Creativity 0: A Beginner's Intro to Nearly All of Creativity Theory & Practice (original) (raw)

This article presents a model of 42 models of creativity from the research literature. Weaknesses in the last five years of research journal publishings on creativity are then specified and understood with reference to this model of models. A new model of creativity--a garbage can type model--called the "Four Cycle Model"--that corrects certain, but not all, weaknesses in that research literature including well-known models by Amabile, Simonton, Sternberg, Martindale, Gruber, Runco, and others is presented. Thirteen types of variables are included in this new model: long-term background variable types (culture, socio-economics, self type), creation variable types (mental fluency and association breadth, subcreations, creativity processes, creation dynamics, question finding dynamics, creative output), audience variable types (audience hot topics), short term background variable types (career, environment, workstyle). Of these thirteen, subcreations plays the linchpin role, in various ways. Four feedbacks are explicitly modeled: one, creative outputs change long term background variables of the creator which in turn change creative outputs; two, creative outputs change short term variables of the society which in turn change creative outputs; three, creative intermediate outputs change questions pursued by the creator which determine creation process steps done which specify creation functions applied which change creative outputs; and four, mental flexibility and breadth of association achieved change subcreations invented, which, in turn, change mental flexibility and association breadth possible. The Four Cycles Model, that this paper presents, includes seven other models of creativity within it, explained in this article: the subcreations model, insight model, creation dynamics model, question finding dynamics model, darwinian systems model, culture mix model, and population automaton model. 303 variables affecting creativity are encompassed in these models. The Four Cycle Model also includes models of other long-term and short-term background aspects that influence creativity (culture, self image, workstyle, career dynamics, work environment, and social processes). A 44 page creativity questionnaire produced from this model is attached as an appendix. A stratified sample of 63 creator types in Japanese society is presented as the target population the questionnaire is being administered to now and over the next few years. Hypotheses and research questions derived from the 4 cycle model are summarized at the end of the article.