Lecture 2: Creativity Flashcards
Creativity
Ides or products that are:
Novel (original) –most important
Surprising (violates your expectations)
Useful
Creativity is contrasted w:
- replication, imitation, re-use
- routines, habits, traditions
Creative vs Non-creative in Music & Language
CREATIVE
Music: Jazz piano improv –chords, pitch, rhythm
Language: Poetry improv –words, noun phrases, syntax
- To be creative in one domain, requires diff things than in another
NON CREATIVE
Music: Play familiar piece
Language: Reciting familiar poem
Transition from non-creative to creative could be mediated by same domain-GENERAL processes
- internally domain-specific, but transition could be general
Functional vs Display Creativity Definitions
Functional creativity: novel but also useful (for solving problems)
* developing novel solutions to existing problems
Display creativity: novel for its own sake –artification
Functional Creativity
Problem Solving Cycle
1) Problem formulation
2) Solution formulation
3) Solution implementation
First step in creative work is problem finding (i.e., what is the problem that needs a solution)
1. Problems that find you (ex: COVID –didn’t ask for a pandemic)
2. Problems you find (ex: studying a specific topic in research of interest)
Creativity in increments
The vast majority of creativity is incremental.
It builds upon what came before.
“Making better”: making small improvements to existing products or ideas
This idea assumes that creativity is a modification of some existing product.
Geneplore model
“gen” =generation
“plore” =exploration
Problem formulation to solution formulation =generation
Solution formulation to solution implementation =exploration
Exploration is a process of selection; eliminate what doesn’t work
Creative work is driven by a core idea.
That idea is neither random nor fully formed.
It requires exploration.
What is the source of novel ideas?
Divergent thoughts come from divergent people (Psychotropic drugs, Mental Illness)
Insight Illumination =a Eureka moment
Analytical thinking
A new product follows from existing products
- Often a modification
- Being inspired by someone else’s work
- Following up on one’s own previous work
Phases of Creative Work (4)
Phase 1: Conception (generation)
- Toss around ideas and come up w/ core idea
Phase 2: Idea development
- Making sketches, diagrams
Phase 3: Production
- Experimentation, problem-solving, trouble-shooting
- Revision leads back to 2
- 2&3 =exploration
Phase 4: Completion
- Enters real world through exhibitions (once reach a level of confidence within your work)
Creativity/aesthetics cycle
Creativity=production (creator)–> aesthetics=perception (consumer/public)
- If ppl like it, give positive feedback to creator to create more
- If do not like it, then creator might decide on a diff path in the future
Creativity EX: project runway – designers create a dress for X
Aesthetics EX: Say yes to the dress –creation done, up to consumer to say this dress I love, this one I don’t
MAWA: Creators produce their work to appeal to some target audience.
Biological Evolution vs Cultural Evolution
- Variation –heritable variation in traits within species
- Selection acts like a funnel (which species are well adapted)
- Evolution: changes in frequencies in pops
- Variation –many choices in books available (people can make the choice, not nature like in biological)
- Selection –HP made into films and sold many copies, others will not
- Basket weaving book goes extinct whereas HP exists for generations
Cumulative Culture
Creators are responsible for variants
People aesthetics responses are source of selection
Cumulative Culture: comprised of the “winners” of cultural evolution, the products that have been transmitted
However, the success rate is extremely low.
The majority of creative products become extinct.
This is the reason why most creativity is based on incremental changes.
Large changes are unlikely to be adopted by consumers.
EX of Anti-creative behaviour
Conformity bias
Learning through imitation
Copying behaviour of people around you
- Biggest motivation is to be like everyone else
- Creative people are fringes of society
Learning through imitation: Learning by being a copyist
Imitating role models
Paradox of becoming a creator
Knowing enough to be a specialist ↔ Not being constrained by that knowledge
Modification
(mechanism of idea generation)
- Builds upon existing products
- Of other people’s products/one’s own previous products
- Based on analytical thinking
- An incremental change, such as a small improvement
- Occurs firmly within stylistic boundaries
- Sources of ideas: 1 type of source
