What is creative thinking
Creativity is inventiveness, entrepreneurship, fresh ideas, untrodden paths, great solutions, a sharp mind, and a quick willingness to generate alternative ways to solve problems.
This is the process of achieving any goal in a non-standard way. The ability to see new ways, methods and ideas. Even where, it would seem, everything has been explored. A creative approach to decision making leads to new discoveries and phenomena. Its development “removes blinders” and opens up new facets of thinking.
The right hemisphere of the brain is responsible for creative thinking. It does not subject thoughts to logic and analysis, it produces only images. Therefore, with proper flexibility, it produces fresh ideas easily and without excessive effort.
Torrens test
One of the most popular diagnostic tools for determining the level of creative thinking is the Torrance test. It is strongly not recommended to do it yourself. This is a specific psychodiagnostic tool that requires a professional approach, especially when interpreting the results. Therefore, it is better to seek help from a specialized specialist. The development presented below is for informational purposes only.
Author: Alice Paul Torrance (1915-2003) - American psychologist.
Full name: “P. Torrance Test of Creative Thinking.”
Diagnosed age: preschool, 6-7 years. There are more complicated versions of the test, which can be carried out between 8 and 20 years.
The main task: to determine the level of creativity.
Test conditions:
- You cannot change a single word in the test, add or remove any pictures.
- Strictly adhere to the time limit allotted for completing tasks - no more than 45 minutes, including explanations and reading instructions.
- Before conducting the test, you need to create a calm, favorable atmosphere.
- Among preschoolers, the test is carried out individually.
- Adults should explain in detail to children all incomprehensible points.
Pictures for the test:
Verbal thinking
Fine creative thinking
Verbal-sound creative thinking
Interpretation of results
Each task is assessed according to the following criteria:
The test results are processed exclusively by a professional psychologist who has undergone special training. On their basis, a conclusion is drawn about the general level of development of creative thinking in a child, as well as the degree of formation of its verbal, visual and verbal-sound subtypes.
Features of creative thinking
A creative person is distinguished by:
- desire to find non-trivial solutions to problems
- the ability to see something new in the ordinary, to use familiar things differently
- the ability to change the focus of attention from a familiar point of view to a new one
- willingness to generate ideas in any environment, even if it does not contain sources of inspiration
The value of creative thinking has grown incredibly over the past few years. If previously the ability to think outside the box was associated mainly with the responsibilities of creative agencies, now the range of uses of creativity has expanded greatly.
Where to use creative thinking
- Advertising. And it’s not just advertising agencies. The ability to stand out is needed by large and small companies, independent experts who launch their own products.
- Creation. Writing, drawing, dancing, filming and any other creative expression require a special approach. The result should be captivating and stand out among its peers. An author with a high level of creativity freely expresses inner impulses. Surely you are familiar with the state when a thought is spinning in your head, but you cannot express it. With creative thinking, creative implementation does not cause difficulties.
- Business. Business development is a constant journey and hundreds of decisions need to be made. It is impossible to launch and relax while reaping the benefits. The constant search for new ways of development, steps, strategies, getting out of a dead end and scaling accompanies the ability to think creatively. Is it at a high level? The company is developing more intensively and is visible to customers.
- Blogging. There is such a definition - USP - a unique selling proposition. It concerns not only companies, but also every person working for the audience. The ability to stand out among competitors is the main task. The audience loves a non-standard approach, and the ability to think differently than everyone else is responsible for thinking it through.
And here you can read the amazing story of a very creative and creative person who launched an online photography school.
Turn even the most boring things into interesting things
Stimulating cognitive activity is perhaps the most important task of any teacher, but it is no less important to maintain this level. Routine presentation of material can negate all efforts made earlier and completely discourage a child from learning new things.
That is why it is so important to make the learning process as interesting as possible. Imagination and creative thinking are the best helpers in this.
Children should always have the opportunity to express their own point of view, to demonstrate the angle from which they see a particular situation. This can happen not only directly during the lesson, but also when doing tests or independent work. In literature, for example, essays on non-standard topics are great for this. Most often, teachers invite their students to write a work in which the main character is a minor character of the work being studied.
In mathematics, this can be an unusual way of presenting material. Fractions, for example, can be studied using tangerine slices as an example. The formation of creative thinking in this case occurs through the use of a clear example and increased interest in what is being studied.
What prevents you from developing creativity?
- Someone else's assessment. What will people say? What if I look stupid? Perhaps you will. Especially at the very beginning. Put an outsider's opinion on the scales and the opportunities that open up through out-of-the-box thinking.
- Inner critic. What excuses our brain can come up with. He whispers that looking stupid, even to yourself, is bad. Is it so? Imagine your openness to the world and possibilities if you stop being ashamed of yourself.
- The habit of acting according to a pattern. Another trick of the brain: everything should be predictable, a step into the unknown = danger. But who's in charge here? You can follow a monotonous beaten path all your life, or you can unleash your creative abilities to the maximum and live your life brightly.
The market is saturated with offers and interesting characters. Nowadays a trend towards naturalness and a certain routine is developing. But this is the same ability to stand out, only from a different angle.
The plastic window installation company "Okna", the hair salon "Maria", the blogger "Nastya" will not attract a large audience if they do not have an unusual and interesting story behind them.
Thinking through this story, creating a compelling plot, exciting twists - all this requires the ability to think creatively.
Advice . You can start developing creative thinking at any age. Of course, children do not need to develop it, but to guide and support it. But even older people can master this skill. It just takes a little more persistence. Willpower and regular exercise are the main components of developing creativity.
Who needs creativity development
Let's take a deeper look. How will learning to think differently affect the life of the average person?
- Interesting life. Creativity takes us beyond the usual. Everyday life ceases to be gray, life plays with bright colors. We don't do what we've learned. We ourselves come up with interesting developments for our plot. Strengthen the right hemisphere of your brain, and it is quite possible that an excellent book will be written based on the plot of your life.
- Advantage over AI. Within 20-30 years, robots will replace people in 50% of existing professions. The development of creativity allows you to self-identify as a person. Understand: what am I? How can I find my place in order to remain interesting and useful to modern society? How to live happily?
- Extension of youth. Flexible thinking is good for your health. While the brain is young, we are able to live brightly every day. Training the mind is just as important, and maybe even more important, than training the body.
You can start developing flexibility of thinking at any age. Of course, children do not need to develop it, but to guide and support it. But even older people can master this skill. It just takes a little more persistence.
Willpower and regular exercise are the main components of developing creativity. Previously, we shared with you the story of our resident Ivan, who at the age of 20 earned 2 million rubles using creative thinking and not being afraid of failure. Don't pass by and be sure to read this fascinating story at the link here.
Signs
Psychologists identify the following signs of creative thinking:
- speed of generating ideas;
- flexibility - generating an endless stream of ideas;
- originality - the uniqueness of ideas, their dissimilarity from others;
- detailing - important small details are added during the work process;
- emotional involvement in the problem being solved (as practice shows, an unmotivated person capable of creativity will not even begin to consider it);
- multifunctionality - the ability to do several things at once without compromising their quality;
- completeness - every idea and image acquires logical completeness.
Consequences of creative thinking and activity
Representatives of Gestalt psychology painted the following portrait of a person who is distinguished by a creative way of thinking (they call him a “creator”):
- is not limited by anything either in thoughts or in action;
- not blinded by habits;
- never repeats anything, especially after someone;
- does not act mechanically;
- does not take a one-sided, partial position;
- is unable to concentrate on what is not interesting to him;
- does not perceive the world and other people by their external standards and parameters, but always tries to look inside;
- not rational, not calculating, not indifferent and not indifferent.
Psychologists have even determined how the character traits of people with a creative mind manifest themselves:
- go against the standards of society;
- have a strong personality;
- very sensitive and vulnerable;
- underestimate their abilities too much;
- Even in adulthood, they remain children at heart.
So people who are inclined to creativity can most often be noticed without even conducting any additional research - their character will reveal them in any society.
Associations are the basis for the development of creativity
Associations launch the creation of new phenomena, solutions, and products. We use associative thinking every day.
In creating something new, the brain relies on what it knows, has seen and remembers. Consciously or not, he consistently connects one event to another. This chain leads to “unexpected” ideas. In fact, the process could have been started a long time ago and only the discovery of new associations leads to its completion.
Types of associations
- Similar in characteristics: light bulb - pear.
- Opposites: cold - hot, fresh - stuffy.
- Objects and phenomena close in location: brush - paints.
- Cause - effect: tickling - laughter.
How to Strengthen Associative Thinking
- On one's own. Take a pen and paper. Take any word as a basis, for example, “creativity.” For three minutes, write down a chain of words, where each subsequent word should be an association for the previous one. As a result, you will probably end up with something far from the source code.
Then, for another three minutes, try to connect the first and last words into a single product or service. How can they be applied, how will they be useful?
- In company. Organize a daily associative “race” with your friends. Generate word by word, come up with unusual connections. This is a rewarding and really fun activity.
Such basic exercises give noticeable results in about 3 weeks. By doing them, your mind will become flexible, you will begin to notice new opportunities and make interesting decisions.
