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The Notion of Creativity Revisited: A Philosophical Perspective on Creativity Research

Creativity Research Journal, 2010

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Commentary on The Psychology of Creativity: A Critical Reading by Vlad P. Glăveanu

Creativity: Theories – Research – Applications, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 223-227., 2014

Glaveanu's (2014) article raises many interesting and important points about the nature and status of creativity research, with perhaps the most important being the need for "dialogue and collaboration" (p. 28). While I agree that there is much that could be done differently, and possibly better, I would stop short of claiming that "the psychology of creativity is close to a crisis" (p. 10). Nevertheless, like the recent special section on Replications in Psychology prompted by Makel's article in the journal Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts (Makel, 2014), wide-ranging discussion should be encouraged and supported. My own position in the debate is influenced by two facts. First, my creativity heritage, so to speak, is largely psychological in nature. Although not a psychologist, I came to the field through the tutelage of researchers embedded in the psychology of creativity, so that if Schools of Thought can be said to exist in creativity research, then I tend to see myself as a product of the Psychological School of Creativity. Second, my professional heritage is engineering. Where this influences my views on creativity is probably most strongly seen in my particular interest in practical applications of creativity. As an engineer, what concerns me mostand the question I most often have to address when talking to colleagues and potential engineering clients -is the "so what" of creativity. What value does it add to a discipline like engineering? Why should an engineering firm, or the engineering department of a University, for that matter, care about creativity?

Still the elusive definition of creativity

International Journal of Psychology: A …, 2008

Background, purpose. After examining construct limitations of well accepted definitions of creativity, it is possible to conclude that these definitions represent what can be designated as hetero-attributed creativity, to which the "little c" -"big C" continuum can be adapted; whereas the self-attributed construct, dealing with the criteria established by the person who creates, becomes limited to a continuous effort to improve and to interpret reality, to which the "little c" -"big C" continuum also applies, but in the self-perceived view. Creativity may be seen as the process of communication between the creator (or the product) and the audience (hetero-attributed), or between the creator and the product (self-attributed), while innovation seems more appropriate to designate the attribution made by the audience to the product. In the end creativity is proposed as a concept that people use in their implicit theories, reinforcing the need for the social scientist to be able to teach people to recognise and value forms of creativity that are outside a certain context, culture, or time, more than structuring and characterising what people already value as creative products.

Through the Looking Glass: Inside the World of Creativity Research

Creativity Research Journal, Vol. 27, No. 3, pp. 243-248, 2015

Arthur Cropley has been active in creativity research across a period of more than fifty years. His interest in creativity is rooted in educational psychology, and has touched on topics as diverse as intelligence, personality, lifelong learning, giftedness, biochemistry, educational technology, mental health and malevolent creativity. In this special issue of the Creativity Research Journal, readers will find a selection of papers from prominent creativity researchers, and former colleagues of Arthur Cropley, reflecting on his contributionsboth past and presentto the field of creativity research.