Training Creativity in Adolescence: A Discussion of Strategy*

Contemporary psychologists are beginning to do more than identify those traits characteristic of creative adolescents, for while a trait approach to creativity is indeed informative, it fails to suggest precisely how creativity may be enhanced. In the following paper, Davis suggests that creativity profitably may be conceptualized as consisting mainly of three trainable components, (1) appropriate creative attitudes, the most critical of which is a favorable attitude toward highly imaginative problem solutions, (2) various cognitive abilities which facilitate whatever mental abstracting, combining, perceiving, associating, filling in gaps, etc., contribute to the fluent production of original ideas, and (3) techniques for the conscious and systematic production of new combinations of ideas. Further, by incorporating many concepts and principles from this three-part model, Davis describes a novel program for developing creativity in adolescents.