The lack of a universal definition of creativity has led to the assessment of creativity according to the definition favored by the evaluator. These assessments fall into four groups. The first centers around the concept of the creative product; it assesses a tangible event or relationship that results from the creative process, which is implied…

Author examines results of creativity and aptitude tests for subjects from early childhood through graduate student level, and concludes that creative production is directly related to information supply (or "knowledge-at-hand"), and that it is the structuring of this information that implies potential for creativity. (RW)

To gain a greater understanding of both imagery and creativity, either separately or as interacting processes, several areas must be addressed from an intrapersonal communication perspective: definitions of creativity, imagery, and imaging; the relationship between creativity and imagery; and language and imagery in creativity. A useful working…

The author discusses the phenomenon of incubation in creative problem solving, distinguishes it from "creative worrying" and "tip of the tongue" experiences, and reviews research to indicate a lack of evidence of incubation's existence in well-controlled studies. Note: For related information, see EC 120 232-238. (CL)

Findings indicated that, among college students, problem finding ability is independent of intelligence and field dependence. (Author/SBH)

General theories and process models of behavior are analyzed relative to vessels creative functioning, creativity is defined, and theoretical concepts for six phases of the creative process are presented. (MC)

Research on divergent thinking (mental activity directed to open-end problems for which there is no one correct answer) indicates that the characteristics associated with divergency (fluency of thinking, flexibility of thinking, originality, redefinition, and elaborating) are right brain functions. To assess right brain function and verbal…

Describes the Creative Studies Project, which proposes to increase the degree to which American education cultivates creative potential in our society. (Author/DR)

Describes research on creative processes, in which subjects were tested in a hypnotic experiment. (DR)

The author is concerned with the role of preconception in the process of creative thinking, and as a psychologist, he experimented to determine what variables influence creative thinking. In the process of experimentation, however, he began to feel that some specific preconceptions were warping his investigation and were detrimental to a useful…

The research attempted to determine if there are creative processes which are independent of intelligence, as generally measured, and to describe these processes. An original test battery was designed and administered to 102 college music majors. The subjects were separated into the categories of a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design by high or low…

Dream reports of highly creative male high school students were rated by clinical psychologists as exhibiting greater primary process thinking than the dream reports of matched controls; their dream protocols also included a significantly greater proportion of symbolism, condensations, and unusual combinations but a smaller proportion of…

What are creative people like? There is evidence that four personality traits appear to differentiate more creative from less creative people: devotion to work, independence, drive for originality, and flexibility. Creative people do not have higher intelligence quotients (IQs) or get better school grades than others--in fact, no cognitive…