, no effects were found for the teachers’ level of experience (η² = 0.004) or age (η² = 0.002). Teachers’ level of personal creativity was related (r = .248) to how desirable they rated student characteristics associated with creativity, but the importance with which teachers ranked creative thinking had small effects (η² = 0.04) on how desirable they found characteristics associated with creativity. These results generally confirm previous studies and suggest that teachers’ grade level, subject, experience, and age have no effect on their perception of creative characteristics. However, some evidence suggests that teachers who are more creative find student characteristics associated with creativity more desirable in class.     

Fostering Creativity in the Classroom: Effects of Teachers' Epistemological Beliefs,Motivation, and Goal Orientation

The relationships of teachers' epistemological beliefs, motivation, and goal orientation to their instructional practices that foster student creativity were examined. Teachers' perceived instructional practices that facilitate the development of multiple perspectives in problem solving, transfer, task commitment, creative skill use, and collaboration were measured as indicators of their effort to foster creative thinking in students. Participants were 178 elementary‐school teachers of third‐, fourth‐, and fifth‐graders. Teachers' learning goal orientation was the most significant teacher attribute that demonstrated significant impacts on all five creativity‐fostering instructional practices. Teachers with sophisticated beliefs about knowledge and with high intrinsic motivation for creative work also reported supporting student creativity through some of their instructional practices. However, teachers' motivation for challenging work, beliefs about learning, or performance goals did not significantly predict most of the creativity‐fostering instructional practices. Educational implications of the current findings are offered.     

Teachers’ Perceptions of Students’ Creativity in China’s Classrooms: The Role of Students’ Academic Achievement and Misbehaviors

Teachers can be biased, especially toward low achievers and students with behavioral issues. However, creative students often appear to be disruptive in the classroom, and many of them struggle academically. The purpose of the present study was to examine the extent to which teachers’ perceptions of students’ creativity is associated with students’ academic achievement and classroom (mis)behaviors, as well as to examine the interaction between these two factors. Three hundred and fifty‐four eighth‐grade students selected from five middle schools in China participated in this study. Using achievement scores, peer nominations, a divergent thinking test, a self‐rated ideational behavior scale, and teacher ratings, the present study found that, whereas creativity has no significant relationship with teachers’ perceptions, academic achievements and misbehavior are significantly associated within structors’ perceptions. The achievement bias resulted in the underestimation of low achievers’ creativity, even when the low achievers were highly creative. More nuances emerged when student misbehaviors were considered. Specifically, misbehaving low achievers’ originality was further underestimated even when they were highly original. In contrast, teachers overestimated well‐behaved high achievers’ creativity, even when the students comprised the lowest creativity group. The results are further discussed from a socio‐cultural perspective.     

Creativity and Imitation: Effects of Regulatory Focus and Creative Exemplar Quality

In creative settings, exposure to creative exemplar products may invite imitation and as such influence creative performance. In understanding creativity, it, therefore, is important to be able to predict imitation of creative exemplar products. Regulatory focus theory can do so, and leads to predictions that deviate from the existing body of knowledge concerning regulatory focus and creativity in the absence of exemplar products. In this study, we proposed that high creative exemplar quality elicits more imitation—and thus lowered creativity—for promotion-focused individuals, whereas creative exemplar quality does not affect the creative process for prevention-focused individuals. To enable a relatively objective measurement of creativity and imitation, these predictions were tested in a laboratory experiment. Results supported predictions, indicating that knowledge about how strongly people engage in imitation in the face of a creative exemplar product leads to more adequate predictions how creative people really are.     

Estimating Creativity with a Multiple-Measurement Approach Within Scientific and Artistic Domains

This article presents the structure and the composition of a newly developed multifaceted test battery for the measurement of creativity within scientific and artistic domains. By integrating existing procedures for the evaluation of creativity, the new battery promises to become a comprehensive assessment of creativity, encompassing both domain-general and domain-specific components. In particular, the test battery was designed for the measurement of the 2 main stages of the creative thinking process: ideation and evaluation. The test battery also includes 2 measures of creative achievement and can be used to assess professional levels of creativity in artistic and scientific creativity, as well as everyday creativity. Because creative thinking is not an isolated phenomenon in human behavior, the battery includes the measurement of 2 constructs, intelligence and personality, both of which are highly relevant for creativity. Preliminary results from a vast administration campaign of this test battery are presented.     

The Effects of Task-Specific Divergent-Thinking Training

Although there is a growing body of evidence indicating that divergent-thinking skills may be very task specific, there has been no research testing how narrowly divergent-thinking training can be targeted. Seventy-nine seventh-grade students received training in poetry-relevant divergent-thinking skills. These subjects and a matched control group later wrote poems and stories, the creativity of which was judged by experts. There was a significantly greater impact on poetry-writing creativity. Implications for creativity theory and training programs are discussed. Numerous research reports (Baer, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994a, 1994b, in press-a; Runco, 1987, 1989) have shown that the skills underlying creative performance may be quite task specific, and this suggests possible limitations on the potential benefits of divergent-thinking training. One response to this task-specific understanding of divergent thinking has been to design divergent-thinking training programs that include practice in a wide range of task-specific divergent-thinking skills. This approach has been shown to have a general effect of enhancing creativity in diverse domains (Baer, 1988, 1992, 1993). An alternate approach would be to target training to specific kinds of creativity; however, there has been no research investigating just how narrowly such divergent-thinking training can be targeted. The present investigation was designed to test what effect divergent-thinking training focusing on a single task would have on creative performance on that task and on a different, but closely related, task. The larger goals were (a) to help creativity researchers better understand the nature of divergent thinking as it impacts creative performance and (b) to be of practical value in helping educators design training programs better suited to specific training objectives. Seventh-grade students were trained in divergent- thinking skills hypothesized to be related to poetry — writing creativity. Following this training, trained subjects and a matched sample of untrained subjects wrote both poems and stories in their regular English classes. Poems and stories were judged for creativity by experts who did not know the subjects. It was predicted that training in poetry-relevant divergent thinking would result in a greater increase in creativity on a poetry-writing task than on a story-writing task.     

Individual Learning Styles and Creativity

Business schools are in need of developing creative graduates. This article explores how creativity among business students can be stimulated. Because a considerable amount of knowledge is required for creative ideas to emerge, the learning process has a significant impact on creativity. This, in turn, indicates that learning style is important for creative performance. In addition to exploring the relationship between learning styles and creativity, the research reported here tested self-efficacy and enjoyment as mediators. One hundred and fifty students participated in this study. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that independent and collaborative learning styles were associated with higher creativity. Although the independent learning style-creativity relationship was mediated by self-efficacy, the collaborative learning style-creativity relationship was partially mediated by enjoyment of the learning process. Implications for business education are discussed.     

Knowledge Discovery as an Aid to Organizational Creativity

Computers can play an important role in the creative process. With the abundance of data and increasing speed of computers, creativity can now be stimulated and enhanced with knowledge mined from available data. The process is known as knowledge discovery or data mining. Knowledge discovery is the process of discovering interesting associations among data in the database. Users in the creativity process can feed on the discovered associations to generate creative solutions. The objective of this paper is to present knowledge discovery as an aid to creativity. The paper first presents the concept of knowledge discovery and then discusses the various techniques in knowledge discovery. Mednick's associative theory of creative thought serves as the theoretical foundation for this research.     

Qualitative Changes in Creativity in the Second Half of life: A Life-Span Developmental Perspective

ABSTRACT Research on the relationship between creativity and age has been based on two seemingly incompatible sets of assumptions. The deficit approach maintains and has demonstrated that creative productivity and age have a linear relationship—that is, creativity declines over the life-span. The alternate approach, upon which the present paper is founded, maintains that creative productivity and creative ability are not identical. Further, this life-span developmental approach posits that supposed declines in creativity actually may reflect qualitative changes in the underlying creative process. Thus, different stages of the life-span are characterized by different kinds of creativity. Empirical and theoretical literature on wisdom and mature forms of thinking will be used to further answer the central questions of this paper: what might creativity in the second half of life look like?     

Teachers’ Beliefs of Creative Children

Teachers’ beliefs about characteristics of creative children do not always align with how creative children actually behave. Understanding these misaligned beliefs—defined as misconceptions—is important because teachers’ misconceptions can undermine efforts to foster children's creative development. This study aimed to identify teachers’ beliefs about the characteristics of creative children with an emphasis on their misconceptions about characteristics as either indicative or contraindicative of creative children. We analyzed responses of 136 teachers to 29 characteristics, indicating or contraindicating creative children, on Gough's (1979). Creative Personality Scale using the Rating Scale Model. Results revealed that teachers tended to have more misconceptions about characteristics contraindicative of creative children than characteristics indicative of creative children while teachers were able to accurately recognize certain characteristics when compared with explicit theories of creativity. In both the indicative and contraindicative characteristics, misconceptions appeared to increase if characteristics were desirable in the classroom. Teachers’ misconceptions may conceal creative potential in children who do not manage their undesirable characteristics in constructive ways. Findings provide practical implications to aid teachers and teacher educators in correcting misconceptions about the characteristics of creative children.