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The Psychology of Creativity

The Psychology of Creativity
Looking for inspiration? Start with PsyBlog’s articles on the science of creativity. Here’s a deceptively simple question: if we all have the potential to be creative, why is it so hard? Part of the problem is that so little attention is paid to the psychological research on creativity. If we can harness what scientists already know about creativity, we can propel ourselves to new heights of achievement. Creativity isn’t just for artists, we all need it—at home, in our relationships and, for many of us, at work. For many of us, then, our incomes rely on our creativity. Collected below are recent PsyBlog articles which explore how to be creative: Image credit: Faith Goble

Konferenz-Kritzeleien: Kreative zeichnen Sterne, Egomanen ihren Namen - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten - KarriereSPIEGEL Ob Informatiker, Pfarrer oder Neurologe: Bei öden Meetings greifen alle gern zum Stift. Was sie da kritzeln, wissen die Nebenbei-Zeichner oft selbst nicht genau. Sechs Bürokünstler zeigen ihre schönsten Werke - und Psychologen verraten, wie man sie deuten kann. Kritzeln kann beim Lernen helfen. Der Medieninformatiker fühlt sich bestätigt: "Wenn ich aus dem Fenster gucke, schweifen die Gedanken ab, wenn ich zeichne, kriege ich alles mit." Schon bevor er das Fachblatt hinter sich wusste, gründete Laumer auf Facebook die Seite Sitzungskunst, als kleine Galerie für Nebenbei-Zeichner. Samuraischwert oder Tablett-Förderband? 24 eigene Zeichnungen stellte er zunähst auf die Seite, bei manchen ist er selbst nicht sicher, was sie darstellen: Güterzug, Armband oder Samuraischwert? Laumer begann, Kritzelbilder von Freunden und Kollegen zu sammeln, die Ersten brachten ihre Bilder ungefragt vorbei. Georg Franzen beschäftigt sich beruflich mit der Deutung von Kritzelbildern.

Creativity for the Cautious The mysterious connection between need for structure and creativity. Do you like surprises? If you do, it may surprise you to learn that a lot of other people don’t. Our natural ability (or lack thereof) to deal with surprising situations and the uncertainty they generate may have an important role to play in our creativity. Psychologists call our natural way of dealing with uncertainty ‘personal need for structure’. Take a couple of social situations as examples. Throughout the evening the social structure of the situation is just like every other time you’ve visited a restaurant. The rituals are comforting. But let’s imagine we mess with this situation. And it turns out the whole things is free, sort of: apparently everyone is coming around to your place next Saturday and expects the same treatment. What kind of a weird restaurant has this system? The point is that those with a high personal need for structure would find the dinner-party-style restaurant highly uncomfortable.

ServiceArchitecturau (@patrickdupont) sur Twitter Get Anyone to Like You – Instantly – Guaranteed Get anyone to like you - Instantly - Guaranteed If you want people to like you, make them feel good about themselves. This golden rule of friendship works every time - guaranteed! The principle is straightforward. If I meet you and make you feel good about yourself, you will like me and seek every opportunity to see me again to reconstitute the same good feeling you felt the first time we met. The simple communication techniques that follow will help you keep the focus of the conversation on the person you are talking to and make them feel good about themselves. The Big Three Our brains continually scan the environment for friend or foe signals. Eyebrow Flash The eyebrow flash is a quick up and down movement of the eyebrows. Head Tilt The head tilt is a slight tilt of the head to one side or the other. Smile A smile sends the message "I like you." Empathic Statements Empathic statements keep the focus on the other person. Example 1 George : I've been really busy this week. Example 2 Flattery

Write oder Die: Online-Drillmaster für Schreibfaule und Unkonzentrierte Die Blogger und Journalisten unter euch dürfte das Szenario vertraut vorkommen: Das Thema für einen Artikel ist gefunden, die Recherche ist abgeschlossen, die Schreibarbeit beginnt – und dauert mal wieder viel länger als geplant. Mal stört das klingelnde Telefon die Konzentration, ein anderes Mal lenkt eine eingehende Mail oder eine Messenger-Nachricht von der Arbeit ab. Wer da nicht über eine gesunde Selbstdisziplin verfügt oder einen Chef hat, der einem in leicht erhöhter Lautstärke aufmunternd gemeinte Worte zuruft – bei dem sinkt die “Investierte Zeit-erreichtes Ergebnis”-Kurve schnell ab und die auf den Artikel verbratene Zeit übersteigt flux ein gesundes Maß. Anzeige Doch für diese armen Schreiberlinge gibt es nun eine Lösung: Write or Die. Ich hab das mal ausprobiert und mich für die moderaten Einstellungen entschieden. Probierts mal aus, ich bin gespannt auf euer Feedback. (Marek Hoffmann) Via: Ohgizmo Social Media Abgelegt unter: Geschäftsidee

How to be Creative Trying to make connections? Here are seven more research-based techniques to increase creativity. “Creativity can solve almost any problem. The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality overcomes everything.” ~George Lois Following on from a previous article on how to be creative, which had a tremendous response, here are another 7 techniques for breaking through a creative block. 1. Conjuring up what might have been gives a powerful boost to creativity. Markman et al. (2007) found that using counterfactuals (what might have happened but didn’t) sometimes doubled people’s creativity. Analytical problems are best tackled with a subtractive mind-set: thinking about what could have been taken away from the situation.Expansive problems benefited most from an additive counterfactual mind-set: thinking about what could have been added to the situation. 2. People solve many problems analogically: by recalling a similar old one and applying the same, or similar solution. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

10 reasons Architects probably won't fix it 10 reasons Architects probably won’t fix it 1. Architects are not leaders In fact, we wait to follow. Architecture is a service profession. 2. We are losing (or have already lost) our position in the public conscience. 3. Think about the number of existing buildings in your town. 4. Architects are just a small part of the team required to realize a complex building. 5. Architects value design above everything else. 6. We create beauty and purity. 7. We are obsessed with the newest, most creative, most innovative and far-flung version of awesomeness the latest firm du jour is building somewhere overseas. 8. At a conference last week, the keynote speaker showed a graph of innovation in American business. 9. Architects are almost universally admired. 10. It’s been over 2 years since the economic crash of 2009 and Architects have done almost nothing to effect change. and, can I borrow a dollar? { coffee with an architect } Written as a follow-up to “10 Reasons Architects can fix it“

201 Ways to Arouse Your Creativity Arouse your creativity Electric flesh-arrows … traversing the body. A rainbow of color strikes the eyelids. Creativity is like sex. I know, I know. The people I speak of are writers. Below, I’ve exposed some of their secret tips, methods, and techniques. Now, lie back, relax and take pleasure in these 201 provocative ways to arouse your creativity. Great hacks from Merlin Mann of 43 Folders

» Game Design ist ‚kinderleicht’ - spielbar.de – Beurteilungen von Computerspielen Kinder und Jugendliche stecken voller kreativer Ideen. Statt Computerspiele lediglich zu konsumieren, produzieren sie immer häufiger ihre eigenen digitalen Geschichten. Vorkenntnisse, zum Beispiel in der Programmierung, bedarf es dank spezieller Software mittlerweile kaum noch. Bild: Sissy’s Magical Ponycorn Adventure Von Anne Sauer (Redaktion spielbar.de) Am Anfang steht die Idee Ein kleines Mädchen namens Sissy begibt sich auf eine abenteuerliche Suche nach den sogenannten ‚Ponycorns’ – Fantasiewesen, halb Pony und halb Einhorn (eng. Klingt in „Gamer-Ohren“ zunächst wenig ungewöhnlich. Kodu, Scratch & Co erleichtern die Umsetzung Sissy’s Magical Ponicorn beweist einmal mehr wie viel kreatives Potential in Kindern und Jugendlichen steckt. Programme, mit denen sich Computerspiele erstellen lassen, gibt es einige. Für Fortgeschrittenere ist Scratch möglicherweise eine Alternative. Natürlich besteht auch die Möglichkeit unabhängig von Kodu oder Scratch eigene Computerspiele zu erstellen.

10 easy ways to instantly energize your creative powers Whether you’re a freelancer or employee, being a successful copywriter has a lot to do with your creativity. Creative thinking helps you solve problems, overcome obstacles, and find new and better ways to use your skills in a productive and financially rewarding way. You don’t think you have creative abilities? Nonsense. Everyone is creative to some degree. So it’s not a matter of “becoming” creative. Learn your craft. Get off auto pilot. Loosen up. Stop avoiding failure. Focus on important problems. Find new uses for old ideas. Learn about the creative process. Keep your head clear. Break down false barriers. Set the conditions you need to create. Are you starting to feel more creative? Here’s a little assignment to help this good feeling continue: Every day do something different. Over my desk, I have a little sign that reads, “Do one thing different.” Try these ideas and you’ll find yourself seeing things differently. Related posts: Smart Comments

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