Psychology of creativity

In theoretical terms, creativity is a complex object of study, included in the subject of many sciences. For psychology, the concept of creativity is one of the central topics. This is due to the fact that practically all mental processes manifest in various forms in his acts: cognitive, affective, volitional. The practical significance of the topic is growing for the reason that at the present stage of development in connection with the transformation of the nature of labor, the role of creativity in human life is constantly increasing. ^[four]

Antiquity

For ancient philosophers, creativity appeared in two forms: as divine - the act of the birth of space and as human - art, craft. Aristotle denied the divine act of creation, arguing that creativity is the creation of a new and unique one. Plato said that the ability to create is subject to contemplation ^[5] .

XIX — XX centuries

The psychology of creativity appeared at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, while not yet being a separate sphere of knowledge, it considered a certain side of creativity. The data sources were biographies, autobiographies, and literary works. Scientists have summarized the material and highlighted the types of creativity, the quality of the creative personality, the phases of the creative process, described the nature of creativity. The development of experimental psychology has influenced the ways of studying the psychology of creativity. Active methods of obtaining initial data began to be used. Psychologists used such methods as questioning, interviewing, and conducted experimental research. Thus, creativity was studied from different angles. The psychology of creativity has turned into a conglomerate of knowledge, it included psychological, philosophical, aesthetic, technical and other ideas. ^[6]

Scientific and technological revolution

The conditions for a new stage in the development of the psychology of scientific creativity arose in the situation of the scientific and technological revolution, when the need for effective management of creative activity, primarily in science and technology, grew substantially. A request appeared in society: it was necessary to grow creative workers, stimulate their creative success, create conditions for motivation, and form creative teams. In response to this need, a separate direction has emerged that studies scientific and technical creativity. In 1950, the American psychologist D. Guildford invited his colleagues in the association to expand research in the field of psychology of creativity. However, the knowledge that appeared in the field of psychology of creativity, could not satisfy the task. There were many studies that were not systemic, which provoked a decrease in the effectiveness of activities. An abundance of work went beyond the scope of their generalization. ^[6]

Foundations of creativity in accordance with the directions of deep psychology

The psychology of creativity of psychoanalysis , the initial direction of deep psychology created by Z. Freud , considers two main aspects: motivation and unconscious components of creativity. According to Freud, the motives of creativity are associated with Eros (attraction to life) and are derived from sexual drives. Creativity is the result of the sublimation of sexual energy in socially acceptable forms of activity, including creative, creative. According to Z. Freud, the unconscious is "the most creative part of the psyche." ^[7]

C. Jung, the founder of analytical psychology , singled out two principles in a person - personal and creative, which can be in antagonistic relations ^[8] . He argued that the archetypes of the collective unconscious are full of embryos for future mental situations, new thoughts, creative discoveries. They are sources of creative inspiration.

According to E. Neumann , the unconscious has a creative function, which creates its forms spontaneously, in much the same way as nature does, which - from an atom and a crystal to organic life and planetary systems - spontaneously creates forms that can impress a person with their beauty.

The archetypes of the collective unconscious are initially formless structures that take on a visible shape in art. ^[9]

According to E. Neumann, a huge number of writers and artists are dominated by the archetype of the mother, the prevalence of which is a symbol of the decisive value of the archetypal world as a whole, an influence that can reach the biopsychic level. In this case, the determining factor in the dominance of the archetype of the mother is the relationship with the mother, in which is the ego of the child, and not the adult. ^[10]

The founder of individual psychology A. Adler believed that each person initially possesses creative power, thanks to which he can control his own life. His compensatory theory of creativity considers science, art and other areas of culture as a way of compensating a person for his shortcomings. ^[7]

Gestalt Creativity Theory

From the standpoint of Gestalt psychology, creativity is a “closure” in the process of thinking of disparate facts as a whole, bringing into interaction individual fragments of knowledge stored in memory, which leads to insight. ^{[7] The} representative of Gestalpsychology M. Wertheimer studied creative thinking. Based on the developed method of "reasoning out loud" in dialogue with the experimenter, he studied the stages of thinking. In the context of Gestalt psychology research, the following fruitful concepts were introduced into scientific circulation: “problem situation”, “insight”, “productive thinking”, “centered structure”, “re-centering” ^[11] . M. Wertheimer, in conversations with A. Einstein, investigated and interpreted the role of associations in the creative thinking of a physicist using a description of his theory of relativity . It was not possible to correlate the creative process with the creative product. In his opinion, the creative activity of the subject is hidden behind the emergence of new ideas not only in physics, but also in psychology. ^[12]

Cognitive Theory of Creativity

J. Kelly regarded creativity as an alternative to the commonplace. He developed the theory of creativity and a creative personality, describing for the first time alternative hypothetical thinking. According to J. Kelly, life is a creative research process ^[7] . According to his position, the personality is a unique system of constructs that it uses to interpret life experience, to create its own model of the world ^[11] .

Humanist Theory

A. Maslow considered creativity as a universal function of a person, which helps him in self-expression. In his opinion, creativity is inherent and does not require special talents. C. Rogers regarded creativity as a universal phenomenon, he believed that life itself and the perception of the world is a creative act. ^[7] He defined creativity as creating a new product through action ^[8] .

Theory of Development of a Creative Person

The author of the theory is G.S. Altshuller . He believed that creativity was not talent, but human nature. Creativity is realized in intellectual and spiritual activity. Every person has creative abilities, in order for them to open, the necessary conditions for their implementation. The main thing is to create motivation for creativity and master the technology of creative labor. The main way to develop a creative personality is self-improvement. ^[7]

According to the definition of Ya. A. Ponomarev, creativity in the broad sense of the word is any interaction leading to development; it is a development mechanism. “Creativity is a necessary condition for the development of matter, the formation of its new forms, with the emergence of which the very forms of creativity change. Human creativity is only one of these forms ” ^[13] .

The works of Ya. A. Ponomarev are not only of general psychological significance, but also of general scientific significance. The study of the scientific heritage of Ya. A. Ponomarev allows us to identify the main "cornerstones" of his theory:

• the discovery of the fact of heterogeneity of the result of human action: the allocation in it of direct (conscious) and side (unconscious) products of activity, the identification of the psychological mechanism of intuition ;
• the doctrine of the psychological mechanism of creativity (and behavior) and its central link - the internal plan of action (VPD), or, what is the same thing - the ability to act in the mind (SPU);
• first, the discovery of the principle, and then the universal general psychological law of EUS ("stages-levels-steps") - the law of transforming the stages of the development of the system into the structural levels of its organization and the stages of further developing interactions;
• theory of stages (types) of development of psychological (scientific) knowledge ^[14] .

The phenomenon of heterogeneity of the result of an action

In his student years, Ya. A. Ponomarev made his first discovery, having studied the influence of clues on problem solving (“Four Points”), he discovered the phenomenon of heterogeneity of the result of human action. According to the scientist, the basis of the creative process is an intuitive mechanism, which is determined by the duality of the result of activity. One part of the result of the activity corresponds to a consciously set goal and is called a direct product, and the other, obtained in addition to conscious intent, is a by-product. An unconscious, by-product of an activity can lead to an unconscious decision called intuitive. The features of this solution are the presence of a sensory image, the integrity and unconsciousness of the method of obtaining ^[8] . The fact that the result of a person’s action is heterogeneous, that is, the presence of consciously (associated with the work of logic) and unconscious (associated with the work of intuition) products of activity, allows us to talk about the role of the interaction of logical and intuitive experience in a single process of creative thinking. This fact prompted Y. A. Ponomarev to develop ideas about the logical mechanism of the relationship of interaction and development ^[14] .

Ya. A. Ponomarev distinguishes between logical and intuitive experience. Based on the experiments, the scientist made the following conclusions:

• there is a certain layer of human experience that is not available for an arbitrary request from the subject, but it really exists, which can be seen if you find an adequate key to it;
• the key to intuitive experience is at the level of action, that is, a person can show his intuition by trying to do some action. Then intuitive experience can manifest itself, leading the subject along, directing his hand;
• the formation of logical and intuitive experience occurs in action. What relates to the purpose of the action forms a conscious, logical experience. But intuitive experience is formed in addition to the conscious purpose of the action ^[15] .

Research on the internal action plan

For many years, Ya. A. Ponomarev studied the mental development of children. The theory of mental development that he developed was based on the idea that the essence of thinking is to create mental models and act with them. The success of such actions, according to Ya. A. Ponomarev, depends on the level of development of the internal action plan. The term "ability to act in the mind" was later used. According to the scientist, this ability is the central link in the psychological mechanism of creativity and human behavior in general ^[14] .

“The internal plan of action, or the ability to act in the mind, is undoubtedly a key condition for the development of specific mental abilities for a person ..” ^[6]

Stages of the creative process

According to Ya. A. Ponamarev, in the history of the psychology of creativity, the classical problem of the phases of the creative process, their classification and interpretation is investigated. After working on the book “Psychology of Creative Thinking”, Y. A. Ponomarev “again met with the problem of the stages (phases, stages) of the creative process”. ^[6]

In his works, the scientist investigated and analyzed the works of T. Ribot , B. A. Lezin, P. K. Engelmeyer , A. M. Bloch, F. Yu. Levinson-Lessing , G. Wallace. The classifications proposed by different authors differ from each other, but in their general form they have approximately the following contents:

• the first stage (conscious work) - preparation - a special active state, efforts, collection and processing of information related to the problem being solved in the field of consciousness, accumulation of knowledge, skills on the problem and their storage in memory, which is a prerequisite for an intuitive glimpse of a new idea, providing initiation processes for solving the problem in the unconscious;
• the second stage (unconscious work) - maturation - work on the problem of unconscious, intuitive processes, incubation of the guiding idea;
• the third stage (the transition of the unconscious to consciousness) - inspiration, insight - a breakthrough of the result of unconscious work into the sphere of consciousness of an idea, principle of invention, discovery, initially in a hypothetical form;
• the fourth stage (conscious work) is the development of the idea, its final completion, design and verification ^[16] .

The first classification of the stages of the creative process is characteristic of the earliest period of the psychology of creativity. In a later period, characteristics of sensual shades, mentions of unconscious work are less common. The classification takes the following form:

• awareness of the problem (occurrence of the problem, understanding of the facts available, posing the question);
• solving a problem (developing a hypothesis, developing a solution, opening a principle, developing a judgment fixing a solution);
• decision verification. ^[6]

According to Ya. A. Ponomarev, the first type of classification is more psychological. In turn, the second type of classification appeared as a result of the refusal to search for mechanisms of unconscious work, as well as the refusal to recognize it as a fact.

EUS Law

A series of experimental studies of the creative thinking of an adult and the mental development of a child and a comparison of the results led Ya. A. Ponomarev to discover first the principle, and then the universal law of ESM (“stages-levels-steps”). According to this law, the stages of the ontogenetic development of the psychological mechanism of thinking turn into structural levels of organization of this mechanism and then appear as functional steps to solve creative problems or any problems in new situations for a person. The structural-level concept developed by Ya. A. Ponomarev allows one to compare the structure of phenomena, objects and their evolutionary progress. The principle of ESM, originally related to creative thinking and creativity, has become the universal law of ESM, which means the “bipolar” world and consists in the unity and struggle of opposites. Such psychological phenomena as logic and intuition, rational and emotional, conscious and unconscious products of activity, the external and internal plan of activity are natural, are included in this system ^[14] .

Types of knowledge about the psychology of creativity

Ya. A. Ponomarev singled out three types of knowledge about the psychology of creativity that arose on the basis of its provisions on the stages of development of the epistemological mechanism of psychological knowledge:

• first type of knowledge: contemplative explanatory (syncretic);
• the second type of knowledge: empirical (multidimensional);
• third type of knowledge: efficiently transforming (systemic). ^[6]

The contemplative-explanatory type of knowledge is characterized by the fact that when producing knowledge of this type, the researcher does not intentionally interfere with the course of the events studied, he captures and describes them. In the psychology of creativity, contemplative knowledge grows out of practice, everyday experience, literary works, etc., they systematize everything that is available to every member of society. The empirical type of knowledge differs from the first type of knowledge, first of all, with an experienced approach that meets one or another practical need. At this level, an analysis of the various sides of the studied phenomena takes place, a lot of criteria are distinguished by which the analysis is built. An efficiently transforming type of knowledge is necessary for ordering and systematizing empirical multidimensionality. This type of knowledge is based on the principle of interaction, which is based on a structural-level theory. ^[6]

“I verified the correctness of extrapolating the provisions on the stages of the development of the psychological mechanism of individual cognition to the field of public cognition, as well as the idea of ​​the epistemological mechanism of the psychology of creativity that was successfully built on this basis, finally convinced me of the special significance of my discovery (identifying the similarity of the forms of steps in solving a creative problem to the forms of ontogenesis stages) ability to act in the mind). ” ^[6]

Based on the conceptual framework of the general law of ESM and ideas about the three types of knowledge about the psychology of creativity, Ya. A. Ponomarev was engaged in the study and development of problems in the history of the psychology of creativity.

Exploring the nature of creativity

Creativity, as Ya. A. Ponomarev writes, is an extremely diverse concept ^[7] In his research on the nature of creativity, Ya. A. Ponomarev identifies three approaches, noting that each of them encounters a number of difficulties during its development. In the first approach, creativity is seen as the activity of a person creating new values ​​of social significance. In the second approach, creativity is associated with human activities aimed at self-expression, self-actualization of personality. According to the third approach, creativity is considered as a process of solving problems. An analysis of the content of the foundations of the psychology of creativity (the nature of the psychic and the nature of creativity) leads to the following points. ^[6]

“Creativity appears as a unity of interaction and development - as a developing interaction; superimposing in this understanding on the concept of the law of ESM, it reveals itself as the general mechanism of motion. This understanding of creativity has a logical limit - it applies to all forms of movement. " ^[6]

Based on the concept of Ya. A. Ponomarev, a potential subject of the psychology of creativity may be a system of interaction between the subject and the subject (object) ^[6] .

• Psychology of art
• Creation
• Ponomarev Yakov Alexandrovich
• Methods of inventive creativity

MODERN RESEARCH OF INTELLIGENCE AND CREATIVITY / Ed. A. L. Zhuravleva , D. V. Ushakova , M. A. Kholodnoy . - M.: Publishing House "Institute of Psychology RAS", 2015. - 303 p.