Creativity An Introduction

The study of psychology is highly complex. In many areas of investigation, the more we learn, the more we realize just how much we don’t yet understand. Two especially ephemeral phenomena that have received a great deal of research attention are task motivation and creativity of performance (defined as a novel and useful solution to a problem or other open-ended task). Researchers and theorists have explored questions of motivation since the mid-1800s. And as far back as Plato (circa 400 bc), there have been discussions about the need for creativity and ways to foster its development. During the nineteenth century, one popular theory was that creativity was closely tied to madness. By the time of World War II, theorists had come to explore creativity from an aesthetic point of view. Shortly thereafter, the launching of Sputnik in the 1950s prompted a seismic change to the perspective of many researchers. Attention shifted to the physical sciences and engineering, and creativity came to be seen as a means for keeping up with international competition. This competitive theme is still alive and well today. Creativity researchers now devote much of their investigative efforts to business. Earlier work in this area concentrated primarily on the invention of new products, while more contemporary studies have tended to focus on creative management – techniques designed to boost innovation with an emphasis on how best to promote employees’ productivity and effectiveness. Along these same lines, a smaller group of investigators now concentrate on questions of how to promote creativity in the schools. In both the workplace and the classroom, theorists have come to understand that creative performance is very much tied to motivational orientation.