Creativity is simply the ability to look at one thing and see another. All creativity involves combining and recombining previously known elements into unique configurations. Humankind has always wondered why some individuals are more creative than others, because, creativity is part of their genetic makeup, inscribed in their DNA code, and, therefore, as inherent as eye or hair color and shape of nose. In other words, is creativity the result of nurture and nature. What makes the creative genius different from the average person? How can creativity be developed in every person? These are questions that psychologists and psychiatrists have been pondering and trying to answer for years; and in the process of extensive studies, they have developed several theories, each of which serves as an attempt to explain the creative personality. Some theories are based on simple assumptions whereas some has undergone empirical validations.
Most people think creativity in one of the following ways:
An activity that is held apart from the person and out of the individual's control.
The creative person is perhaps a bit insane, but most certainly weird.
Creativity is talent in all of us and it just needs to be brought out.
The theories are entitled creativity as a function of behavior, of personality and of cognitive processes. The work of B.F. Skinner will represent the behavioral viewpoint, while Abraham Maslow's ideas will illustrate the personality or humanist perception. The third major theoretical framework examines creativity as a cognitive process.
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