There has been much empirical study in psychology and cognitive
science of the processes through which creativity occurs.
Incubation;
Incubation is a temporary break from creative
problem solving that can result in insight. There has been some empirical research looking
at whether, as the concept of "incubation" in Wallas' model implies,
a period of interruption or rest from a problem may aid creative
problem-solving. Ward lists various hypotheses that have been
advanced to explain why incubation may aid creative problem-solving, and notes
how some empirical evidence is consistent with the
hypothesis that incubation aids creative problem-solving in that it enables
"forgetting" of misleading clues. Absence of incubation may lead the
problem solver to become fixated on inappropriate strategies
of solving the problem. This work disputes the earlier hypothesis that
creative solutions to problems arise mysteriously from the unconscious mind
while the conscious mind is occupied on other tasks.
Convergent and divergent thinking;
J. P.
Guilford drew a distinction between convergent and divergent production (commonly
renamed convergent and divergent thinking). Convergent thinking involves aiming
for a single, correct solution to a problem, whereas divergent thinking
involves creative generation of multiple answers to a set problem. Divergent
thinking is sometimes used as a synonym for creativity in psychology
literature. Other researchers have occasionally used the terms flexible thinking or fluid intelligence, which
are roughly similar to (but not synonymous with) creativity
Creative cognition approach;
In 1992, Finke et al. proposed the
"Geneplore" model, in which creativity takes place in two phases: a
generative phase, where an individual constructs mental representations called
preinventive structures, and an exploratory phase where those structures are
used to come up with creative ideas. Some evidence shows that when people use
their imagination to develop new ideas, those ideas are heavily structured in
predictable ways by the properties of existing categories and concepts. Weisberg argued,
by contrast, that creativity only involves ordinary cognitive processes
yielding extraordinary results.
The Explicit-Implicit Interaction (EII) theory;
Helie and Sun recently proposed a unified
framework for understanding creativity in problem solving, namely the
Explicit-Implicit Interaction (EII) theory of creativity. This new theory
constitutes an attempt at providing a more unified explanation of relevant
phenomena (in part by reinterpreting/integrating various fragmentary existing
theories of incubation and insight).
The EII theory relies mainly on five basic principles, namely
1) The co-existence of and the difference between explicit and implicit
knowledge;
2) The simultaneous involvement of implicit and explicit processes in
most tasks;
3) The redundant representation of explicit and implicit knowledge;
4) The integration of the results of explicit and implicit processing;
and
5) The iterative (and possibly bidirectional) processing.
A computational implementation of the theory was
developed based on the CLARION cognitive architecture and
used to simulate relevant human data. This work represents an initial step in
the development of process-based theories of creativity encompassing
incubation, insight, and various other related phenomena.
Conceptual blending;
In The Act of Creation, Arthur
Koestler introduced the concept of bisociation—that creativity arises as a result of the
intersection of two quite different frames of reference. This idea was
later developed into conceptual blending. In the '90s, various approaches in
cognitive science that dealt with metaphor, analogy and structure mapping have
been converging, and a new integrative approach to the study of creativity in
science, art and humor has emerged under the label conceptual blending.
Honing theory;
Honing theory posits that creativity arises due to
the self-organizing, self-mending nature of a worldview, and that it is by way
of the creative process the individual hones (and re-hones) an integrated
worldview. Honing theory places equal emphasis on the externally visible
creative outcome and the internal cognitive restructuring brought about by the
creative process. Indeed one factor that distinguishes it from other theories
of creativity is that it focuses on not just restructuring as it pertains to the
conception of the task, but as it pertains to the worldview as a whole. When
faced with a creatively demanding task, there is an interaction between the
conception of the task and the worldview. The conception of the task changes
through interaction with the worldview, and the worldview changes through
interaction with the task. This interaction is reiterated until the task is
complete, at which point not only is the task conceived of differently, but the
worldview is subtly or drastically transformed. Thus another distinguishing
feature of honing theory is that the creative process reflects the natural
tendency of a worldview to attempt to resolve dissonance and seek internal
consistency amongst its components, whether they be ideas, attitudes, or bits of
knowledge; it mends itself as does a body when it has been injured.
Yet another central, distinguishing feature of
honing theory is the notion of a potentiality state. Honing theory posits
that creative thought proceeds not by searching through and randomly ‘mutating’
predefined possibilities, but by drawing upon associations that exist due to
overlap in the distributed neural cell assemblies that participate in the
encoding of experiences in memory. Midway through the creative process one may
have made associations between the current task and previous experiences, but
not yet disambiguated which aspects of those previous experiences are relevant
to the current task. Thus the creative idea may feel ‘half-baked’. It is at
that point that it can be said to be in a potentiality state, because how it
will actualize depends on the different internally or externally generated
contexts it interacts with.
Honing theory can account for many phenomena that
are not readily explained by other theories of creativity. For example,
creativity was commonly thought to be fostered by a supportive, nurturing,
trustworthy environment conducive to self-actualization. However, research
shows that creativity is actually associated with childhood adversity, which
would stimulate honing. Honing theory also makes several predictions that
differ from what would be predicted by other theories. For example, empirical
support has been obtained using analogy problem solving experiments for the
proposal that midway through the creative process one's mind is in a
potentiality state. Other experiments show that different works by the same
creator exhibit a recognizable style or 'voice', and that this same recognizable
quality even comes through in different creative outlets. This is not predicted
by theories of creativity that emphasize chance processes or the accumulation
of expertise, but it is predicted by honing theory, according to which personal
style reflects the creator's uniquely structured worldview. This theory has
been developed by Liane Gabora.
Everyday imaginative thought;
In everyday thought, people often spontaneously
imagine alternatives to reality when they think "if only...” Their counterfactual thinking is viewed as
an example of everyday creative processes. It has been proposed that the
creation of counterfactual alternatives to reality depends on similar cognitive
processes to rational thought.