Creative abilities - what is it in psychology

The ability to be creative and create something new has always been highly valued in society. And it is not surprising, since people who have this gift are unique generators of the development of human civilization. But creativity also has subjective value. A person endowed with them creates the most comfortable conditions for existence, transforms the world, adapting it to his needs and interests.

It would seem that everything is simple: you need to actively develop these abilities. However, humanity has been struggling for hundreds of years with the question of what is the secret of creativity, what makes a person a creator.

What is the difference between creative abilities

In most foreign languages, one word is used to denote the concepts of “creativity” and “creativity” - “creation” (English), “creatividad” (Spanish), “creativität” (German), etc. Yet while closely related, they are different.

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The most important difference is that creativity is more closely related to intelligence, understood as ability or talent. If a person has creative abilities, then this is more likely due to dynamism or activity. Creative people are seen as more emotionally active, and creative people create more consciously.

Important! You can use the definition of creativity as potential, and creativity as its implementation.

Structure of creativity abilities

The entire creative potential in the aggregate that belongs to an individual, as well as the activities for its implementation, constitute a complex structure, divided into general and special abilities.

General Abilities

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This area examines a number of properties that characterize a person endowed with creative abilities. American psychologist Joy Paul Guilford, who made a huge contribution to the study of creativity, formulates them as follows:

• sensitivity to problems (quick identification);
• mental flexibility (the ability to adapt to all situations);
• the ability to analyze and synthesize (disintegrate structures and use them in new aggregates);
• ability to process a large number of related ideas.

Similarly, the most famous studies of creativity highlight cognitive and volitional indicators:

1. Cognitive indicators of creativity - a high degree of intelligence and a combination of information perception, intuition, imagination, abstraction and synthesis;
2. Volitional indicators of creative subjects - intellectual curiosity, dedication, internal motivation;
3. Others are tolerance for ambiguity, openness to new experiences, versatility, sensitivity, courage and persistence.

The role of special abilities

Important! If an individual has creative potential, it will be impossible to use it without possessing special abilities.

Thus, with the help of creative thinking alone, it is impossible to create real works of art or invent something new in science and technology. This requires developing skills in playing musical instruments, mastering various drawing and painting techniques, studying the exact sciences, etc. Then a person who is able to master this knowledge and skills will have the opportunity to create.

Goals and objectives of the course

In general, the topic of the development of creative thinking can be explored almost indefinitely, finding in it ever new facets and shades. Therefore, we will not try to find the “Holy Grail” for which everything was started, but will point out several, in our opinion, the most important goals worthy of painstaking work on the creative component of your mind.

So, developed creative thinking and imagination will allow you to :

Whatever goals you set for yourself, be it purely pragmatic things, such as advancing your career, obtaining a doctorate degree or developing your own business, or something “out of this world”, for example, finding the meaning of life, creating unique objects of art or writing a novel, creative thinking everywhere will only play into your hands and will allow you to get closer to your dream much faster.

However, before you begin to develop creative thinking and creativity, you need to understand what exactly they are. Therefore, we want to continue with a little conversation about the meaning put into these concepts.

Children's creativity

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A child has creative abilities when there is a correlation of three features:

1. The presence of special abilities: musical, artistic, cognitive, high intelligence;
2. High motivation: wants to do something, is interested in the world, willingly explores it and seeks answers to questions that bother him;
3. Creative thinking is the ability to search for new ideas. This involves creating situations that originate in the child's rich imagination.

Children's creativity

If parents want their child to strengthen and develop their talents, they should pay attention to preschool age.

Important! Preschool age is a period in which various talents appear. Their early recognition and development can bring impressive results and determine the future life of the baby.

The formation of ingenuity and natural creativity occurs at a young age, up to 5 years. In older children, there is a decrease in creative abilities, which are inhibited when not stimulated.

An intelligent, gifted preschooler may experience a steady decline in his skills as he enters school. Pedagogical mistakes consist in the fact that talented children are considered hyperactive or, conversely, aloof. This is because what interests peers may seem boring to them.

During adolescence, they also face boredom, which can lead to frustration with learning and poorer grades.

Important! The goal of pedagogy is to create conditions for maximum self-expression for such children, setting tasks in the classroom and for activities outside of school hours, taking into account their level.

Determining the presence of creativity

Children who have become adults, whose talents were not discovered in a timely manner, can try to discover their creative abilities and begin to develop them. This will help determine the area of ​​work in which a person will work with maximum efficiency, as well as choose a favorite hobby, and therefore improve the quality of life.

There are various tests that reveal creativity, but to assess the result you need to consult a psychologist. Only he can draw the right conclusion.

The main sign of having the ability to create is an interest in intellectual activity, when you want to do it without coercion.

There are three levels of such activity:

1. Stimulating and productive. A person is able to work productively, effectively performing the tasks assigned to him, but he does this under external influence (without internal need) and does not try to use new methods in his activities;
2. Heuristic. A person works within the framework of the proposed method of action, but at the same time tries to apply an original solution to individual problems, obeying internal impulses;
3. Creative. Here the person himself develops new methods of action and offers them to others. Moreover, he is unusually fascinated by the study of each emerging problem.

Creativity in a team

Using these criteria, you can determine who a person is: a source of ideas, or a creative person, someone who brings them to life and improves them, or a heuristician, or a practitioner who puts them into practice.

Not a made up story

My close friend Mikhail worked as an ordinary middle manager. He didn’t particularly like his work, but it brought income and was a kind of “duty.” Wood carving brought real joy to Misha's life. But he pursued his hobby from time to time, and there were no bright ideas for creating masterpieces.

Everything changed when my friend began to purposefully develop his creative streak! Inspiration came to him, and he created several amazing products at once. Now Mikhail is a woodcarver, in demand and successful!

Useful video on how to develop creative thinking:

How to develop creativity in adults

There are no limits to creativity; it extends to all aspects of life: science, art, economics, philosophy, personal relationships, etc. Therefore, many people are interested in how to develop creativity in themselves.

Development of creativity in adults

There are technologies that offer special exercises for the development of creative inclinations. Without describing them specifically, we can determine the areas of intellectual activity:

1. Give free rein to your imagination. Fantasy does not disappear, a person simply stops working with it. As an exercise, you can use semantic associations, or creating chains of words that are sequentially connected to one another (for example, car-highway-rain-wet, etc.). There is a place for humor, irony, and linguistic metaphors;
2. Openness to new things. You should not be afraid of experiments, original ideas, no matter how crazy they may seem. It is very useful to develop lateral thinking, when all aspects of a subject are simultaneously covered;
3. Engaging in monotonous activities (ironing, cleaning, driving, etc.), when the brain has time to generate ideas;
4. Constant learning. A creative person should read a lot, travel, and be curious.

All people are born with creative abilities, which can be stimulated or not. Like all human abilities, creativity can be developed and improved.

Important points

Developing a creative streak in yourself is not a simple or quick process. Self-confidence, desire, and hard work are essential components of success.

But there are other important points:

• listen to yourself, perhaps your intuition knows exactly how you can apply creative skills;
• try to find time, relax and think about what exactly you would like to do in life;
• The answer can be found in your childhood - remember what you loved to do, what brought you maximum pleasure, what was exciting?
• when you find your topic, start accumulating information and impressions - read about what you love, communicate with like-minded people, broaden your horizons;
• determine when the muse comes to you - in the morning or evening, before bed, or on a clear day;
• create, and be prepared for criticism, don’t be afraid of it - everyone has gone through this;
• Stress, fatigue and nervous tension can hinder creativity, so try to relax and forget about your problems.