Theories of Creativity Essays

Theories of Creativity Essays Theories of Creativity Paper Theories of Creativity Paper Theories of Creativity and Quality Theories of Creativity and Quality Theories of creativity are vast. Several psychological theories on the process of creativity are chronicled. Some theorists explain creativity as intrinsic creative motivations, which individuals create a project for the sake of creating (Wibell, 2011). Other theorists convey the brain controls levels of creativity, and mental illness has an impact on creative process. Further, many believe the humanistic theory of creativity spawns the creative process. Through self-actualization creativity comes in peak experiences. The quality of the work depends on what is measured. The quality of the creative work depicts the message of the writing. The message can be entertaining, or educational. The humanistic theory of creativity stems from self-actualization described by Abraham Maslow, a pioneer in humanistic psychology. Maslow believes that creativity is divided into three categories; primary creativity, secondary creativity, and integrated creativity. This theory encompasses the gestalt of human intelligence and emotional state as well as the needs that must be met in order for someone to be completely able to express his, or her creativity. Primary creativity according to Maslow, allows self to escape from life stress. Individuals channel life stresses into creative art such as painting, sculpture, or writing. Secondary creativity results from the use of higher thought powers. Secondary creativity takes over from primary creativity and adds to it through the preparation stages (Bergquist, 2011). Integrated creativity stems from combining primary and secondary creativity that results in great works in art, philosophy, and scientific discoveries. The creative integration is also characteristic of self-actualized emotionally healthy individuals. Self-actualization is the full use of talents, capacities, and potentials. In order for the individual to reach the self-actualization level a series of hierarchy achievements must be accomplished; creativity can flourish only after the levels described have been reached. For example, the need for safety can come in various forms such as a safe place to live. Creativity may be hard to accomplish if an individual is homeless with the exceptions of J. K Rowlings the author of the Harry Potter series, and Tyler Perry, playwright; both homeless, living in cars when writing mega-hit products. The mental illness theory allows the writer to access the parts of the brain that generates abnormal ideas, which can differ from the norm as they may be considered strange. Not everyone who is considered creative is stark-raving mad, however; there are certain elements that tend to be present in highly creative people who cause them to view the world differently and choose to portray it in a different light. Additionally, people whose thought processes differ from the majority have a tendency to want to escape from reality and may choose to do so through the creative arts. The extent of level of mental illness is not necessarily relevant to an individual’s creative ability. In individuals such as Vincent Van Gogh- where it was believed he suffered from mental illness- the level of this illness was not fully determined or relevant, yet his creative works remain very much alive in the world today. The mental illness theory suggests that individuals intensely creative- and whose creative ideas are viewed as strange- are believed to suffer from mental illness that also diminishes their ability to fully function in society. This theory offers the possibility that an abnormality is present in some people to cause the desire to explore a darker side of their psyche. Any difference in a persons thought process that differs from the norm can be considered a mental illness in some way, or can be linked to one; this difference is not necessarily a negative thing because if this abnormality is mild, and it will rarely interfere with an individuals’ ability to operate in society. Carl Jung (1953) extends creative functioning by further dividing artistic creativity into two categories, psychological art, and visionary art. Art is considered psychological art and appears to be generated by primary processes. With this Maslow’s humanistic theory of creativity ties into with his theory about needs requiring to be met before reaching a higher point of creativity. Visionary art which derives its existence from the hinterlands of the mans mind, is the type of art where the strange worlds and ideasdescribed by the mental illness theory of creativityare generated from, as it connects creative individuals with the super-human and timeless worlds beyond their conscious knowing. A plausible explanation for the relation of both the humanistic and mental illness theories similarities is attributed to author, Koestler who fails to represent any particular school of thought, but has had much success in creativity research. His premise on creativity is â€Å"bisociation† a term â€Å"coined by Koestler meaning to join unrelated, often conflictual, information in a new way. † He also goes on to say that this is similar to being double minded or able to think on more than one plane of thought simultaneously, and Frank Barron (1988) places the possibility that developing the ability to â€Å"tolerate chaos or seemingly opposite information is characteristic of creative individuals† (Bergquist, 2009). In short, appears both theories may very well be related, but worded differently. The attributes discussed by the mental illness theory touches on the humans’ ability to think on two distinct planes. The humanistic theory also holds truth when discussing the various needs one must attain before clearly being free to explore creativity as the whole. Concerning creativity, everyone has an opinion as how to approach it and judge its core. Some believe that for a work to be considered creative it must meet a few specific requirements such as being of fantasy or science fiction. Others believe that in order for creative works- whether they are art or music based- to be considered creative they have to be based on imagination; however, Al Gore’s book, paper, and PowerPoint presentation on global warming was quite creative even though it only appeared to be in functional writing format. Analyzing Theories Two types of writing, creative, and functional writing are of focus. Functional writing encompasses writings such as those found in phone manuals, data analysis, and essays; whereas creative writing has often been judged upon the inventiveness of the topic, for example, a fable or parable, a fiction story, or poetry. However, it has been determined by this team that the creativity writing and its quality should be judged on the content as well as the message it delivers to its intended audience. According to Mark Barrett, a writer and opinionated individual, writing should be judged according to the basis for writing. For example, if a writer writes to entertain or inform, the writing should be judged on whether or not it is powerful and clear or muddy and confusing. If writers write for the simple pleasure of writing or to have others enjoy their work, then the content should be judged on whether or not it is enjoyable (Barrett, 2010). Furthermore, there exist various methods of judging writing are based on what the judge considers to be correct according to the extent of their personal experience. However, most writers have agreed that the fundamental rule for judging lies in assessing the total impact of the passage, i. e. the combination of the creative ingenuity and the use of language (Chedzoy, n. d. ). The quality of a specific work should be evaluated for message and interest; in other words is the writing based on the interests of the writer. The creative work should be judged on the value, lesson, or educational message it conveys and the impact this has on the audience. Additionally, the flow and technical aspect of the writing should also be judged because the creative piece should flow naturally without fault or hindrance of grammatical errors and should emphasize pauses for thought, commas, or periods, (Hoosierpoet, 2004). As judges, questions regarding the writer’s choice in language or words must always be examined because these have an effect on the works’ purpose. Originality is key to being a great writer; it is important to use personal thoughts, ideas, and words when creating a work and if inspired by another’s work, it must be so noted. Finally, the judging of any work is complete when elements of the work are brought together and an impact has been made. Applied Theories Abraham Malsow’s humanistic theory of creativity specifies creativity occurs in stages. According to Maslow levels of achievement must be accomplished in order for creativity to flourish. Self-actualization is the goal of humanistic theory, and self-actualization occurs in stages. Once the stages are accomplished the individual has peak experiences, and peak experiences allow creativity to flourish. As a self-actualized creator there is an inclination to spark creativity across a vast number of areas. Through writing self-actualized creative writers can express ideas and impulses without fear of criticism, and thus are better able to produce, or express creative ideas, (Cassandro Simonton, 2011. ) Humanistic theory of the process of creativity for writing occurs in stages. In fiction writing hierarchy levels of achievement were required. First physiological needs met, the need for creative space. Creative space is anywhere from a room of one’s own to write in, to a small desk, in a shared room. Depending on the creative project the space may require isolation. Next is the need for creative peers such as classmates, or others in the same area of creativity to provide feedback. A need to surround self around others to obtain insight, information, ideas, or encouragement is essential (Morris, 2009. The need for creative inspiration follows. Inspiration can come in a variety of methods. For example, books, magazines, life experiences, the outside environment, and people watching inspire many creative writing processes. Another level on the hierarchy pyramid is imaginative space to doodle, scribble, or journal writing, which is different from physiological space, and allows creative energies to flow. The ability to have the freedom to expose the crea tive edge in the creative writing process assists in meeting the hierarchy levels of achievement. Solving problems, pushing boundaries, or developing something new is the heart of the creative writing process (Morris, 2009. ) When writing something from nothing more than a thought the writer needs to have faith in what he, or she is writing and believe in the final writing project. Additionally creative writing seeks an audience. In writing fiction the writer normally looks forward to his, or her work receiving feedback from peers, and enthusiastic responses from friends, and family. The need for certainty in an uncertain market is required. Creative writing, or creative arts of any sort require certainty in other areas such as home, relationships, or income assist in financially sustaining the writer throughout the creative writing process as he, or she work on the craft. Last on the humanistic theory of creativity hierarchy level of achievement is the need for time to cultivate the art of writing. Writers have to make choices in daily activities that allow for creative writing time to unfold. This means telling others no to activities, or completing chores early to allow time to write. Hierarchy levels of achievement are individualistic as pertains to the humanistic theory of creativity. Reference: V. Cassandro, and D. Simonton, (2011) Creativity and Genius. Retrieved from: www. nipissingu. ca/faculty/strange/courses/p2257/creativityandgenius. pdf. C. Morris, (2009) A Creative Person’s Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved from: www. journeyjuju. com/ /the-creative-person’s-hierarchy-of-needs. html Webill, K. (2011) Cognitive Creativity. Retrieved from: http://faculty. mercer. edu/spears_a/studentpages/creativity/cognitivecreativit