Creative Process

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Creative Process Chao-Ming Cheng Department of
Psychology National Taiwan University
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Mihaly Csikszentmialyi (1999). Creativity Flow
and the psychology of discovery and
invention. Chapter 1 Setting the stage Chapter
2 Where is creativity? Chapter 3 The creative
personality Chapter 4 The work of
creativity Chapter 5 The flow of
creativity Chapter 6 Creative surroundings
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Csikszentmihalyi (1996) and his associates
conducted interviews with 91 exceptionally
creative individuals between 1991 and 1995 for
three criteria 1. Have made a difference to a
major domain of culture 2. Still actively
involved in that domain 3. Had to be at least 60
years old
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Figure 1.1 The increasing pace of change
two examples (reproduced with the kind permission
of Dr. Edgar Mitchell)
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Creativity What it looks like How it works How
it develops Who is creative Where does it come
from
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• 1. ??? (Novelty)
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• 2. ???(Appropriateness)
• ??????????????????????????

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Where is Creativity? There is no way to know
whether a thought is new except with reference to
some standards (domain). There is no way to tell
whether it is valuable until it passes social
evaluation (field). Therefore, creativity does
not happen inside peoples heads, but in the
interaction between a persons thoughts and a
sociocultural context.
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Creativity can be observed only in the
interrelations of a system made up of three main
parts. Domain a set of symbolic rules and
procedures. E.g., mathematics, algebra, number
theory. Domain are in turn nested in what we
usually call culture, or the symbolic knowledge
shared by a particular society or by humanity as
a whole.
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• 2. ?????????
• Gardner(1993)
• Albert Einstein logic-spatial ability
• Sigmund Freud language and human nature
• Weisberg(1995)
• Pablo Picasso Guernica (Basue)
• Watson?Crick(1952) DNA????
• ???Linus
  Pauling?????????
• Tomas Edison ??????????????

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Field All the individuals who act as gatekeepers
to the domain. It is their job to decide whether
a new idea of product should be included in the
domain. E.g., field of visual art art teachers,
curators of museums, collectors of art, critics,
and administrators of foundations and govern
agencies that deal with culture. Person Someone
whose thoughts or action change a domain or
establish a new domain (e.g., Galileo or Freud).
However, a domain cannot be changed without the
explicit or implicit consent of a field
responsible for it.
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2. Vincent van Gogh began painting in 1880. His
adaptations of the impressionist style were
considered strange and eccentric, and his
personal life was complicated by illness and
poverty. He sold only one painting before his
death in 1890 (Fichner-Rathus, 1986). Because
van Goghs works were not accepted by the public
of his time, were they inappropriate? If they had
never been accepted, would they have been
creative? However, works by van Gogh that were
rejected by 19th-century audiences are considered
master-pieces today.
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Cultures differ in their conceptions of the
nature of creativity itself. Western
cultures product-oriented, originality-based
Eastern cultures a process of individual growth
or self-actualization. In Hinduism, creativity is
seen as spiritual expression rather than
innovation or problem solving. Time and
history are seen as cyclical. To make traditional
truths come alive by finding a new
interpretation-rather than seeking to break with
traditionis the focus of creative activity.
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If Eastern creation can be characterized as a
circular movement in the sense of successful
reconfiguration of an initial totality, then the
Western view of both creation and human
creativity seems to involve a linear movement
toward a new point.
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Creativity and Culture Values It is
interesting to think about which areas in our
culture are most tied to our cultural values (in
which creativity is not encouraged) and how that
may affect our openness to creativity. e.g., In
Bali, the more serious the art form, like
sculptures of gods or ritual dances, the less the
permitted change, and the less serious the art
form, like carvings of kitchen gods, the
theatrical performances of clowns, the playing of
instruments or the weaving of container, the
greater the originality can be.
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Creative Personality

• 1.Sternberg?Lubart(1992)
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• 2.????
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  ????????????????????

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Creative Personality (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996)
Finding Experiencing the existence of contrast
or paradox, e.g., nurturing and precarious,
supportive and marginal. This type of bimodal
early experience, providing both support and
challenge, appeared tied to later
creativity. Complexity Tendencies of thought and
action that in most people are segregated.
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• Ten Dimensions of Complexity (Yin-Yang and
  paradoxical personality)
• A great deal of physical energy, but quiet and at
  rest.
• Smart, but naïve at the same time.
• Playfulness and discipline, or responsibility and
  irresponsibility.
• Alternating between imagination and fantasy, at
  one end, and a rooted sense of reality at the
  other.
• Extroversion and introversion
• Humble and proud at the same time

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7. Psychological androgyny masculinity/femininity
aggressive and nurturant, sensitive and rigid,
dominant and submissive, regardless of gender 8.
Rebellious/traditional-conventional 9. Both
passionate and objective. 10. Suffering and pain
yet also a great deal of enjoyment.
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Personality Characteristics Willingness to Take
Intellectual Risks (to think thoughts others are
unwilling to think or express ideas that are of
the beaten path) (MacKinnon, 1978). Creative risk
taking opens an individual to criticism,
ridicule, or feeling of foolishness. E.g., Greg
Louganiss 1990 Olympic diving. Perseverance,
Drive, and Commitment to Task. Many risks involve
failure or less-than-complete success that
requires continuing, persistent efforts.
Willingness to continue in the face of obstacles,
to maintain motivation without immediate reward,
and to say focused on a task for long periods of
time.
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Curiosity want to know why, how, and what
Openness to Experience Tolerance for Ambiguity
Creative solutions rarely spring from full
blown. More often they emerge over a period of
time that includes moments of insight and time
of struggle, persistence, and confusion.
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Broad Interests Value Originality Intuition and
Deep Emotions MacKinnon (1978) Intuitive or
implicit perception 25 General
population 90 Creative
writers 92
Mathematicians 93 Research
scientists
100 Architects
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The use of intuition, combined with openness to
emotional experience, can lead to very intense
emotions of feelings being real Being
Internally Occupied or Withdrawn Quiet loners,
creative activities demands a great deal of
alone time.
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The IPAR Studies (The Institute of Personality
Assessment and Research, University of
California, 1950-1970 Under the Direction of
Donald MacKinnon) Creative People Intelligent
willing to take a risk, to try, and see what
might work, a high level of energy, a kind of
cognitive flexibility. Original associated
with fluency of thought (many ideas).
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Independent open to experience, both of the
inner self and the outer world. Curious,
receptive, and willing to earn. Intuitive
looking for hidden meanings potential,
metaphors, implications, or alternate uses in
the things. A strong sense of destiny
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Gardner (1993, 1994) noted three additional
themes First, the matrix of support that
surrounded the creators at the time of their
creative activities Second, Faustian bargain
Made enormous sacrifices to their work,
sometimes sacrifices interpersonal
relationships Third, 10-year rule it took 10
years to produce creative products
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Cognitive Characteristics Metaphorical Thinking
The ability to find parallels between unlike
ideas. Flexibility and Skill in Decision Making
The ability to look at a situation from many
points of view or to generate many categories of
responses. Independence in Judgment Do not feel
compelled to seek approval from others or follow
the latest trends.
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Coping Well with Novelty Logical Thinking Skills
Different from conventional thinking. Visualizati
on Escaping Entrenchment Escape entrenched
thinking, impatient with routines, repetitious
assignments, or practice activities. Finding
Order in Chaos
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• The Work of Creativity The five-stage view
• The emergence of problems Three sources
• a) Personal experiences
• We are a perverse race, only suffering
  interests us. The experiences of scientists are
  relevant to the problems they deal with.
• b) Requirements of the domain
• Within or cross domains
• c) Social pressures

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The third source of ideas and problems is the
field one works in. 2. Presented and Discovered
Problems Problem finding
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• 3. ????(problem finding)??????(problem solving)
• Einstein new problem, new possibility, new angle
  of regard
• E.g., replacing a flatted tire
• Getzels?Csikszentmihalyi(1972,1976)
• Painting of articles selected from 27 things

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The Wallas (1926) Four Steps for
Creativity Preparation Incubation Illumination
Verification The Torrance and the Parnes-Osborn
Model
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3. The Mysterious Time The functions of idle
time (incubation) The field, the domain, and the
unconscious Even in the unconscious the symbol
system and the social environment play important
roles. 4. The Aha Experience 5. The 99 Percent
Perspiration
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Torrance (1988) Sensing problems or
difficulties Making guesses or hypotheses about
the problems Evaluating the hypotheses, and
possibly revising them Communicating the
results The Parnes-Osborn Model, revised by
Treffinger, Isaksen, Dorval ( 2000)
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A. UNDERSTANDING THE CHALLENGING (involves
investigating a broad goal, opportunity, or
challenge) 1. Constructing Opportunities I
want to improve the parking situation on
campus 2. Exploring Data Gathering data
abut the number of spaces available, the number
of classes held at various times of day.
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3. Framing Problems Build more parking lots
Create more parking spaces on campus?
Limit the number of students parking on campus?
Limit the number of vehicles on campus?
Match the number of vehicles to the number of
spaces available? Provide students who live
outside walking distance easy access to campus?
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B. GENERATING IDEAS Ideas are generated for
the selected problem statement(s) using a variety
of tools for producing divergent ideas C.
PREPARING FOR ACTION Exploring ways to make
the promising options into workable
solutionstranslating ideas into action.
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1. Developing Solutions Applies deliberate
strategies and tools to analyze, refine, and
select among ideas. Developing solutions will
entail using criteria to systematically evaluate
each of the proposed ideas. How much would it
cost? Is it legal? Is the technology available?
Would it be convenient for students? Would it be
convenient for staff? Would it be acceptable to
the university administration?
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Chapter 5 The Flow of Creativity The concept of
flow the state in which people are so involved
in an activity that nothing else seems to matter
the experience itself is so enjoyable that people
will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake
of doing it (Csikszentmihalyi , 1990).
Happiness, in fact, is a condition that must be
prepared for, cultivated, and defended privately
by each person. Activities were not random but
goal-directed activities that demanded some type
of energy and skill. Optimal match between
challenge and skill. Discovery is a pleasure
experience, stimulating brains pleasure center.
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Chapter 6. Creative Surroundings Great Centers of
Learning and Commerce (for insight) One must be
in a position to access the domain in which one
plans to work. Information is clumped in
different geographical nodes. Certain
environments have a greater density of
interaction and provide more excitement and a
greater effervescence of ideas. Access to the
field is not evenly distributed in space. Often
sudden availability of money at a certain place
attracts artists or scientists to an other barren
environment.
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Inspiring Environments (a delightful
setting) Creating Creative Environments (places
and institutions) (for preparation and
evaluation) Preparation and evaluation benefit
from familiar, comfortable settings and social
interaction (sharing thoughts, experimenting with
ideas, and asking questions of peers are
important parts of individual creativity).
Patterning Activities reflecting your needs and
your tastes.
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??????????

• Isen, Dauban?Nowicki(1987)
• Effects of comedic movies on candle-problem
  solving and RAT
• Mozarts experiences
• Edison

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Examined biographies of eminent 19th-century
creators across domains Highly creative
individuals are more likely to be firstborn and
to have lost one or both parents early in
life. They are reared in stimulating,
diversified, and enriching home environments,
exposed to a wide range of ideas. They liked
school, enjoyed books, had many hobbies, and
learned outside of school.
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Whereas some report warm, supportive peer
groups, others report some marginality in social
situations Come from homes with clear
expectations but few rules, that their parents
have well-established interests, and that they
have more childhood traumas than less-creative
students.
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Association and Creativity Mednicks Associative
Theory Intelligence and Creativity Threshold
Theory Below 120 IQ, Highly correlated Larger
than 120 IQ, weak correlated Perkins (1981,
1988, 1994) Self-reports, memory, and honesty
of creative individuals are questionable.
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Perkins also examined the effectiveness of
physical evidence of the history of a creative
effort (e.g., Picassos Guernica) Immediate
self-reports are more reliable. Perkins did
not find evidence for incubation he viewed the
creative process as having made up of ordinary
mental processes used in extraordinary ways. The
key to creativity is not the process but the
purpose.
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Weisberg (1986, 1988, 1993, 1999) He questioned
the idea of creative leaps or flashes of insight
by citing research in which solutions to problems
come, not in a sudden change of direction, but in
gradual increments based on experience.
Guernica Beethovens Ninth Symphony DNA Creativit
y doesnt exists, at least not as a unique
process.
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Creativity may emerge from the interaction of an
individuals past experiences and the problem at
hand. Creativity might be compared to the
proverbial straw that broke the camels
back. Creativity can be enhanced in two basic
ways increasing expertise and increasing
commitment and persistence. A new idea may not
seem new at all, but may merely be a logical
extension of existing ideas.
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Ward, Smith, and Vaid (1997) Four general
categories of creative cognition Conceptual
combination bridging together of diverse ideas
in new ways Conceptual expansion Stretching
of existing concepts to accommodate new
experiences or challenges, or inventions based on
previous experience. Metaphors, analogies,
and mental models use existing ideas to
understand, interpret, or extend seemingly
diverse concepts. Insight, imagery, and
response to recently activated knowledge
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The Sternberg and Lubart (1991, 1993) Investment
Model Buy low (pursue ideas that are novel or
out of favor) and sell high (then convince the
field of the value of those ideas. Once the ideas
gain favor, they allow others to pursue them
while they go on to pursue other endeavors).
Six types of interacting resources contribute to
creative performance intellectual processes,
knowledge, intellectual style, personality,
motivation, and environmental context (Triarchic
Theory of Intelligence). The role of
knowledge in creative performance is an
upside-down U.
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• 1.??????
• Sternberg, Conway, Ketson ?Bernstein(1981)
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• Guilford
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• Getzels?Jackson(1962)
• ????????

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• Barron (1963) Gardner(1993)
• IQ lt 90 r
  .88
• 90 lt IQ lt 110 r .69
  
• 110 lt IQ lt 130 r -.30
  
• IQ gt130 r -.09
• Sack(1995)
• ???????????????

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• Remote Association Test(RAT)(Mednick Mednick,
  1967)
• e.g.1 RIVER
• NOTE
• BLOOD
• e.g.2 BOARD
• DUCK
• DOLLAR
• e.g.3 FILE
• HEAD
• TOE
• Mednick?Mednick(1967)
• RAT??????????????????IBM??????????
• Andrews(1975)?Baron(1988)
• RAT???

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• 2. ?????????
• Gardner(1993)
• Albert Einstein logic-spatial ability
• Sigmund Freud language and human nature
• Weisberg(1995)
• Pablo Picasso Guernica (Basue)
• Watson?Crick(1952) DNA????
• ???Linus
  Pauling?????????
• Tomas Edison ??????????????

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• ????(analogical thinking)(Dunbar,1994)
• ????(local analogy)
• ????(regional analogy)
• e.g.1. Weber and Perkins(1992)
• ???????????????????? ?
• e.g.2. Archimedes?????

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• 3. ????(problem finding)??????(problem solving)
• Einstein new problem, new possibility, new angle
  of regard
• E.g., replacing a flatted tire
• Getzels?Csikszentmihalyi(1972,1976)
• Painting of articles selected from 27 things

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• 4. ?????????(reproduction),?????????(restructuring
  )
• Weisberg(1995) Restructure of past
• Picasso??Les Demoiselles
• Calder???
• Pollock?????
• ????(bissociation)(Koestler,1964)
• ???????,??????,?????????,?????
• e.g.1 ????????
• e.g.2 Gutenberg?????? seal, wine press

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1. In 1905 an unknown clerk in the Swiss patent
office published a paper in which he advocated
abandoning the idea of absolute time. This
fundamental postulate of the theory of relativity
(the relationship between time, size, and mass,
which are said to change with increased speed)
suggested that the laws of science should be the
same for all observers, regardless of speed. The
clerks name was Albert Einstein (Hawkins, 1988).
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3. In first grade, Michelle was given an outline
of a giant sharks mouth on a worksheet that
asked, What will our fishy friend eat next? She
dutifully colored several fish and boats, and
then wrote the following explanation. Once there
was a shark named Peppy. One day he ate three
fish, one jellyfish, and two boats. Before he ate
the jellyfish he made a peanut butter and
jellyfish sandwich.
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4. At 19, Juan was homeless and a senior in high
school. One cold evening he thought that a warm
space inside the school would be a more appealing
sleeping place than he could see. Getting into
the building was no problem, but once he was
inside, a motion detector would make him
immediately detectable to the guard on the floor
below. Juan entered a storage room and carefully
dislodged a pile of baseball bats. The guard
attributed the motion detectors outburst to the
falling bats and Juan slept until morning.
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New to whom? If a research at the University
of Michigan works for years to engineer a gene
transfer to cure a particular disease only to
discover that a researcher at Stanford published
the same techniques only 2 weeks before, is the
Michigan researchers work no longer
creative? For some researchers, only ideas that
are new to a particular discipline or culture are
designated creative. Alternatively, to be
considered creative, a product or idea must be
original or novel to the individual creator.
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Appropriateness? If I am asked the time and I
reply, The cow jumped over the computer
yesterday, my response would certainly be novel.
Was Juans late-night entrance to the school
appropriate? Because van Goghs works were
not accepted by the public of his time, were they
inappropriate? If they had never been accepted,
would they have been creative? However, works by
van Gogh that were rejected by 19th-century
audiences are considered master-pieces today.
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Which behaviors are creative or not creative? In
the midst of a discussion of plants, 6-year-old
Toshio raises his hand. Do you think the plants
would grow taller and stronger if, instead of
watering them, we milked them? Jane dressed for
the first day of eighth grade in long underwear
with a black half-slip over the top, a purple
satin blouse, and grapes hanging as earrings.
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Maria wrote the best essay on federalism her
teacher had ever seen. It was clear, well
documented, and thorough, including implications
of federalism seldom considered by high school
students. Eduardos first-grade class has been
taught to subtract by taking away the designated
number. There are numerous manipulatives
available for students use. Eduardo refuses to
use the method he has been taught. Instead, he
used his fingers to count up from the smaller to
the larger number (min model).
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Sam is wearing a baseball cap on hat day.
Unbeknown to his teacher, he has installed a
mirror under the brim. When the hat is cocked at
the correct angle, he can see the desk next to
his. This will be handy during the sixth-period
quiz. Susan is asked to illustrate a scene from
the biography of Frederick Douglass being read by
her second-grade teacher. Having heard that he
traveled through England and Wales, she draws
Frederick Douglass walking across a row of
smiling whales.
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Maxs music class has been given the assignment
of composing a short piece in the study of one of
the classical composers they have studied to
date. Max creates a rap about Beethovens hair
(and its lack of style) using the rhythms of
Beethovens Fifth Symphony. Tzeena is known for
her caricatures. During English class she has at
times passed around sketches in which she has
drawn her teachers head attached to the body of
an ostrich.
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Why do people create? Individuals exercised
creative thinking not only to communicate, but to
find and to solve problems I think I teach people
how to find meaning. I write about the most
chaotic, tragic, had-to-deal-with events, and
these events are sometimes so violent and so
horrible that they burst through bunds of form
and preconceptions. Im hoping that readers will
find how to get the meaning out of these events.
How do you find beauty and order when weve had
this bloody horrible past? (Maxine Hong Kingston,
in Moyers, 1990, p.11)
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I drew them several times and there was no
feeling in them. Then afterwardsafter I have
done the ones that were so stiff--came the
others How it happens that I can express
something of that kind? Because the thing has
already taken form in my mind before I start on
it. The first attempts are absolutely unbearable.
I say this because I want you to know that if you
see something worthwhile in what I am doing, it
is not by accident but because of real intention
and purpose. (Vincent van Gogh, in Ghiselin,
1985, p.47)
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In 1873, Chester Greenwood received a pair of ice
skates for his 15th birthday. Unfortunately,
Chester was unable to enjoy the skates, because
each time he ventured on the ice, the chill
Farmington, Maine, air made his sensitive ears
uncomfortable enough that he was forced indoors.
The earmuffs Chester designed to solve this
problem were sold across New England by the time
Chester was 19 (Caney, 1985)
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In 1924 Kimberly-Clark began to market
Cellucotton sheets as disposable clothes for
removing makeup. In 1929 they patented the pop-up
box and renamed the product Kleenex. Sales were
still only moderate. A marketing survey revealed
that over half the people purchasing Kleenex were
using them, not to remove makeup, but as
disposable handkerchiefs. A new marketing
strategy and slogan, Dont put a cold in your
pocket, led to a 400 sales increase in 2 years
(Caney, 1985) Problem solving preceded by problem
finding (Getzels Csikszentmihalyi, 1976)
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Theories and Models of Creativity When I am, as
it were, completely myself, entirely alone, and
of good cheer say, traveling in a carriage, or
walking after a good meal, or during the night
when I cannot sleep it is on such occasions that
my ideas flow best and most abundantly. Whence
and how they come, I know not nor can I force
them Nor do I hear in my imagination the parts
successively, but I hear them, as it were, all at
once. What a delight this is I cannot tell! All
this inventing, this producing, taking place in a
pleasing lively dreamThis is perhaps the best
gift I have my Divine Maker to thank for.
(Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in Ghiselin, 1985,
pp34-35)
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Generally speaking, the germ of a future
composition comes suddenly and unexpectedly. If
the soil is readythat is to say if the
disposition to work is thereit takes root with
extraordinary force and rapidity---In the midst
of this magic process it frequently happens that
some external interruption wakes me from my
somnambulistic state a ring at the bell, the
entrance of my servant, the striking of a
clockDreadful, indeed, are such interruptions.
Sometimes they break the thread of inspiration
for a considerable time In such cases cool
headwork and technical knowledge have to come to
my aid.
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Even in the works of the greatest master we find
such moments, when the organic sequence fails and
a skillful join has to be madeBut it cannot be
avoided. If that condition of mind and soul,
which we call inspiration, lasted long without
intermission, no artist could survive it. (Peter
Ilich Tchaikovsky, in Vernon, 1975, pp57-58)