Creative Experiences of Children

Creative Experiences for Children 2(1+1)

Lesson 5: Theoretical Perspectives on Creativity: Cognitive Theories

4th viewpoint

Arthur Koestler developed his views on creativity from the study of humor, literature, and biology. He defines creativity as the mixture of two self-consistent, but habitually incompatible frames of reference in the physical, psychological, or social world. A humorous anecdote illustrates this principal

The perception of a situation or idea, represented by "L, is at the junction of two self-consistent but habitually incompatible frames of reference or matrices, M1 and M2. The perception, L, vibrates on two wavelengths simultaneously and brings the frames of reference together. Koestler calls this bisociation. This is the essence of creativity. There are two types of biosociative creativity

1. Associative Routine or Habit
   The type is characterized by repetitiveness, conservation, rigid to flexible variations on a theme, and associations developed only within the confines of one given matrix. This type of creation can lead to discovery, by an individual, of perceptions may be unknown to that person, but not new in the context of greater humanity.


2. Originality
   New discoveries and inventions in actual fact are the result of the second type of creativity. The second type is named originality and contains the following elements.
   1. The result is novel and entirely new.
   2. It is a destructive/ constructive process that destroys old perceptions through new ones.
   3. The process is guided by the subconscious which normally is restrained.
   4. There is super-flexibility in variations and theme.
   5. It is the bisociation of independent matrices.

The quality of the originality is the measure of the uniqueness or unlikeliness of the probable association of the matrices. The farther they are apart the greater is the creative achievement when they are associated together.