Creativity James C. Kaufman, Ph.D. Learning Research Institute California State University at San Bernardino.

Creativity

James C. Kaufman, Ph.D.

Learning Research Institute

California State University

at San Bernardino

What is Creativity?

The ability to produce work that is both novel…

What is Creativity?

15 + 18 =

What is Creativity?

The ability to produce work that is

BOTH

novel (i.e., original, unexpected)

AND

appropriate (i.e., useful, adaptive)

Some added distinctions

Some people distinguish between a

Creative Person,

like Mozart


the Creative

Process


a Creative

Product


and a Creative Environment

How creative are you?

Here’s a simple test that will shed some light on how creative you are.

I’m going to ask you a question. You will have two minutes to write down AS MANY DIFFERENT answers as you can.


Ready….?


Think of all of the different things that would happen if people did not need sleep. List as many as you can in the next three minutes.

How do we measure Creativity?

First, count how many responses you wrote down for each question. Simply count each one -- it doesn’t matter whether they are good or bad.


The number of items you’ve written downis called Fluency.


Second, divide up your responses into categories -- so for the “no sleep” item, saying “there would be no pillows” and “there would be no pajamas” would count as the same category. Find out how many different types of responses you had.


The number of categories that you have is called Flexibility.


Third, let’s look for the most original responses….


The degree to which your responses are unique is called originality.


Finally, consider the level of detail that you went into. How much information did you give for each answer?


This last one is called Elaboration.


How did folks do?

Improving Creativity!

• One of the biggest ways that creativity can be enhanced in the schools can be found in one word: Motivation.

Motivation

• One current theory argues there are two types of motivation:

Intrinsic

Extrinsic

Motivation

Intrinsic Motivation

People who are intrinsically motivated do something because they want to.

Motivation

Intrinsic Motivation

An activity is performed out of enjoyment of the activity.

Motivation

Extrinsic Motivation

The other type of motivation is extrinsic motivation.

Motivation


With extrinsic motivation, you are driven by an outside thing.

Motivation


You could be driven by a need for money…

Motivation


You could be driven by a need to be praised by your teacher…

Motivation


You could be driven by the need for good grades or winning an award.

Motivation

Neither intrinsic motivation or extrinsic motivation are inherently better.

It all depends on the situation, and what you want out of the situation.


If you want to improve creativity, however, intrinsic motivation tends to be associated with higher creativity.


What does this mean?

People who love what they do tend to be more creative.

This isn’t shocking.


To focus on intrinsic motivation and improve creativity:

• Being able to choose assignments• Not being overly evaluated or graded• Focus on making the task enjoyable


To minimize extrinsic motivation and improve creativity:

• Too many tangible rewards• Too much graded work• Many evaluations• Observed performance


Some other personal qualities associated with creativity include….

Tolerance for ambiguity

(Sensible) risk-taking

Being open to new experiences

Defying the crowd

Creativity: Why Bother?

We’ve made a lot of progress in measuring creativity and figuring out how to improve it. But there’s still a long way to go.


Sometimes, it can seem that no one fully agrees on what creativity is and how to measure it. It’s a lot quicker to look at personality and ability.

Why bother?


Although creativity is related to personality

and intelligence, it is its own separate

concept.


You can get more information about a student by not only giving them a personality measure and/or an ability measure but ALSO a creativity measure.


And unlike ability and achievement measures, there are no differences by ethnicity or gender. Everyone has the same capacity to be creative.


People who are creative….

Achieve more and receive more awards.



Are more likely to be successful in developing a business.



Are more likely to be in leadership positions as they advance at work.



Are more likely to persist in difficult situations.



Tend to be happier.

Future Directions

One of the long-range research projects I am working on (with Dr. Mark Agars) is seeing how creativity -- along with personality, thinking styles, motivation, and other variables -- is associated with school success in different areas and domains.

For More Information

Dr. James C. KaufmanDirector, Learning Research InstituteCalifornia State UniversityDepartment of Psychology5500 University ParkwaySan Bernardino, CA 92407USA

E-mail: [email protected]://psychology.csusb.edu/faculty/jkaufman/

Creativity James C. Kaufman, Ph.D. Learning Research Institute California State University at San Bernardino.

Documents

novel slide

adaptive slide

mozart slide

money slide

teacher slide

intrinsic extrinsic

creative process slide

creative product slide