An analysis of procedures that affect response variability

Response variability is sensitive to antecedent and consequent manipulations. Researchers have investigated inducement, direct production through reinforcement, and stimulus control of response variability. Recently, researchers have shown that lag reinforcement schedules reliably increase variability but may also produce higher‐order stereotypy. There has been limited investigation of appropriate variability levels and alternation between repetition and variation. In a three‐part study, we evaluated levels of variability across a group of children, the effects of various procedures on producing response variability and novelty, and the use of schedule‐correlated stimuli for producing rapid alternation between repetition and variation. In Study 1, there was a nearly bimodal distribution of children emitting either low or high variability. In Study 2, for most children, fixed lag 4 and variable lag 4 schedules produced the highest levels of variability and novelty. In Study 3, responding was brought under control of schedule‐correlated stimuli, allowing for rapid alternation between repetition and variation.     

Whence Creativity?

In this article, I explicate where my theoretical work on creativity has been and where it is going. I describe earlier three‐facet and investment theories, as well as a propulsion model. I then describe my new triangular theory of creativity.     

What's so funny? Modelling incongruity in humour production†

Finding something humorous is intrinsically rewarding and may facilitate emotion regulation, but what creates humour has been underexplored. The present experimental study examined humour generated under controlled conditions with varying social, affective, and cognitive factors. Participants listed five ways in which a set of concept pairs (e.g. MONEY and CHOCOLATE) were similar or different in either a funny way (intentional humour elicitation) or a “catchy” way (incidental humour elicitation). Results showed that more funny responses were produced under the incidental condition, and particularly more for affectively charged than neutral concepts, for semantically unrelated than related concepts, and for responses highlighting differences rather than similarities between concepts. Further analyses revealed that funny responses showed a relative divergence in output dominance of the properties typically associated with each concept in the pair (that is, funny responses frequently highlighted a property high in output dominance for one concept but simultaneously low in output dominance for the other concept); by contrast, responses judged not funny did not show this pattern. These findings reinforce the centrality of incongruity resolution as a key cognitive ingredient for some pleasurable emotional elements arising from humour and demonstrate how it may operate within the context of humour generation.     

青少年科学创造力的理论研究与实践探索

系统梳理了20年来青少年科学创造力的理论研究与实践探索,包括概念与结构、测量与发展、影响因素和机制、培养思路与模式等,分析了科学创造力研究的趋势,提出了若干重要的研究方向。在未来的研究中,要加强几个方面的研究工作,即科学创造力的认知神经机制研究,科学创造力的基因组学研究,基于情境和内容的科学创造力研究,教学活动或项目促进科学创造力发展的神经可塑性机制研究,以及基于聚合科技的科学创造力培养。     

创造力与人格关系的研究评述

创造力与人格是心理学领域内的两个重要概念,它们之间的关系也是心理学研究中备受关注的问题。该研究采用文献分析法对加利福尼亚心理量表、人格三因素模型、五因素模型、多种人格测验及其与创造力的关系进行了回顾。已有的研究的确已经取得了很大进展,但研究内容还有待丰富、研究方法还有待完善、研究对象还有待拓展,这也预示着未来研究的发展方向     

创造力研究的新领域:合作创造力

创造力研究已经从重视个体创造力逐渐走向重视具有复杂互动功能的合作创造力。本文首先论述了合作创造力研究的产生及特点,然后总结了合作创造领域目前研究的主要问题,如个体与群体同一性、个体与群体动机以及有助于创造的个体及环境因素,并指出合作创造力研究领域需要解决的问题,认为应在重视合作创造过程与机制研究的基础上,建构系统的合作创造力理论,同时注重研究合作创造力的支持环境与支持技术,并且发展出合作创造力的评估体系。     

员工创造性:概念、形成机制及总结展望

员工创造性是指产生新颖且有潜在价值的事物或想法,包括新的产品、服务、制造方法及管理过程等。组织创新是员工创造性和团体创造性成功运用的最直接成果。在早期研究框架的基础上,研究综合探讨了工作特征、个人特质、团队/组织/领导因素对内在创造动机及随后的员工创造性的影响;并结合创造性认同、创造性自我效能感模型,建立了员工创造性形成机制全模型。     

学业成就、创造力与跨学科概念图创作能力的关系

为了从知识基础和创造性思维视角探讨跨学科知识整合的条件,以125名高二学生为被试采用相关研究设计考察了学业成就、创造力与跨学科概念图创造能力的关系。结果发现：（1）学业成就与跨学科概念图创作能力正相关;高成就组在命题、交叉和总分维度上的表现优于低成就组;而中成就组在命题和总分维度上的表现优于低成就组;（2）创造力与跨学科概念图创作能力正相关;创造力的流畅性和独创性与跨学科概念图的所有维度正相关;灵活性与概念图创作的命题、交叉、范例和总分正相关;（3）学业成就与创造力能够中等程度地预测跨学科概念图创作不同能力组被试的分布。这表明学业成就和创造力是跨学科知识整合的基础。     

CONFESSIONS OF A PRACTICING NATURALISTIC THEIST: A RESPONSE TO HARDWICK,PEDERSON, AND PETERSON

Abstract. In my response to the comments of Charley Hardwick, Ann Pederson, and Greg Peterson, I continue the narrative, confessional mode of my writing in Dancing with the Sacred. First, I sketch some methodological decisions underlying my naturalistic, evolutionary, practical theology. I then respond to the encouraging suggestions of my commentators by further developing my ideas about naturalism, mystery, creativity as God, the place of ecological responsibility in my thinking, sin, and eschatology. I offer suggestions as to how I might widen the practical applications of my theology beyond environmental and medical ethics to other areas of moral responsibility in relation to the creative process. I do all this with much appreciation for the care and careful critical reflection that my commentators have devoted to my thinking.     

A Steppenwolf called Brian: Reflections on childhood suffering and creativity

Through the life of the writer Brian Aldiss, this paper explores the idea that if parents are unable to give a child a solid sense of self, the child may grow up with a burning need to find that self through artistic creation. One not uncommon reason for this failure is if the child is a replacement for another child who has died and the parents have not been able to do the grief work required in mourning. This task is often more problematic in the case of a stillbirth. Examples are given of other creative people, such as Freud and Dali, where a previous death in the family may have been the spur to their finding a special identity through their creativity.