Defining creativity

How do we define creativity? The most frequent answers are "new", "unique". "different", and "better". The dictionary provides little assistance: "creativity: the ability to create". Creativity consultant Joyce Wycoff (1991) defines creativity as "new and useful". Creativity is the act of "seeing things that everyone around us sees while making connections that no on else has made." (p. 22)

At the other end of the spectrum, B.F Skinner (1974), the foremost expert on behaviorist theory, describes creative individuals as very good at generating mutations. He points out that people who produce more mutations are more likely to generate one that is reinforcing. The behaviorist theory falls short because it fails to recognize or explain the uniqueness of individuals.

In the classic book Science and Human Values, (Harper & Row. 1956) J. Bronowski states that the creative activity of the scientist and the artist are the same. Creativity is an attempt to......

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Title: Creativity
Approximate Word Count: 5969
Approximate Pages: 24 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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