The psychology of creativity is a young science that studies the creation of innovative solutions by a person in various spheres of life. Scientists have found out how creativity is related to IQ and age, and how you can develop creativity in yourself. This is an encouraging article that will surely be useful to many today.
Creativity includes everything that stands out against the background of everyday life: impressive literary works, enchanting paintings, inspiring music, original inventions, non-standard business ideas. We can also talk about creative achievements in everyday life. Creativity is everywhere where a person turns on the imagination, generates ideas, uses the environment, objects and circumstances in an unusual way.
For a long time, creativity was considered only from a philosophical point of view as a manifestation of the freedom of the human spirit, not connected with objective laws. Scientific interest in creativity as a psychological process woke up among researchers at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, psychiatrist Carl Jung, founder of Gestalt psychology Max Wertheimer made a great contribution to the study of creativity.
The psychology of creativity became an independent science in the middle of the 20th century, when many creative teams appeared and society faced the following questions: what motivates creative people, how to effectively manage creative activity? One of the founders of the psychology of creativity is the American psychologist Joy Gilford, who systematized this science. Modern psychology of creativity studies:
The nature of creativity.
The relationship of creativity with intelligence, emotions, motivation.
Factors that prevent creative people from generating ideas and creating innovative solutions.
Ways to develop creativity.
It is useful for each of us to explore the nature of creativity. Teaching the brain to search for non-standard solutions increases the value of a person as a specialist - the higher the creativity, the more original features any activity acquires. In addition, creative people are more adaptive: it is easier for them to cope with uncertainty, adapt to changing conditions of life, and find a way out of difficult situations.
Smart means creative?
In 1921, the American psychologist Lewis Theremin began the so-called California Longitude, a large-scale study of the relationship between intelligence and creativity, which continued until the end of the 20th century. The experimental group included more than 1,500 boys and girls aged 8-12 with an average IQ of 150 and excellent school performance. In parallel, a control group was formed. It consisted of children of the same age, but with a lower level of intelligence and school performance.
Over the next 30 years, Theremin took three IQ measurements of the participants in the experiment and tracked their achievements. After the death of the scientist in 1956, the study was continued by his colleagues. By 1950, 800 men from the experimental group had achieved significant success in the natural and exact sciences. They had 67 published books, 150 patents for inventions, degrees in philosophy, medicine, physics. These results were 30 times higher than those of the control group.
However, none of the experimental group showed themselves as the author of new and original ideas or products. Therefore, the researchers suggested that high intelligence is not a guarantee of creative success.
This prompted scientists to look for other qualities that cannot be assessed by an IQ test. They were found using the concept of creativity, which was worked on by Alice Torrance and Joy Gilford. According to these psychologists, thinking is divided into convergent and divergent. The first, linear, is aimed at finding one solution to the problem. In the second, a person looks for a solution in different directions, which leads to the emergence of innovative ideas.
Guilford considered divergent thinking to be the basis of creativity - the ability of a person to generate new ideas and original solutions. He singled out 6 parameters of creativity and developed tests for its diagnostics.
In the future, the concept of creativity was developed in the studies of Torrens. He created a theory of the threshold value, according to which the relationship between intelligence and creativity exists at a low level of their development, but is absent at higher levels. Today, this theory is being tested and refined by other researchers. Torrens also developed 12 creative thinking diagnostic tests, divided into verbal, visual and sound categories. Verbal tests - inventing unusual stories based on pictures, visual tests - creating original drawings, drawing unfinished figures, sound tests - transforming sounds heard into visual images, ideas.
How are creative activity and age related?
In the second half of the 20th century, a stereotype developed in society that creative success can only be achieved at a young age. This was facilitated by the work "Age and Achievement" by the American scientist Harvey Lehman. He analyzed hundreds of biographies of outstanding writers, artists, composers, mathematicians, chemists and found that the peak of creativity for most of them was 30–35 years old.
David Galenson, professor of economics at the University of Chicago, came to different conclusions. Having studied the biographies of many talented people, he concluded that the peak time of creativity depends on the psychological characteristics of a person. According to Galenson, all creative people can be divided into two groups;
Experimenters are in eternal creative search, they work by trial and error. Ambitious, poorly in control of emotions, prone to the throes of creativity.
Conceptualists generate clear ideas and set specific goals. More emotionally stable, enjoy work and are not prone to suffering.
Galenson believed that conceptualists reach their peak of creativity in their youth, while experimenters are more likely to reach it in old age.
The results of modern research vary. Some confirm Lehman's findings, others show that there are two peaks of creativity: the first occurs at 25-29 years old, the second - after 50 years.
According to psychologist Alexander Popel, creative success can be achieved in adulthood if a person has certain qualities:
openness to experience.
performance.
passion for your work.
lack of prejudices regarding the relationship between age and creativity.
Creative Thinking Techniques
All people from birth have a certain creative potential. For example, any kid is an experimenter and researcher in all areas of activity. His thinking is not limited by patterns, so he constantly creates some original solutions - paintings on wallpaper, houses made of chairs, pillows, blankets. As they grow older, many creative abilities weaken. Education at school, institute, educational influence on the part of parents and teachers forms our stereotyped thinking and behavior.
But at any age, creativity can be developed with the help of special techniques.
TRIZ
In the middle of the last century, the Soviet inventor, innovator and writer Heinrich Altshuller developed the theory of inventive problem solving (TRIZ), aimed at developing logic, creative thinking and imagination. The theory has found application not only in technical fields, but also in psychology, pedagogy, art, literature, and business.
The basis of TRIZ is 40 inventive techniques and 76 solution templates suitable for a wide range of problems. Some of them are used to develop creative thinking in children.
One of the most interesting TRIZ techniques is the “reverse” approach: you need to change the properties of the original object to the opposite ones or perform an action opposite to the logical one.
This technique was used by many creative people even before the advent of TRIZ. For example, Henry Ford, an American industrialist, business tycoon, and inventor, resorted to it. It was Ford who was the first to use the conveyor for the mass production of cars, and also figured out how to repair it profitably.
Ford had a constant feud with the repair crew that serviced the conveyors at his plant. Repairmen worked slowly and often engaged in sabotage - if the necessary part was not at hand, they replaced metal with wood, rubber with rags. As a result, the equipment was idle, Ford suffered losses.
The logical solution in this situation is the dismissal of repairmen. But Ford did the opposite: he created an area for them with soft sofas, a TV and began to pay for the time of rest. As soon as the factory conveyor failed, the salary ceased to accrue. This tactic proved to be beneficial both for production and financially.
The principle of the reverse effect can be used in any kind of creativity. For example, a classic drawing does not work out - transform it into a creative one:
Make the white snowman black.
Turn the item upside down.
Turn solid into fluid, as Salvador Dali did in the painting The Persistence of Memory.
Brainstorming, brainlining
A well-known researcher of creative thinking was Alex Osborne, an American manager, founder of the famous advertising agency BBDO.
As head of one of the branches of BBDO, Osborne faced the inability of employees to generate creative ideas. This prompted him to develop a brainstorming technique. He proposed to conduct collective generation of ideas in an informal setting and break this process into several stages:
A clear statement of the problem, setting one clear goal.
Generation of ideas without their analysis, reference to reality, criticism. At this stage, brainstorming participants say whatever comes to their mind. The more fantastic the idea and the more generated, the better.
Analysis, evaluation, criticism of the proposed ideas, selection of the best solution.
And Osborne's suggestion worked: the informal atmosphere and the principle of deferred evaluation allowed the team to come up with a lot of ideas. People shared their thoughts without fear of criticism from others, and fully revealed their creative potential
A modern modification of brainstorming is brainlining, or electronic brainstorming, which can be carried out in chats or video conferences. Some psychologists note that brainlining is more effective than standard brainstorming.
Mind map method.
British psychologist Tony Buzan's mind mapping method is called the "Swiss army knife of the brain" for its versatility. It develops associative thinking, memory, helps to generate ideas, and is suitable for solving diverse problems.
Even while studying at the university, Buzan noticed that students who, when taking notes, connect imagination and associative thinking, have better grades. Their notes were littered with some strange colored drawings and arrows. Buzan began to study this issue more deeply and found out that some geniuses used such a visual display of information - Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein.
Based on his observations, the scientist came up with the method of mind maps. The main idea is in the center of the map. Around it are important thoughts and categories, which can also be divided into sub-items until all the information is structured. Map objects are supplemented with associative images.
Associations are an important source of information. They “pull out” various, sometimes even unexpected, memories, images and thoughts from the depths of our memory, which significantly expand the scope of creative search.
Method 6 hats.
The 6 Hats Method was created by American psychologist Edward de Bono. It was based on the author's belief that the thinking of most people is one-sided and stereotypical, therefore, in order to learn how to generate ideas, you need to break the standard thought process. To do this, Bono suggested using thinking in six modes, each of which he metaphorically correlated with one of the colored hats:
White hat - definition of known and unknown facts.
Red hat - work with emotional associations, intuitive guesses.
Green hat - generating ideas without evaluating and analyzing them.
Black hat - evaluating ideas from the point of view of a critic, looking for their weaknesses.
Yellow hat - evaluating ideas from the point of view of an optimist, looking for their advantages.
Blue hat - setting goals at the beginning of a thought session and debriefing at the end.
In fact, the 6 hats method is a kind of brainstorming, only Osborne suggests dividing the thinking process into three stages, and Bono into six.
Dreams are a source of creative ideas.
We can find a creative solution in dreams too. History knows many facts when talented people made brilliant discoveries in a dream:
The Italian composer Giuseppe Tartini, after communicating with the devil in a dream, wrote the imperishable piece of music "Devil's Trill".
The German chemist Friedrich Kekule dreamed of the formula for the benzene ring.
Famous golfer Jack Nicklaus had a dream that allowed him to correct his golf swing.
The plot of the legendary action movie "Terminator" came to James Cameron in a feverish dream.
In 1993, American psychologist Deirdre Barrett conducted a study among students at Harvard Medical School. Before going to bed, she asked the participants to imagine a problem they couldn't handle.
As a result, half of the students reported that their dreams were related to problem solving. A quarter of the participants in the experiment were able to find a solution. More recent research has confirmed that sleep inspires insight and helps generate ideas.
Many people find it difficult to remember dreams. But "important" dreams always remain in the memory because of their emotionality, which means there is a chance to "pull out" the idea.
In 2016, psychologists from Colombia proved that keeping a dream diary helps to remember dreams. 125 students took part in their experiment. First, they took the Torrens test to assess creativity, and also told how well they remember dreams. The students were then randomly divided into two groups. Participants in the first group kept a daily dream diary, and those in the second group kept a journal of the previous day's events.
After 27 days, the researchers recorded that students from the first group remember dreams better, and also noted the development of their creative abilities.
3 factors that kill creativity.
Clinical studies prove that creativity alone is not enough for high creative activity. There are factors that negatively affect divergent thinking and cause creative crises.
Dominance of extrinsic motivation over intrinsic
The American psychologist T. Amebile writes in his book The Social Psychology of Creativity that intrinsic motivation is the basis of successful creativity. Intrinsic motivation is selfless enthusiasm, work for the sake of interest in the cause, which is accompanied by inspiration, joy, passion, as well as a state of “flow”, when a person loses the sense of time and plunges into creativity with his head.
Strong intrinsic motivation pushes you to move forward even in stressful situations. For example, it helps a person get out of a creative impasse. A person who is not motivated from within, in such a situation, falls into a stupor.
Of course, external motivation (salary, business reputation) is also important, especially if creativity is the main job. However, it should not be the main incentive. Self-development experts point out that an overweight towards extrinsic motivation destroys creativity.
If a person's work does not inspire, then he will not be able to create anything original, no matter how much money he is paid.
External motivation also includes the control of creativity by others. Often creative people work in teams where the execution of tasks is monitored by the authorities. Children's creativity can be controlled by parents, teachers. Rigid external control is incompatible with creativity. Psychologist T. Amabile in the course of research came to the following conclusions:
An individual and non-strict approach to the student by the teacher contributes to the development of his creativity.
The absence of authoritarian relations in the family, the upbringing of a child's sense of independence have a positive effect on his creative potential.
Non-rigid administrative control, encouraging the initiative of employees stimulate their creative work.
In 2018, Russian psychologists found that a creative person needs autonomy, individualism and independence to work successfully in a team. It is important for him to have freedom of action, the ability to independently plan work, to defend his ideas and views.
Perfectionism.
Perfectionism is a personality trait characterized by:
Striving for impeccability, high standards in all spheres of life. In creativity, a perfectionist strives for masterpiece perfection, finalizing every smallest detail a hundred times.
Too much focus on mistakes.
Aggressive perception of criticism.
If perfectionists do not achieve the ideal, then they experience the deepest stress, fall into depression.
Clinical studies show that perfectionism reduces creativity, creativity, and openness to experience. Conversely, setting realistic goals has a positive effect on creativity and mental health.
Anxiety.
Unlike fear, which has a very specific and conscious cause, anxiety is pointless and inexplicable. It increases the activity of the autonomic nervous system, which can lead to dizziness, rapid breathing, and palpitations.
Anxiety negatively affects not only health, but also creativity: it reduces motivation, creative productivity. Generalized anxiety disorder can kill creativity altogether. In this disease, persistent anxiety persists for weeks, months, or even years. Constant anxiety prevents the generation of ideas and worsens the quality of life - a person experiences rapid fatigue, irritability, absent-mindedness, and insomnia.
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