The Nature of Creativity
Contemporary Psychological Perspectives

This 1988 book provides sixteen chapters by acknowledged experts on the richness and diversity of psychological approaches to the study of creativity.

Robert J. Sternberg (Edited by)

9780521338929, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 27 May 1988

466 pages
23.4 x 15.6 x 2.4 cm, 0.65 kg

Originally published in 1988, this book provides sixteen chapters by acknowledged experts on the richness and diversity of psychological approaches to the study of creativity. Addressing various aspects and levels of analysis, together they constitute a broad survey of the understanding of what it is to be 'creative'. In the first part of The Nature of Creativity, the role of the environment is discussed. In the second part, the role of the individual is viewed - first from a psychometric perspective; and then from a cognitive or information-processing perspective. In the third part, the role of interaction between individual and environment is examined, first through studies of creative lives; and then through studies of creative systems. The final part consists of an integration and comparison of these various approaches to creativity. A broad audience of psychologists, educators, students and general readers will welcome this lively and thought-provoking investigation.

Preface
List of contributors
Introduction
Part I. The Role of the Environment in Creativity: 1. The conditions of creativity Beth A. Hennessey and Teresa M. Amabile
Part II. The Role of the Individual in Creativity
Section 1. Psychometric Approaches: 2. The nature of creativity as manifest in its testing E. Paul Torrance
3. Putting creativity to work Frank Barron
4. Various approaches to and definitions of creativity Calvin W. Taylor
Section 2. Cognitive Approaches: 5. A three-facet model of creativity Robert J. Sternberg
6. Problem solving and creativity Robert W. Weisberg
7. A computational model of scientific insight Pat Langley and Randolph Jones
8. Freedom and constraint in creativity Philip N. Johnson-Laird
9. Creativity as a mechanical process Roger C. Schank
Part III. The Role of the Individual-Environment Interaction in Creativity
Section 1. The Study of Creative Lives: 10. Inching our way up Mount Olympus: the evolving-systems approach to creative thinking Howard E. Gruber and Sara N. Davis
11. Creativity: dreams, insights and transformations David Henry Feldman
12. Creative lines and creative works: a synthetic scientific approach Howard Gardener
Section 2. The Study of Creative Systems: 13. Society, culture, and person: a systems view of creativity Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
14. Creativity and talent as learning Herbert J. Walberg
15. The possibility of invention D. N. Perkins
16. Creativity, leadership, and chance Dean Keith Simonton
Part IV. Integration and Conclusion: 17. What do we know about creativity? Twila Z. Tardiff and Robert J. Sternberg
Author index
Subject index.

Subject Areas: Psychology [JM]