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An integrative introduction to the theories and themes in research on creativity, this book is both a reference work and text for courses in this burgeoning area of research. The book begins with a discussion of the theories of creativity (Person, Product, Process, Place), the general question of whether creativity is influenced by nature or nurture, what research has indicated of the personality and style of creative individuals from a personality analysis standpoint, how social context affects creativity, and then coverage of issues like gender differences, whether creativity can be enhanced, if creativity is related to poor mental or physical health, etc. The book contains boxes covering special interest items including one page biographies of famous creative individuals and activities for a group or individual to test and/or encourage creativity, as well as references to internet sites relating to creativity.

Creativity Across Domains: Faces of the Muse sorts through the sometimes-confusing theoretical diversity that domain specificity has spawned. It also brings together writers who have studied creative thinkers in different areas, such as the various arts, sciences, and communication/leadership. Each contributor explains what is known about the cognitive processes, ways of conceptualizing and solving problems, personality and motivational attributes, guiding metaphors, and work habits or styles that best characterize creative people within the domain he or she has investigated. In addition, this book features: *an examination of how creativity is similar and different in diverse domains; *chapters written by an expert on creativity in the domain about which he or she is writing; *a chapter on creativity in psychology which examines patterns of performance leading to creative eminence in different areas of psychology; and *a final chapter proposing a new theory of creativity--the Amusement Park Theoretical Model. This book appeals to creativity researchers and students of creativity; cognitive, education, social, and developmental psychologists; and educated laypeople interested in exploring their own creativity. Contents: J.C. Kaufman, J. Baer, Introduction: How People Think, Work, and Act Creatively in Diverse Domains. J. Piirto, The Creative Process in Poets. S.K. Perry, Flow and the Art of Fiction. R.K. Sawyer, Acting. E. Zimmerman, Should Creativity Be a Visual Arts Orphan? J.I. Morris, Creativity and Dance: A Call for Balance. M. Leman, Musical Creativity Research. G.J. Feist, Domain-Specific Creativity in the Physical Sciences. D.K. Simonton, Creativity in Psychology: On Becoming and Being a Great Psychologist. D. Saunders, P. Thagard, Creativity in Computer Science. D. Cropley, A. Cropley, Engineering Creativity: A Systems Concept of Functional Creativity. R.M. Milgram, N.L. Livne, Creativity as a General and a Domain-Specific Ability: The Domain of Mathematics as an Exemplar. M.D. Mumford, J.M. Strange, G.M. Scott, B.P. Gaddis, Creative Problem-Solving Skills in Leadership: Direction, Actions, and Reactions. J.R. Averill, Emotions as Mediators and as Products of Creative Activity. C.M. Ford, D.M. Sullivan, Selective Retention Processes That Create Tensions Between Novelty and Value in Business Domains. M. Basadur, Management: Synchronizing Different Kinds of Creativity. D. Ambrose, Creativity in Teaching: Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Dispositions. R.J. Sternberg, The Domain Generality Versus Specificity Debate: How Should It Be Posed? J.A. Plucker, The (Relatively) Generalist View of Creativity. J. Baer, J.C. Kaufman, Whence Creativity? Overlapping and Dual-Aspect Skills and Traits. J.C. Kaufman, J. Baer, The Amusement Park Theory of Creativity.

Margaret Boden presents a series of essays in which she explores the nature of creativity in a wide range of art forms. Creativity is the generation of novel, surprising, and valuable ideas. Boden identifies three forms of creativity (combinational, exploratory, and transformational) each eliciting a different form of surprise.

NEW EDITION, REVISED AND UPDATEDThe Power of Appreciative Inquiry describes the internationally embraced approach to organizational change that dramatically improves performance by engaging people to study, discuss, and build upon what's working – strengths – rather than trying to fix what's not. Diana Whitney and Amanda Trosten-Bloom, pioneers in the development and practice of Appreciative Inquiry (AI), provide a menu of eight results-oriented applications, along with case examples from a wide range of organizations to illustrate Appreciative Inquiry in action. A how-to book, this is the most authoritative and accessible guide to the newest ideas and practices in the field of Appreciative Inquiry since its inception in 1985.The second edition includes new examples, tools, and tips for using AI to create an enduring capacity for positive change, along with a totally new chapter on award-winning community applications of Appreciative Inquiry.

Rodin's sculpture \"The Thinker\" dominates our collective imagination as the purest representation of human inquiry--the lone, stoic thinker.But while the Western belief in individualism romanticizes this perception of the solitary creative process, the reality is that scientific and artistic forms emerge from the joint thinking, passionate.

This volume inquires into the nature of the creative process and, by paying close attention to the lives of various artists, poets, novelists and playwrights - and specific works of each - demonstrates an essential relationship between the two. It also shows that it is most difficult to delineate the nuances of the creative act by treating artists’ lives and works as separate entities. Emphasis is placed upon the effect of early trauma - such as object loss and various forms of deprivation - as a powerful unconscious motivating factor, and upon the dream and transitional object as facilitators of the creative effort; crucial adaptive goals being the attainment of symbolic restitution or reparation and the working through and mastery of intrapsychic conflicts.

The Creative Feminine and her Discontents, Psychotherapy, Art, and Destruction, is a look at creativity from a woman's perspective. By looking at artistic endeavour, mothering and psychotherapeutic relationships, Juliet Miller considers how a patriarchal world distorts the channels through which women discover their own creative voices. She argues that the dynamics of female creativity are more multi-layered and conflicted for women for a variety of historical, cultural and archetypal reasons and suggests that an attack on the creative feminine has been exacerbated by the history and teaching of psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. Miller looks to the artistic community to discover new ways for the creative feminine to grow and assesses how ideas of destruction and anarchy are crucial for the expression of a feminine self. The work of two contemporary sculptors, Cornelia Parker and Louise Bourgeois, is explored to show how there can be authentic relationships to creativity through the ideas of deconstruction and reconstruction in their work. This book will interest psychotherapists and analysts and both women and men interested in their own relationship to their creativity.

Today it seems we have the world at our fingertips. Thanks to smartphones and tools such as Google and Wikipedia, we're able feed any aspect of our curiosity instantly. But does this mean we are actually becoming more curious? Absolutely not. In Curious, Ian Leslie argues that true curiosity—the sustained quest for understanding that begets insight and innovation—is becoming increasingly difficult to harness in our wired world. We confuse ease of access to information with curiosity, and risk losing our ability to ask questions that extend our knowledge gap rather than merely filling it. Worst of all, this decline in curiosity has led to a decline in empathy and our ability to care about those around us. Combining the latest science with an urgent call to cultivate curious minds, Curious draws on psychology, social history, and popular culture to show that being deeply curious is our only hope when it comes to solving current crises—as well as an essential part of being human.

\"[Snider has] created something unique: a synthesis of comics, philosophy, and poetry: a thoughtful new way of packaging eternal ideas in cartoon boxes.\" -- The Los Angeles Review of Books What does an idea look like?And where do they come from?.