The standard definition of creativity (original) (raw)
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Creativity Research Journal, 2012
The scientific study of creativity has proven a difficult undertaking. Researchers have employed a diversity of definitions and measurement methods. As a result, creativity research is underrepresented in the literature and the findings of different studies often prove difficult to draw into a coherent body of understanding. A heuristic framework to explicate the different methods by which creativity may be studied forms the basis of this article. Drawing upon existing conceptions of the creativity construct and previous efforts to provide structure to creativity research, the new taxonomic framework examines creativity from 3 primary perspectives in the form of a 3-dimensional matrix. The implications of the taxonomic framework for creativity research are examined. The new taxonomic framework contributes to the understanding of creativity research through the introduction of a comprehensive heuristic to guide future research and the interpretation of previous studies.
Needed Research on the Measurement of Creativity*
The Journal of Creative Behavior, 1972
Although the volume of literature on creativity has increased very rapidly since the early 1950's, there are many difficult problems which have not been solved. Central among these difficulties-perhaps because of its pervasiveness-is the issue of assessing creativity. How can we recognize creativity? Can we identify creative behavior and creative potential with confidence and accuracy? By what standards will individual or group differences be described, or the effects of training programs be documented? These are practical questions which, in their simplest form, say, "How can creativity be assessed?" The purposes of this paper are, therefore, to review briefly and selectively some major issues concerning the assessment of creativity, to identify theoretical and methodological issues in the study of creativity, and to examine the areas in which research is needed. In dealing with problems of psychological measurement or assessment, three general categories may be employed: validity, reliability, and usability. This paper has been divided into three major sections, corresponding to these categories i within each, major problems and research needs will be identified. VALIDITY Among our several concerns in assessing creativity, perhaps none is more important or more complex than validity. The question of whether or not some measure of creativity "really" It Many of the ideas in this article are presented in greater detaU in a report of the Creativity Task Force (E. Paul Torrance, Chairman) of a project on the Critical Appraisal of Research in the Personality-Emotions-Motit1ation Domain, directed by S. B. Sells and supported by the U. S. Office of Education.