Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- PART I INTRODUCTION
- PART II RELEVANT ABILITIES AND SKILLS
- 3 Is Success or Failure at Solving Complex Problems Related to Intellectual Ability?
- 4 Creativity: A Source of Difficulty in Problem Solving
- 5 Insights about Insightful Problem Solving
- 6 The Role of Working Memory in Problem Solving
- 7 Comprehension of Text in Problem Solving
- PART III STATES AND STRATEGIES
- PART IV CONCLUSION AND INTEGRATION
- Index
- References
4 - Creativity: A Source of Difficulty in Problem Solving
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- PART I INTRODUCTION
- PART II RELEVANT ABILITIES AND SKILLS
- 3 Is Success or Failure at Solving Complex Problems Related to Intellectual Ability?
- 4 Creativity: A Source of Difficulty in Problem Solving
- 5 Insights about Insightful Problem Solving
- 6 The Role of Working Memory in Problem Solving
- 7 Comprehension of Text in Problem Solving
- PART III STATES AND STRATEGIES
- PART IV CONCLUSION AND INTEGRATION
- Index
- References
Summary
Many problems can be solved by accessing stored knowledge or by applying pre-established, “algorithmic” procedures to reach a solution. Such problems are the bread and butter of problem solving; from kindergarten to the university, students accumulate a great deal of experience with these “canned” problems. Difficulties arise, however, when people need to solve problems that do not fit the mold, that require some innovative thinking. Guilford (1967) proposed that “real” problem solving involved actively seeking, constructing new ideas that fit with constraints imposed by a task or more generally by the environment. In other words, in most instances “real” problem solving involves creative thinking (see Mayer, 1983). One well-known example of an unpredictable yet vital problem that was solved successfully is illustrated by the epic return flight of the Apollo 13 space mission (King, 1997). Preserving the lives of the crew members required a cascade of operations, each involving creative thinking, as the explosion of the ship's main oxygen supply was not the kind of problem that the flight crew expected to encounter, and thus they had no specific training, no preestablished procedure to follow.
NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION
The world in which we live can be characterized as a rapidly evolving, technology- and information-oriented one in which creative problem solving skills are increasingly valued (Sternberg & Lubart, 1996).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Psychology of Problem Solving , pp. 127 - 148Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003
References
Amabile, T. M. (1983). The social psychology of creativity. New York: Springer Verlag
Amabile, T. M. (1996). Creativity in context. Boulder, CO: Westview
(1997). Entrepreneurial creativity through motivational synergy. Journal of Creative Behavior, 31(1), 18–26CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baer, J. (1991). Creativity and divergent thinking: A task-specific approach. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
(1998). Gender differences in the effects of extrinsic motivation on creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 32(1), 18–37CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, & (1981). Creativity, intelligence, and personality. Annual Review of Psychology, 32, 439–476CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1998). Understanding, measuring, and enhancing individual creative problem-solving efforts. Creativity Research Journal, 11(2), 123–150CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, & (1980). Theories of the creative process: A review and a perspective. Journal of Creative Behavior, 14(2), 91–103CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1985). A general abstract-concrete model of creative thinking. Journal of Creative Behavior, 19(2), 104–109CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, & (1999). Creative problem solving and problem finding in young adults: Interconnections with stress, hassles, and coping abilities. Journal of Creative Behavior, 33(3), 167–190CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cattell, R. B., Eber, H. W., & Tatsuoka, M. M. (1970). The handbook for the Sixteen Personality Factor (16PF) Questionnaire. Champaign, IL: Institute for Personality and Ability Testing
, , & (1992). Modeling artistic creativity: An empirical study. Journal of Creative Behavior, 26(2), 83–94CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collins, M. A., & Amabile, T. M. (1999). Motivation and creativity. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 297–312). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
, , & (1996). Evidence to support the componential model of creativity: Secondary analyses of three studies. Creativity Research Journal, 9(4), 385–389CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1996). Recognizing creative potential: An evaluation of the usefulness of creativity tests. High Ability Studies, 7(2), 203–219CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1999). Creativity and cognition: Producing effective novelty. Roeper Review, 21(4), 253–260CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1988). Society, culture, and person: A systems view of creativity. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), The nature of creativity: Contemporary psychological perspectives (pp. 325–339). New York: Cambridge University Press
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1999). Implications of a systems perspective for the study of creativity. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 313–335). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
, & (1984). The role of insight in intellectual giftedness. Gifted Child Quarterly, 28, 58–64CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, & (1997). Characteristics of an organizational environment which stimulate and inhibit creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 31(4), 271–281CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, & (1970). Identification of creativity: The individual. Psychological Bulletin, 73, 55–73CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
, & (1991). Personality consistency: Eminent architects 25 years later. Creativity Research Journal, 4(3), 213–231CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1994). The cognitive spiral: Creative thinking and cognitive processing. Journal of Creative Behavior, 28(4), 275–290CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, & (1997). Can salient reward increase creative performance without reducing intrinsic creative interest? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(3), 652–663CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
, & (1996). Detrimental effects of reward: Reality or myth? American Psychologist, 51(11), 1153–1166CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
, & (1998). Reward, intrinsic interest, and creativity: New findings. American Psychologist, 53(6), 676–679CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1994). Creativity and personality: Word association, origence, and psychoticism. Creativity Research Journal, 7(2), 209–216CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eysenck, H. J. (1995). Genius: The natural history of creativity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Eysenck, H. J., & Eysenck, S. B. G. (1975). Manual of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. London: Hodder & Stoughton
(1998). A meta-analysis of personality in scientific and artistic creativity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2(4), 290–309CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feist, G. J. (1999). The influence of personality on artistic and scientific creativity. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 273–296). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
(1995). Creativity: A knowledge base, metacognitive skills, and personality factors. Journal of Creative Behavior, 29(4), 255–268CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feldman, D. H., Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Gardner, H. (1994). Changing the world: A framework for the study of creativity. Westport, CT: Praeger
Finke, R. A., Ward, T. B., & Smith, S. M. (1992). Creative cognition: Theory, research, and applications. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
Frensch, P. A., & Sternberg, R. J. (1989). Expertise and intelligent thinking: When is it worse to know better? In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Advances in the psychology of human intelligence (Vol. 5, pp. 157–188). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum
, , & (1996). Promoting children's creativity: Effects of competition, self-esteem, and immunization. Creativity Research Journal, 9(4), 339–346CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, & (2000). An emotional-experiential perspective on creative symbolic-metaphorical processes. Consciousness & Emotion, 1(2), 89–118CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, & (2001). Psychologie, economie et créativité: Exploration de leurs interactions [Psychology, economics and creativity: Exploration of their interactions]. Psychologie Française, 46(4), 365–378Google Scholar
Getzels, J., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1976). The creative vision: A longitudinal study of problem-finding in art. New York: Wiley-Interscience
, & (1975). A comparison of problem-solving processes of creative students and noncreative students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 67(4), 495–505CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
(1996). Creativity and the quantum: A unified theory of creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 9(1), 47–61CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gough, H. G. (1987). California Psychological Inventory: Administrators' guide. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press
(1966). A measurement of creativity in western civilization. American Anthropologist, 68, 1384–1417CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , & (1998). Are some cognitive styles more creatively productive than others? Journal of Creative Behavior, 32(2), 77–91CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guilford, J. P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill
(1999). A longitudinal study of creative personality in women. Creativity Research Journal, 12(2), 89–101CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, & (1998). Reward, intrinsic motivation, and creativity. American Psychologist, 53(6), 674–675CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , & (1989). Immunizing children against the negative effects of reward. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 14, 212–227CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, & (1993). Immunizing children against the negative effects of reward: A further examination of intrinsic motivation training techniques. Creativity Research Journal, 6, 297–308CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1962). Creative processes in painting. Journal of General Psychology, 67(2), 251–263CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
(1977a). Middle Tennessee teachers' perception of ideal pupils. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 44, 803–806CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1977b). Student teachers' perceptions of ideal pupils. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 44, 160CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1997). Creativity and breadth of attention. Creativity Research Journal, 10(4), 303–315CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1997). Apollo 13 creativity: In-the-box innovation. Journal of Creative Behavior, 31(4), 299–308CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lubart, T. I. (1994). Product-centered self-evaluation and the creative process. Unpublished doctoral Dissertation, Yale University, New Haven, CT
Lubart, T. I. (1999a). Componential models. In M. A. Runco & S. R. Pritsker (Eds.), Encyclopedia of creativity (Vol. 1, pp. 295–300). New York: Academic Press
Lubart, T. I. (1999b). Creativity across cultures. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 339–350). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
(2000–2001). Models of the creative process: Past, present and future. Creativity Research Journal, 13(3–4), 295–308CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, & (1997). Emotion, metaphor, and the creative process. Creativity Research Journal, 10, 285–301CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lubart, T. I., & Sternberg, R. J. (1995). An investment approach to creativity: Theory and data. In S. M. Smith, T. B. Ward, & R. A. Finke (Eds.), The creative cognition approach (pp. 271–302). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
(1962). The nature and nurture of creative talent. American Psychologist, 17, 484–495CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , & (1991). Analogical transfer and expertise in legal reasoning. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 48(2), 272–290CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1995). Cognitive styles and experience in solving insight problems: Replication and extension. Creativity Research Journal, 8, 291–298CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1997). The construct of cognitive style and its implications for creativity. High Ability Studies, 8(2), 135–158CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martinsen, O., & Kaufmann, G. (1999). Cognitive style and creativity. In M. A. Runco & S. R. Pritsker (Eds.), Encyclopedia of creativity (Vol. 1, pp. 273–282). New York: Academic Press
Mayer, R. (1999). Problem solving. In M. A. Runco & S. R. Pritzker (Eds.), Encyclopedia of creativity (Vol. 2, pp. 437–447). New York: Academic Press
Mayer, R. E. (1983). Thinking, problem solving, cognition. New York: Freeman
(1962). The associative basis of the creative process. Psychological Review, 69, 220–232CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
, & (1996). Goal structures in creative motivation. Journal of Creative Behavior, 30(2), 77–104CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mouchiroud, C., & Lubart, T. I. (2000). The development of social creativity: Analysis of its specificity in children. Paper presented at the XVIth Biennal Meeting of the International Society for the Study of Behavioural Development, Beijing, China
, & (2002). Social creativity: A cross-sectional study of 6- to 11-year-old children. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 26(1), 60–69CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , , & (1997). Process-based measures of creative problem-solving skills: V. Category combination. Creativity Research Journal, 10(1), 59–71CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , & (1993). Personality variables and problem-construction activities: An exploratory investigation. Creativity Research Journal, 6(4), 365–389CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, & (1988). Creativity syndrome: Integration, application, and innovation. Psychological Bulletin, 103(1), 27–43CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , , & (1991). Process analytic models of creative capacities. Creativity Research Journal, 4(2), 91–122CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , , , & (1997). Process-based measures of creative problem-solving skills: V. Overall prediction. Creativity Research Journal, 10(1), 73–85CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1996). Progression in the service of the ego, cognitive styles, and creative thinking. Creativity Research Journal, 9, 369–383CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ochse, R. (1990). Before the gates of excellence. New York: Cambridge University Press
Osborn, A. F. (1953). Applied imagination. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons
, & (2000–2001). An empirical study of intuition and creativity. Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 20(3), 217–230CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1994). The origins of endogenous growth. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8, 3–22CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1996). The Janusian process in scientific creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 9(2–3), 207–231CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1987). The generality of creative performance in gifted and non-gifted children. Gifted Child Quarterly, 31, 121–125CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, & (1995). Cognition and creativity. Educational Psychology Review, 7(3), 243–267CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Runco, M. A., & Dow, G. (1999). Problem finding. In M. A. Runco & S. R. Pritsker (Eds.), Encyclopedia of creativity (Vol. 2, pp. 433–435). New York: Academic Press
, , & (1998). Personal explicit theories of creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 32(1), 1–17CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , & (1998). Looking inside the fishbowl of creativity: Verbal and behavioral predictors of creative performance. Creativity Research Journal, 11(3), 243–263CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, & (1997). Competition and creative performance: Effects of competitor presence and visibility. Creativity Research Journal, 10(4), 337–345CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simonton, D. K. (1984). Genius, creativity, and leadership. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Simonton, D. K. (1988). Creativity, leadership, and chance. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), The nature of creativity: Contemporary psychological perspectives (pp. 386–426). New York: Cambridge University Press
Stein, M. I. (1974). Stimulating creativity: Individual procedures. New York: Academic Press
Sternberg, R. J. (1985). Beyond IQ: A triarchic theory of human intelligence. New York: Cambridge University Press
Sternberg, R. J. (1997). Thinking styles. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
(1999). A propulsion model of types of creative contribution. Review of General Psychology, 3(2), 83–100CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., & Davidson, J. E. (Eds.). (1995). The nature of insight. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
, & (1991). An investment theory of creativity and its development. Human Development, 34, 1–31CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., & Lubart, T. I. (1995). Defying the crowd: Cultivating creativity in a culture of conformity. New York: Free Press
Sternberg, R. J., & O'Hara, L. A. (1999). Creativity and intelligence. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 251–272). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Taylor, I. A. (1959). The nature of the creative process. In P. Smith (Ed.), Creativity: An examination of the creative process (pp. 51–82). New York: Hastings House Publishers
, , & (1974). A note on “instant creativity” at CPSI. Journal of Creative Behavior, 8(3), 208–210CrossRefGoogle Scholar
, , & (1997). Influences of organizational culture and climate on individual creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 31(1), 27–41CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Torrance, E. P. (1975). Ideal Child Checklist. Athens, GA: Georgia Studies of Creative Behavior
Wallas, G. (1926). The art of thought. New York: Harcourt, Brace
Ward, T. B., Smith, S. M., & Finke, R. A. (1999). Creative cognition. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 189–212). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Weisberg, R. W. (1999). Creativity and knowledge: A challenge to theories. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of creativity (pp. 226–250). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
(1998). Expertise as mental set: The effects of domain knowledge in creative problem solving. Memory and Cognition, 26(4), 716–730CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Witkin, H. A., Dyk, R., Faterson, H. F., Goodenough, D. R., & Karp, S. A. (1962). Psychological differentiation. New York: Wiley
, & (1990). An interactionist model of creative behavior. Journal of Creative Behavior, 24(4), 279–291CrossRefGoogle Scholar
- 20
- Cited by