RiskTaking as a Factor of Creative Thinking

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Risk-Taking as a Factor of Creative Thinking
ACA International Conference 2006
Professor Abdullah T. Alsafi King Khalid
University College of education               
Department of Educational Psychology Abha,
Saudi Arabia P.O.BOX 9035 Email
profalsafi_at_gmail.com
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Outlines

• Introduction to Creativity
• Definition of Creative Thinking
• Creativity Process
• Life Style
• Components of Creativity
• Creativity ability
• Introduction to Risk-taking
• The Definitions of Risk-Taking
• Creativity-Cognitive Domain and Affective Domain
• RiskTaking as a Function of Situational and
  Personality Factors
• Creativity and Education in Saudi Arabia
• Conclusion

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Introduction to Creativity

• Among educational psychologists there has been
  an increasing concern with creativity. The last
  three decades have seen a great interest in the
  effort to investigate the nature and development
  of creative thinking and it is measurement.
  Guilford (1950) gave a presidential address on
  creativity to American psychological association
  which considerably stimulated creativity research
  in science , art and education. Research studies
  and development of creative activities have
  proved to be of significant value in improving
  our understanding of concept of creativity
  development and its measurement. Thus, many
  approaches have been focused on creative thinking
  in investigation and conceptualization of
  creativity.

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Definition of Creative Thinking

• Creativity is a concept of interest to man since
  the very beginning of recorded history today we
  have moved to a more ' man-centered' concept
  of creativity though only in recent decades has
  creativity become of specific interest to
  psychological researchers.
• Particular emphasis has been paid to the
  cognitive aspect of creativity, i.e, creativity.
• As away or style of thinking, our discussion is
  centered largely on research in this more recent,
  cognitive fields.

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Definition of Creative Thinking (cont.)

• A process of becoming sensitive to problems,
  deficiencies, gap in knowledge, missing elements,
  disharmonies and so on. Identifying the
  difficulty, searching for solutions, making
  guesses, or formulating hypotheses about the
  deficiencies ,testing and retesting these
  hypotheses, and possibility modifying and
  retesting them, and finally communicating the
  result.

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Creativity Process

• Davis (1999) proposed that creativity fully
  develops one's capability and increases one's
  flexibility, curiosity, open mindedness and sense
  of adventure.
• Creativity involves thinking, intuition, feeling
  and sensing and that in order to achieve
  fulfillment, the highly creative personality
  needs a framework of self understanding, positive
  encouragement and acceptance in order to balance
  the rational and irrational components of
  creative personality (Wallace,1986).

• The creative process is emergency in action of
  a novel relation
• product, growing out of the uniqueness of the
  individual "(Carl Rogers, 1968).

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Life Style

• Creative thinking is more than using your
  imagination to devise lots of new ideas.
  Creativity is a life style, a personality trait,
  a way of perceiving the world, a way of living
  and away of growing. Living creatively is
  developing your talents, leering to use your
  abilities, and becoming what you are capable of
  becoming. Being creative is exploring new ideas,
  new places and new activities. Being creative is
  developing a sensitivity to problems of others
  and problems of humankind. One need not have
  great artistic, literary, scientific or
  entrepreneurial talent to be a creative person.

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Life Style (cont.)

• Torrance definitions of creativity as divergent
  thinking is to solve the problem and to think of
  new ideas that . no one had thought of before
  .therefore ,Torrance assessed creativity based on
  fluency , flexibility ,originality and
  elaboration, and this approach is similar to that
  of Guilford. Creativity thinking appears from
  divergent thinking rather than convergent
  thinking. As well as fluency, flexibility,
  originality and elaboration, there are other
  creative abilities contributed by Guilford and
  Torrance, such as the following elements

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• There are essential elements of Creative
  Divergent Thinking, namely
• FLUENCY
• is the child's ability to think of a quantity of
  ideas, similar ideas in the mind, both verbally
  and non verbally.
• FLEXIBILITY
• is the child's ability to think of many
  different categories.
• ORIGINALITY
• originality is the child ability to think and
  produce unexpected ideas or responses.
• ELABORATION
• elaboration is the child ability to develop,
  generate and details to given problem or ideas.

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• The most common definition of creative thinking
  focuses on the creative abilities and creative
  process and product
• Fluency
• the ability to produce quantities of ideas,
  verbal or non verbal, to the problem solving
  situation.
• Flexibility
• is ability to shift ideas to different patterns,
  take different approaches to problem situations,
  and think of ideas in different categories.
• Elaboration
• is ability to add and expand the idea which
  include developing, embellishing and implementing
  the idea.

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• Imagination
• Is the ability to think in an imaginative way.
• Metaphorical thinking
• Is the ability to borrow an idea from its context
  and use it in another
• Analysis
• Is the ability to analysis the whole details into
  parts.
• Synthesis
• Is the ability to combine parts into workable,
  perhaps creative, whole.
• Sensitivity to problems
• Is the ability to identify the problem, the
  difficulty, identifying missing information and
  finding the solution.

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• Evaluation
• Is ability to critically separate relevant from
  irrelevant ideas, and form appropriate ideas.
• Transformation
• Is ability to think to modify and change the idea
  to new use, to see new meaning and application.
• Problem defining
• Is the ability to identify the real problem,
  isolating important aspects, simplifying a
  problem, identifying sub problems and defining
  a problem broadly.
• Visualization
• Is the ability to see things in the mind eye, the
  ability to fantasize and imagine.

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• Evaluation
• Is ability to critically separate relevant from
  irrelevant ideas, and form appropriate ideas.
• Transformation
• Is ability to think to modify and change the idea
  to new use, to see new meaning and application.

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Components of Creativity

• Creativity as a product and as a process
• Creativity as a product is described as a
  painting, sculpture, or invention, tend to draw
  attention away from the way in which work came
  into being. Creativity should be understood not
  only as the outcome of human endeavor, but also
  as a characteristic of life itself.

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• Creativity as a process
• where as the process is usually obscure, even to
  the person in the acts of creating. However,
  Davis stressed the importance of the process and
  product. Each one making the other strong.
• Creativity is quality of protoplasm
• Creativity is a characteristic of life itself.
  Anderson stated that, "as an individual
  interacting with other humans in his environment
  he is moving, growing changing, flowing
  uniqueness. As is true for his cells, the
  uniqueness of his total organization and harmony
  of purpose, or integration, with other humans are
  basic necessities for his optimum development "

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• Creativity as spontaneous behavior
• Creativity is an expression of individual
  difference and originality. Thinking, knowing,
  feeling and acting these processes will emerge
  with creativity, if there is no threat or
  punishment from the environment.

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Creativity Ability

• Creativity is the ability to make new
  combinations of social work.
• Creativity is the ability to relate and connect,
  sometimes in odd and yet in striking fashion,
  lies at the very heart of any creative use of the
  mind, no matter in what field or discipline.
• " The creative process is emergency in action of
  a novel relation product ,growing out of the
  uniqueness of the individual" (Carl Rogers,
  1968).
• Davis (1983) proposed that creativity fully
  develops one flexibility, curiosity, open
  mindedness and sense of adventure.

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Introduction to Risk-Taking

• Although risk-taking has been a rather minor
  area of study for the last twenty years,
  increasing numbers of people today are concerned
  with risk-taking as it relates to learning. As
  background to a discussion of the educational
  implications of risk-taking, this paper will
  describe the research into factors involved in
  risk-taking these include situational factors
  such as the nature of the motivation provided by
  the task, and the effect of other people on the
  risk-taker.

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• Hutchinson, (1978) pointed out the risk-taken
  behavior is persistence in a task ( a game of
  chance) regardless of whether a reward results.
  Continuing performance in this task is considered
  as an indication of risk-taking tendency.
• Viscott ( 1977 ) emphasized the subjective
  Dimension of risk-taking by saying "it is
  surprising how little most people know about
  taking risk. Other people become inhibited by
  fear at the very moment they commit themselves to
  action "(p.13) Viscott describes risk in the
  known and the certain and to reach for something
  you are not entirely sure of but believe is
  better than what you now have, or is at least
  necessary to survive (p.17). Implicit in
  Viscott's definition is the notion that the
  circumstances and personality traits of the
  risk-taker vital to an understanding of his\her
  behavior.

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• It appears then the any definition of
  risk-taking must take into account both the
  situation and the personality of the risk-taker.
  The situation of the risk-taker includes such
  factors as the nature of the risk-taking task,
  the motivation provided by that task, and the
  risk-taker's interaction with other people either
  a group witch may be involved in the risk-taking
  decision or society as a whole. The personality
  of the risk-taker includes a myriad of factors
  sex, age, profession, values, anxiety level, and
  creativity --- which affect the risk-taking
  disposition.
• Carney and Cranny ( 1971 ) pointed out that the
  risk-taker assesses, perhaps reflexively, the
  probability of achieving success in goal oriented
  situations, and that he or she seeks the easiest
  way to achieve that goal .

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The Definitions of Risk-Taking

• The definitions of risk-taking vary widely,
  depending on the researchers purposes and
  theoretical biases. Because most definitions of
  risk-taking were grounded in economic theory in
  the first half of the Twentieth century, the
  psychological dimension of risk-taking was
  generally neglected ( lopes 1983 ).
• The literature on risk-taking concentrates
  largely on situational tasks such as gambling or
  skill games involving a significant element of
  chance. Gambling provides an excellent setting
  for study of risk-taking behavior of the
  individual, as it involves a large element of
  chance in achievement of the goalthat is,
  winning.

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• The strategic environment rewards or punishes
  risk taking and quickly sensitizes decision
  makers to resource issues. This
  resource-constrained environment demands that
  leaders must do more with less, and often
  increases the risk of failure to achieve the
  desired end state. Because the strategic
  environment is rapidly changing, decision makers
  must learn to think smarter and more creatively
  in order to get the most out of dwindling
  resources. Creative solutions are not achieved
  without taking risk, and often deviate sharply
  from known ways of doing things.

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Creativity-Cognitive Domain and Affective Domain
      Cognitive-affective creative learning has
been given considerable attention by Williams and
Treffinger.    Williams did, and still does, make
good contributions and efforts to enhance
creative thinking in the classroom, because
Williams has realized that teachers have
difficulty in encouraging childrens divergent
thinking. Then (1972) he created a creative work
to help a child to generate many original and
unusual ideas. Therefore, he considered that
cognitive thinking and affective feeling are very
important factors and elements to facilitate
creative divergent thinking and creative
divergent feeling. This is the Williams cognitive
affective interaction (CAI) model. The aim of the
model is to help the teacher to reinforce
creative divergent thinking and creative
divergent feeling in elementary school children.
The model is a conceptual system which describes
categories of
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•   These cognitive domains and affective domains
  plus eighteen strategies, which can help the
  teacher to reinforce childrens creative thinking
  and creativity, can be learned (see figure
  1).  Similarly, Treffinger (1980) created another
  instructional model based on cognitive thinking
  and affective feeling. This model is a creative
  learning strategies model to improve childrens
  creative learning among children. The model
  included three levels, each level based on
  cognitive and affective processes. In the
  cognitive domain, he was guided through the
  divergent function of fluency, flexibility,
  originality and elaboration, and though the
  complex thinking processes of application,
  analysis and evaluation. Involvement in real
  challenges included independent inquiry,
  self-direction, and resource management. In the
  affective domain, special emphasis was placed on
  problem sensitivity, value development and
  self-actualization.   

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The Williams scale (A parent and teacher rating
scale of children divergent and feeling related
to creativity)

• Fluency
• The child thinks of several answers when a
  question is asked.
• The child draws several pictures when asked to
  draw one.
• The child has several ideas about something
  instead of just one.
• The child asks many questions.
• The child uses a large number of words when
  expressing ideas.
• The child works rapidly and produces a great
  deal.

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• Flexibility
• The child thinks of many to use an object rather
  than its common use.
• The child expresses more than one meaning for a
  picture, story, poem , or problem .
• The child can transfer meaning is one subject to
  another subject .
• The child shifts his point of view to another
  point of view.
• The child exhibits a variety of ideas and
  explores many of them.
• The child thinks of numerous possibilities for
  solving a problem.

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• Originality
• The child likes objects I room placed off-center
  or prefers drawing and designs which are
  asymmetrical.
• The child become dissatisfied with one right
  answer and seeks other options.
• The child think in uncommon ways.
• The child enjoys the unusual and dislikes
  ordinary ways of doing things.
• The child after having read or heard about a
  problem, begins inventing solutions.
• The child questions established and devises new
  methods of problem solution.
• Elaboration
• The child adds lines, color, and details to
  his\her drawing

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• The child senses a deeper meaning in an answer
  or solution and produce more depth of meaning.
• The child takes off with another ideas and
  alters it some way.
• The child wants to 'jazz-up' or embellish the
  work or ideas of others.
• The child has little interest in ordinary
  objects and adds details to make them better.
• The child change the rules of games.

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• Curiosity
• The child questions everything and everybody .
• The child loves to explore mechanical things.
• The child is constantly searching for new
  avenues of thinking.
• The child normally explores things and ideas
  which are new to him .
• The child is alert to possibilities for
  solution.
• The child explores books, game, maps, picture,
  etc, to find more meaning.
• Imagination
• The child makes up stories about places never
  seen.
• The child imaging how others would deal with a
  problem.

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• The child daydreams about things or place
• The child likes to imagine things he has never
  experienced.
• The child see things in pictures or drawings
  other than the obvious
• The child can wonder freely about things and
  ideas
• Complexity
• The child is interested in intricate things and
  ideas
• The child likes to involve himself in
  complicated tasks
• The child wants to figure things out without
  assistance

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• The child enjoys tasks that are difficult
• The child thrives on trying again and again in
  order to succeed
• The child produces more complex solution to
  problem than seem necessary
• Risk-taking
• The child will defend ideas regardless of
  reaction of others
• The child sets high goals of accomplishment
  and is not afraid to try to achieve them
• The child admits to mistakes of failures
• The child likes trying new tings or ideas and is
  not easily influenced by friends
• The child is not overly concerned with
  disapproval by classmates
• The child prefers taking chance or 'ideas '
  just to learn of the outcomes

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RiskTaking as a Function ofSituational and
Personality Factors

• Situational factors
• Will any examination of the risk-taking
  disposition must certainly take into account
  personality characteristics and traits,
  situational factors do determine the risk-taking
  direction.

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• They also include personality factors such as
  sex , age profession values, anxiety level ,and
  creativity of the risk-taker. The paper will
  conclude with suggestions on how risk-taking can
  be integrated into the learning environment.
  First, however, it is necessary to outline some
  traditional definitions of risk-taking.
• Risk-Taking behavior seems clearly a factor in
  creativity. This conclusion is not surprising,
  since, as we have seen, risk-taking is a result
  of a complex configuration of the situational and
  personality factors of the risk-taker.  By way of
  summary, it can now be said that the literature
  suggests that risk-taking behavior and social
  reinforcements are two basic variables that
  influence creativity. Risk-taking behavior has
  been found to be a predicting factor of
  creativity, and there is a significant
  relationship between risk- taking behavior and
  creativity.

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• Task
• In most risk-taking situations and behaviors,
  the plays an important role. This is why most
  sociologists and psychologists, during the last
  decade or so, have concentrated on this area. The
  task that call for the risk-taking propensity are
  generally those that involve chance rather than
  skill. For this reason, the literature on
  risk-taking concentrates largely on situational
  tasks such as gambling or skill games involving a
  significant element of chance. Gambling provides
  an excellent setting for study of risk-taking
  behavior of the individual , as it involves a
  large element of chance in achievement of the
  goalthat is, winning .

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• Motivation
• A related situational factor affecting
  risk-taking is motivation the relationship
  between achievement motivation and risk-taking
  behavior has been examined by Carney ( 1971 ) ,
  Atkinson ( 1957-1958 ) , Atkinson , Bastian ,earl
  , and lit win ( 1960 ) , and Atkinson and feather
  ( 1966 ). The higher the degree of motivation
  present, the more likely the individual will be
  to display risk-taking behavior. However,
  Atkinson ( 1957 ) could not define a particular
  level of motivation which would produce a certain
  degree of risk- taking disposition. Atkinsons
  finding seems to show once again that, in the
  final analysis. The totally of the individuals
  personal situation and personality has a much
  greater sway in his or her disposition taking
  risk than any universal statement .

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• Group Impact
• Another aspect of the risk-taking situation
  which has been studied at length is what has be
  called the " risk shift effect "that is , the
  effect on an individual's risk-taking disposition
  due to his or her.
• Interaction within a group. Research in this
  area has demonstrated that group interaction
  influences risk-taking behavior, in that
  individuals who are disposed to smaller risk move
  to taking higher risk in a group. This shift
  toward higher risk has been demonstrated in a
  number of contexts. Wallach and Konag ( 1965
  ) explained this shift by stating that the
  individual tends to take risk in a group because
  the entire burden of the responsibility for the
  risk's consequences is distributed over the whole
  group, so that the individual member's
  responsibility is considerably reduced. No
  individual member is held accountable for the
  success or failure the risk's consequences . Hoyt
  and Stoner ( 1968 ) , on the other hand, argued
  that the risky shift effect occurs because the
  group leader is generally a greater risk-taker,
  who urges the other members of the group take
  more risks. However, this explanation seems
  inadequate because it assumes that all group
  leaders are greater risk-takers.

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• Cultural Impact
• A final situational aspect of risk-taking
  behavior is the cultural situation in which the
  risk-taker acts. the desire to maximize gain and
  minimize loss plays an important role both in the
  nature of the risk taken and the behavior of the
  risk-taker. Rettig and Rawson ( 1963 ) concluded
  that the fear of being caught doing something
  socially wrong was more important to the
  risk-taker than the probability of gain
• In other words, culture-related situations
  affect the risk-taking disposition of the
  individual . Carney and Carney ( 1971 )
  examined the impact of cultural mores on the
  risk-taking propensity of the individual. They
  argued that culture has a negative as well as a
  positive impact that is culture could be an
  inhibiting factors in risk-taking as well as a
  factor which promotes risk-taking tendencies

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• Personality Factors
• Slavic and Lichtenstein ( 1968 ) have argued
  that individual personality traits are as
  important as situational factors in risk-taking
  behavior. This aspect of risk-taking was further
  confirmed by Nygren ( 1976 ) indeed,
  investigators are in their view that personality
  characteristics are an integral part of ones
  risk-taking behavior. Lanzetta and Karanaff (
  1962 )point out that amount of information an
  individual seeks before taking a risk depends on
  the risk-taking disposition of the individual.
  For example, it is reported that field Marshall
  Montgomery was a very cautious commander who
  would seek out a large amount of enemy
  intelligence before launching an attack, whereas
  general Patton would work with a lesser amount
  of information about the enemy before he
  undertook his Operations. The result was that
  Montgomery had fewer casualties and much less
  Conquered territory, compared to Pattons heavy
  this section considers the various kinds of
  personality factors which impinge upon the
  risk-taking domain. based on the ideas that
  risk-taking cannot be dissociated from
  personality factors and characteristics, this
  section will focus on the effects on risk-taking
  of differences in an individuals sex, age,
  profession values, anxiety level, and creativity .

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• Sex
• The extent to which sex differences are a factor
  in risk-taking behavior is still unclear.
  Appenfels and Hays (1961) pointed out that it is
  a wide-spread belief in American society that
  males demonstrate a greater willingness to take
  risks than females. Tuddenham (1951b) indicated
  that elementary school children consider the
  typical boy as more daring than the typical girl.
  Furthermore, Tuddenham (1951a) found boldness to
  be positively correlated with popularity for
  males and negatively correlated for females.

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• Age
• While the influence of sex on risk-taking
  behavior is debatable, studies have indicated
  that age is clearly a critical factor in risk
  taking. Noel (1983) conducted a questionnaire
  study with 337 males and 224 females, 14-98 years
  old. Age was found to be a significant factor
  affecting risk taking, whether the individual was
  dealing with family or friends, demonstrating
  that younger subjects take greater risk, while
  old subjects tend to be more cautious.

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• Values
• Another aspect of personality which affects
  risk-taking behavior is the value system of the
  individual. In risk-taking, the values of the
  individual are deeply involved. For instance, if
  the principal of a school believes that education
  must keep free from the involvement of either
  church or state, he or she will be willing to
  take a stand against any interference from either
  direction, despite pressure from the community or
  from a vocal group. In other words, people take
  risks when their principles are involve, for
  principles are an integral part of one's
  personality. It is principles, ideals, or beliefs
  that make one seek a better order and take risks
  to achieve it. Furthermore, the individual's
  system of values determines the degree to which
  he or she is willing to take risks.

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• Profession
• It appears that an individual's profession also
  affects the risk-taking disposition of his or her
  personality. In a study dealing with the
  professions and social classes, Scodel, Minas and
  Tatoosh (1959) compared university students with
  enlisted military personnel and found that the
  military personnel showed a much greater
  risk-taking disposition than the college
  students. This finding would further confirm the
  notion that an individual's life situation has a
  role in determining his or her risk-taking
  propensity. One may argue that since military
  personnel are engaged, by training and
  circumstance, in dealing with situation of
  uncertainty, they tend to be greater risk-takers
  whereas, the university students, face with a
  limited range of uncertainty, reveal a much
  lesser degree of risk-taking behavior. On the
  other hand, it is possible that individuals with
  a higher propensity toward risk-taking tend to
  choose the military than school.

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• Anxiety
• Risk-taking and anxiety has been a major focus
  of research, but studies have reported
  conflicting findings on the effect of anxiety on
  risk-taking. Janis (1955), Casey (1969), Kusyszyn
  et al (1973) found that individuals with high
  anxiety show low risk-taking dispositions. These
  findings were supported by Kogan and Wallach
  (1964) in their studies. However, Atkinson (1957)
  showed that the relationship between anxiety and
  risk-taking disposition was not so simple.
  Atkinson pointed out that initially, high anxiety
  individuals tended to be high risk-takers, but
  that they would soon reach a plateau and
  thereafter the relationship was downhill (i.e.,
  sharply negative). The curve for the relationship
  was an inverted "U". This finding supports the
  idea that high anxiety individuals use
  risk-taking as an initial means to overcome
  anxiety, but that anxiety sets in, they realize
  that risk-taking is not a solution to their
  problems.

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• Creativity
• Creativity is another area that has been
  investigated by researchers of risk-taking
  behavior. The association between creativity and
  risk-taking emerged in the work of Haefele
  (1962), who considered risk-taking as one basic
  dimensions of creativity. It was followed by
  Anderson and Cropley's (1966) assertion that the
  construct of risk of risk-taking is a
  non-intellectual element in creativity. Among
  others who have confirmed this assertion are
  Eisenman (1969) and Rossman and Horn (1972).
  Eisenman (1969) found risk-taking to be an
  integral part of creativity and Rossman and Horn
  characterized creativity and risk-taking as one
  of the 17 important attributes of a creative
  talent.

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Creativity and Education in Saudi Arabia
Some individuals possess an innate talent which
, unfortunately, gats stifled, distracted and
thwarted in education systems that emphasize
convergent thinking and discourage, sometimes
enormously, the more rewarding divergent thinking
which is beneficial for both the individual and
society. The complexity of modern life, the
growing of population, and the development of
science and technology urge our society to
establish quality as well as quantity of
education. Moreover, there is no doubt that the
creative thinking programmed somehow will
eventually be include in Saudi Arabian school
curriculum, because there is a growing interest
in promoting and sustaining the creative thinking
as well as problem solving in classrooms of the
Saudi Arabian educational school system. This
interest is due to a change in outlook on the
desired outcomes of creativity in learning.
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• Research and development concerning the creative
  thinking function is quiet elementary and
  fragmentally in Saudi Arabia school system.
  Reasons suggested for this neglect of the study
  of creativity and this development are the
  failure to understand and appreciate the role of
  creative functioning in the various endeavors of
  life, together with lack of facilities for the
  steady of creative thinking.
• The school day is already crowded with many
  diverse missions, yet creativity and creative
  thinking features little. One of the cardinal
  principles of education is to influence the
  student to become a more effective individual in
  society, and it is felt that creative thinking
  can made an important contribution to this end.

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Conclusion
 Risk-taking behavior seems clearly a factor in
creativity. This conclusion is not surprising,
since, as we have seen, risk-taking is a result
of a complex configuration of the situational and
personality factors of the risk-taker. It
appears then the risk-taking behavior is a
factor in creativity, as well as in antisocial
acts and vices. This result is not surprising
since--as we have seen--risk taking is a result
of a complex configuration of the situational and
personality factors of the risk-taker.
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Thanks

• Q A

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