Creativity

Meaning, Creative personality, Motivation &

Creativity, Some common blocks

What is creativity ?
Creativity is the discovery of something novel which
can be useful, relevant, economical, elegant or
valuable.
Creativity is all about divergent thinking. It includes
wide search or exploration, leaps of imagination,
incubation, sometimes strikingly fresh insight.
Abraham Maslow has identified creativity with
openness in expressing feelings, receptivity to ideas,
concern for others, desire to grow as a person and
actualize ones potential

Convergent Vs. Divergent Thinking

In convergent thinking, information leads to one right
answer or to one right answer or to recognized best or
conventional answer.
Divergent thinking leads to variety of responses as you
are allowed to think in different directions.
how many uses are there of a tea spoon?
What poem could be written with the title Future of the
Past?

Both the thinking are important.

While DT brings in ideas CT helps in categorization,
logical thinking, analysis, comparing, evaluation etc.

Are Intelligent people more creative?

Research suggest that those who are high IQ
scores are not necessarily creative and vice
versa
Intelligence- convergent thinking
Creativity- divergent thinking
No more than one in 10,000 may be
exceptionally creative and intelligent

Creative Abilities
Fluency- ability to come up with a number of
solutions
Flexibility-to respond to a problem from a variety
of viewpoints, to use a variety of approaches in
problem solving
Originality-the ability to come up with unusual
but appropriate responses
The ability to notice the unexplained, the
unsatisfactory or the incongruence

 The ability to go to the roots of a phenomenon

by unraveling its causes and equally to visualize
its consequences.
The ability to elaborate on a theme
These abilities are not generally found in equal
measure in the same individual

Determinants of Creativity
Genetic inheritance
Francis Galton studied 300 families containing
nearly a 1000 eminent persons. Of these eminent
persons, 31% had an eminent father, 41% an
eminent brother,48 % an eminent son versus 3%
an eminent great grand father, 13 % an eminent
first cousin and 14% an eminent grandson
Personality
Nature of organization/ institution

 Values and practices of the culture in which the person

lives
In societies which are open, democratic, reward merit
and so forth there is a far greater likelihood of the right
individuals getting into positions of power and
responsibility to respond innovatively to challenges.
A society/ community/organization is likely to be
innovative, if It faces a challenging environment
If it has a culture that is open, democratic and
meritocratic
Its management is well designed both for innovation and
for implementation of innovations.

The Creative Personality

Model of creative personality
Acquire or
strengthen
traits
creative
persons
have

Strengthen
motivation
to create,
grow,
contribute

Fears and
disabilities
that
impede
creativity

Potential to
be creative
in many
aspects of
life

Traits congenial to creativity

Hunger for knowing ( curiosity, intellectual
interests, interest in causes of things, interest in
behaviour)
Sensitivity- responsiveness to fine and delicate
things, enjoyment of interesting people,
emotional sensitivity, aesthetic sensitivity
Complexity- intuitive ability, visionary, unusual
ideas, feelings of depression, guilt, conflict;
contrary traits

 Entrepreneurship-calculated risk taking; starting

ventures on own; attempting difficult tasks,
striking out on own
Independence and courage questions
established order; courage of convictions;
independence of judgment and ideas; open
expression of feelings ; assertiveness

 Reality contact- search for constraints; crisis

management; flexibility; adjustability;
fantasizing without reality loss
Self- sufficiency- preoccupation with tasks;
confidence in ones abilities; striving for distant
goals; persistence

Diary Note
Which Personality traits you want to develop
and why?

Motivational Dimensions

Hedonism (M)
Career success motivation(M)
Creativity motivation ( S)
Power & authority motivation(M)
Self actualization Motivation(S)
Affiliation motivation (M)
Altruism motivation (S)
Security motivation( W)

 Hedonism- it means the need to gratify ones

sensibilities and enjoy good things in life.
Career success motivation-too great a concern
for it can lead to the neglect of possibilities other
than those directly useful in ones work.
Creativity motivation

65 and above- very high

55-64-high
45-54-moderate
35-44- low
Below 35-very low

Diary Note
Personal Strategy for Changing Motivation

1. Which of your motives need strengthening &

why?
2. Which of your motives need weakening & why?
3. What forces are currently constraining the
motive that needs strengthening? Identify the
forces within you and as well as outside you
that are resisting a strengthening of this motive.
4. List down the ways of decreasing the strength of
the undesirable motives.

Some common blocks

Allergy to ambiguity
Conformity ( fear of flouting social norms and
social approval)
Fear of failure
Touchiness ( fear of humiliation and rejection)
Resource myopic
Rigidity ( stereotyping, dogmatism, functional
fixedness)
Starved sensibilities

Diary Note
Personal Strategy for overcoming Key Blocks
to Creativity
What are my main blocks to creative
functioning?
How do I know that they exist?
Recall of some incidents during which I felt
especially blocked.
What can I do myself to overcome these blocks?
My programme of action to overcome the blocks
during the next one month.