Week3-TheCreativePerson.pdf

The Creative
Person

So far we have…

• Discussed what creativity is

• Looked at some historical and psychological perspectives

What is creativity?

There is no “one size fits all”
definition of creativity

Creativity must be assessed
based on the situational
characteristics (Gabora 2013)

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

http://people-equation.com/why-one-size-recognition-doesnt-work/one-size-does-not-fit-all/

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/

The 4 Ps of
Creativity

Person

Process

Product

Press

The Creative Person’s Personality

What is personality?

A person’s typical/consistent way of thinking feeling
and acting

What is a personality trait?

A relatively stable, consistent, and enduring internal
characteristic that is deduced from a pattern of
behaviors, attitudes, feelings, and habits in the
individual.

Culmination of Creative Characteristics (Taylor, 1961)

Studies of Air Force and NASA scientists and on reports in the three (1955,
1957, 1959) University of Utah research conferences on the identification of
Creative Scientific Talent.

In the three conferences, 37 different nationally- selected participants
presented a total of nearly 50 research reports, covering various sub-areas
such as criteria of creativity, predictors of creativity, education and training of
creativity, and working environments that affect creativity

Research Findings on Creative Characteristics –
Intellectual Characteristics (Taylor, 1961)

Originality Redefinition Adaptive
flexibility

Spontaneous
flexibility

Fluency of
associations

Fluency of
expressions

Fluency of
ideas

Fluency of
words

Elaboration

Motivational Characteristics

Intellectual persistence Liking to think Liking to manipulate and toy with ideas
Need for recognition for

achievement

Need for variety Need for autonomy
Preference for complex
and for challenges

therein
Tolerance of ambiguity

Resistance to closing up
and crystallizing things
prematurely coupled

with a strong need for
ultimate closure,

Need for mastery of a
problem,

A need to improve upon
currently accepted

systems.

High energy with vast
output through

disciplined work habits is
usually found.

Personality Characteristics

Creative persons
are more devoted to

autonomy
More self-sufficient

More independent in
judgment (contrary

to group agreement,
if needed, to be

accurate)

More open to the
irrational in
themselves

More stable

More capable of
taking greater risks

in the hope for
greater gains,

More interested in
unconventional

careers

More dominant and
self assertive

More complex as a
person More self accepting

More resourceful
and adventurous

More radical
(Bohemian)

More controlling of
their own behavior

by self concept

More emotionally
sensitive

More introverted,
but bold.

Qualities of the creative mind

• Dacey’s (1989) list is constructed around eight qualities of the creative mind, including
tolerance for ambiguity, flexibility, androgyny (uninhibited by gender stereotypes), and
delay of gratification

• Feist (1999) categorized more than 100 references comparing artists and non-artists,
scientists and non-scientists. His list, distinguishing “creatives” from “non-creatives,”
included imagination, impulsivity, lack of conscientiousness, anxiety, emotional
sensitivity, ambition, norm-doubting, hostility, aloofness, unfriendliness, lack of warmth,
dominance, arrogance, and autonomy

• Bruner (1973) called it “connectedness,” a blending of apparent opposites and
contradictions. Creative individuals present an array of “paradoxes.” They are relaxed
but attentive, confident but humble, disinterested but selfish, detached but involved,
constructive but discontented, mindless but perceptive, convergent and divergent, and
able to delay closure but able to stay with a decision once made (McMullen, 1976).

The Paradox of the Creative Person

Big Five Personality (OCEAN)

Openness to
experience

(imaginative vs.
down to earth;

variety vs. routine)

Conscientiousness
(organized vs.
disorganized)

Extraversion (eg.
Sociable vs. not,
affectionate vs.

reserved)

Agreeableness (eg.
Soft-hearted vs.

ruthless; trusting v.
suspicious)

Neuroticism (eg.
Worried v. calm;

insecure v. secure)

Openness to
Experience
Openness to experience:

Single strongest and most consistent personality trait that predicts creative
achievement

In particular the Big Five Personality trait of Openness to Experience has been
positively correlated with a variety of measures of Creativity, e.g. Divergent
thinking (DeYoung, 2015; Kaufman et al, 2016)

3 major types of cognitive engagement making up the core of openness:

1. Intellectual engagement: an interest in searching for truth; a love of problem
solving; a drive to engage with ideas

associated with creative achievement in the sciences

2. Affective engagement: wanting to explore the full depths of human emotion; a
preference for using gut feeling, emotions, empathy, and

compassion to make decisions

3. Aesthetic engagement: exhibiting a drive toward exploring fantasy and art; a
tendency to experience emotional absorption in beauty affective and aesthetic
engagement linked with artistic creativity.

Creativity and Madness

The creative
individual
summarized

Treffinger et al. (2002), drawing from over
100 articles, described four patterns of
abilities, dispositions, styles, and personal
characteristics. The creative individual:

– Generates ideas (using divergent and
metaphorical thinking)

– “Digs more deeply” into ideas (using
convergent and critical thinking)

– Is open to and has the courage to
explore ideas

– To a greater degree, is willing to listen
to his or her inner voice.

CREATIVE ACTIVITY