Observational Research

Creativity involves the development of an original useful product (given broad definitions of the three concepts). Original thus doesn't require the product to be entirely new. A creative person can create a new example of an existing form (a symphony or a novel), or a new combination of existing phenomena (putting an engine on a wagon to create a car). Similarly, a useful product could be the scientific creation of a new medication, but also the strong emotional arousal and extended attention that artistic and literary artifacts prompt.

Ordinary creativity is ubiquitous in that even something as normal as a conversation is incredibly creative. We create conversational comments on the fly, shifting thought and syntax at the millisecond level in response to conversational flow and body language. Conversational comments are original in that they've typically not been said before, and the informational product is typically useful.

Studies of highly creative people discovered that they are intelligent, typically in the 120-130 IQ range. They are oriented towards divergent thinking, in that they can and prefer to imagine a variety of appropriate responses to a challenge. Convergent thinking involves the search for a single correct answer to a problem.

A highly creative personality seeks new experiences, is tolerant of ambiguity, and approaches life and the world relatively free of preconceptions. This flexibility sparks unconventional perceptions that others often don't understand or accept. The highly creative are persistent in expressing their beliefs, however, and so they develop the skills that will allow them to create superior artifacts and explanations that communicate their beliefs.

Andreasen reports that creative thinking often moves swiftly and at multiple levels. Solutions often emerge in a flash after a period in which our mind had wandered across the mental landscape that defined the challenge—mentally tagging initially unrelated bits of information.

Highly creative people suffer more from periods of mood disorder than normal people. Experiencing the world as more complex and ambiguous than others do, combined with a reluctance to accept the judgments of presumed authorities, takes its toll. Feelings of social alienation and depression can easily follow. Too much openness means living on the edge.