Creative process. The creative process and its principles How does the creative process take place

Studies of the creative process are associated with the identification of its various stages (acts, steps, phases, moments, stages, etc.). Various classifications of stages proposed by many authors have, according to Ya.A. Ponomarev, approximately the following content:

1. Conscious work - preparation, a special active state, which is a prerequisite for an intuitive glimpse of a new idea;

2. Unconscious work - contemplation, unconscious work on the problem, incubation of the guiding idea;

3. The transition of the unconscious into consciousness - inspiration; as a result of unconscious work, the idea of ​​an invention, discovery, material enters the sphere of consciousness;

4. Conscious work - the development of the idea, its final design.

While agreeing in general with the fact that various spheres of the human psyche are involved in the creative process, we still note that we can hardly speak of a clear alternation of conscious and unconscious brain activity. Neither one nor the other is turned off for a minute, and the dominance of one of the levels of the psyche at various stages of creativity has not yet been proven. It seems more appropriate to describe the stages of creativity not from the point of view of which department of the psyche is responsible for them, but from the point of view of what exactly happens at these stages. And in the latter case, we observe required sequence of processes:

1. Conservation of information is the most complex psychological process of processing information, which includes intellect, emotions, will, all levels of the psyche;

2. Recombination - the reunion of old elements on a new basis, in new connections (at the informational level!), born of the desire to create something unique;

3. Reproduction on the basis of historical and cultural ideas that have developed in humans.

The presence of the first stage is not recognized by all researchers, but no one doubts the last two. A. Maslow calls them the primary and secondary phases of creativity. The primary phase is distinguished by enthusiasm, intense interest. Here a person understands the task, sees its ideal solution and improvises in search of ways to achieve it. The secondary phase of creativity is to develop the material that gave birth to inspiration. Here concrete actions, mastery of creative methods, mastery are already required. Many people go through the first phase, but the development of the second phase is given by hard work, and here inspiration alone is not enough. The peculiarity of journalistic creativity lies in the dominance of this last phase, the last stage. For journalism, A. Maslow's remark is true: “... Ups and downs and inspiration are cheap. The difference between inspiration and the final product is a lot of hard work."

All the stages we have identified proceed more or less successfully depending on such personality traits as the ability to concentrate (because the journalist has to work in conditions where the distraction factor is very large), empathy (allows the journalist to get more valid information, work more efficiently with the interlocutor), redistribution of attention.

From the position of psychology, creativity in a broad sense acts as a mechanism for the development of the individual and society. The functioning of the mechanism of creativity is divided into several phases:

1. Ontological analysis of the problem - the application of available knowledge, the emergence of a need for novelty;

2. Intuitive solution - satisfaction of the need for novelty;

3. Verbalization of an intuitive solution - the acquisition of new knowledge;

4. Formalization of new knowledge - formulation of a logical solution.

Back in 1926, the English sociologist Graham Walls described the steps of creativity in much the same way: preparation, incubation, insight, verification. And the founder of the Foundation for Creative Education in New York, Alex Osborne, gave more detailed description creative process:

1. Orientation - task definition;

2. Preparation - collection of information on the task;

3. Analysis - the study of the collected material;

4. Formation of an idea - development of options;

5. Incubation - understanding options;

6. Synthesis - development of a solution;

7. Evaluation - consideration of the idea.

Researchers of the process of journalistic creativity usually note that in journalism the staging of the creative act is clearly expressed: it appears as a unity of two relatively independent parts - the stage of obtaining information and the stage of text formation. Let's consider these stages and their components from the point of view of psychological knowledge.

1. Stage of cognitive activity

So, the beginning of any creative process is associated with the accumulation of information. Mastering reality - required condition starting point of the creative act. This very development takes place in different ways depending on the type of creativity. Writers and poets, for example, most often do not set themselves the explicit goal of observing, remembering. Artists and musicians - even more so. Their assimilation of reality can be called spontaneous. Although they also use notebooks. The notebooks of A.P. Chekhov or the diaries of F.M. Dostoevsky. Writers remain themselves in them, and reading these texts is as interesting as the works of art themselves. And the famous film actress Marlene Dietrich, in addition to her memoirs, also left us the ABC of My Life, in which there are notes about famous personalities, cooking recipes, philosophical discussions on various topics, everyday details of the biography. This stage is much more clearly expressed in the work of scientists. It often takes longer. In any case, we can call the first stage - perception.

No matter how we receive information - arbitrarily, as a result of observation, or a special search, in the end we receive it through the process of perception. Creative perception is distinguished by several features:

1. The combination of the whole and the details, which allows you to see the object in volume, in all connections and relationships, and, therefore, to understand its peculiarity and novelty;

2. A combination of external form and internal content, which provides an understanding of the true essence of things hidden from many;

3. A combination of unique and typical in one object, which allows you to typify and at the same time specify what is happening;

4. A combination of positive and negative, which provides a vision of contradictions, contrasts.

In journalism, the initial stage of a creative act is a very specific phenomenon in terms of the scope of tasks, the complexity of conditions: it is a conscious, purposeful cognitive activity, which involves obtaining sufficiently reliable operational knowledge about the current reality. As a rule, it is performed by a person alone, in a very strict time regime, and even in the mode of interpersonal communication, which makes the task unreasonably difficult. At this level of activity, a journalist establishes a fact, determines its essence and studies it.

Many experienced journalists admit that they evaluate almost any event that passes before them in terms of how it can be described in the material (transformative vision). Such a professional look sometimes becomes intrusive, but this is not a deviation only from the journalistic profession. A doctor, unwittingly, at the first glance at a person determines the state of his health, a teacher - the level of intelligence, a tailor - the quality of clothes, a hairdresser - a hairstyle, etc. This approach, a kind of professional deformation, is common to everyone. In everyday life, perhaps, it prevents us from evaluating life in a multifaceted and versatile way, but it helps a journalist, since a phenomenon worthy of attention can be recorded and then used in the material. This process is based on the action of the installation mechanism: we fix in reality those concepts that interest us now. For example, pregnant women often say that they did not think that there were so many pregnant women on the streets of the city. Almost the same thing happens with a journalist. The mosaic of perception, noted by Spengler, also manifests itself at the level of professional activity. And here a huge role is played by the dominance of one of the levels of the psyche - consciousness. On the one hand, consciousness inhibits the spontaneous manifestation of a creative personality. But on the other hand (and this is important for a journalist!) consciousness is a force that encourages transformative, creative activity. It allows the journalist to navigate the environment, adapt to the requirements of the media, find an adequate place for himself and his materials. Consciousness constantly “verifies” the internal and external experience of a person and allows the journalist to pay attention to a topic that is interesting for him, on the one hand, and for the audience, on the other.

The next step is to collect preliminary data. The essence of this stage is that the journalist remembers everything that is related to the proposed object of study and selects the material at his disposal. The most important thing at this stage is to identify adequate sources of information on the topic. If the information comes from a person, then the main criteria for a successful choice are competence, the presence of storytelling skills. Desirable criteria - the ability to communicate with journalists (this greatly simplifies the work), the availability of exclusive information, the ability to present it in an accessible form.

At the stage of preliminary accumulation of information, we receive a huge amount of data, and not all of them are of interest to a journalist from a professional point of view. There are general criteria that information is of some public interest:

1. The presence of a conflict in the information;

2. Catastrophic;

3. Information with clear social implications;

4. Attitude towards celebrities;

5. Unusual, single;

6. Bright emotional background of the event.

What follows is a definition of the specific subject of study. From the general range of facts, the journalist (or editor) selects the most significant for the audience. Whatever the information, its relevance always depends on the conscious or unconscious choice of the audience. And here the thematic preferences of the audience change. They are a variable value and are largely formed by the journalists themselves.

However, you can take into account the priority topics of the audience:

1. Information about patterns (about such connections between well-known events that were unknown to us);

2. Simplifying information (deciphering complex phenomena). It is also called anti-information because it allows our brain to rest;

3. Information of atavistic sensations (fire, thunderstorm, etc.);

4. Information of instinctive sensations or about them;

5. An individual experience that is consistent with that of most members of the audience, but judged by them to be marginally more successful.

Once the subject is established, directed study of the subject follows.

In the theory of journalistic creativity, two tactics of information search are usually defined - situational and targeted.

At this stage, the journalist uses various methods of obtaining information, in each of which the role of the psychological component is great.

The process of searching for information is based on a person's ability to search activity in general - a deeply determined factor. The need for search is genetically inherent in any person and not equally. This need must be realized whenever its mechanisms come into force. In a situation of searching for a solution or achieving a result, the cause of distress is not the difficulty of the situation itself, but the refusal to search (the so-called "stress of a collapsed hope"). And this makes the body more vulnerable. There is even a certain type of personality (coronary) for whom “winning” in a search situation is as necessary as air, and if such people have to admit defeat, this often turns into a significant deterioration in health.

Journalists are often this type of people. However, some compensatory function in this sense is performed by the idea that information can be found everywhere. Thus, a survey of more than three hundred journalists showed that the most capacious source from the informational point of view, the journalist defines the editorial office or TV company (69%), as well as colleagues from other media (66%). That is, on a psychological level, a journalist has a feeling of awareness even if he is simply present at his workplace. Objectively, this is not so, but subjectively, such a representation protects the journalist from the stress factor.

The search phase includes the work of all levels of the human psyche, but more intense than others - consciousness, subconsciousness and superconsciousness. Consciousness provides a clear statement of the question, concretization of the concept, goals. The subconscious mind to a greater extent determines the way of implementing the concept, achieving the goal (choosing a genre, angle, style, etc.), the birth of an image. Superconsciousness "launches" the mechanisms of insight, intuitive and instantaneous creative problem solving.

Outwardly, these processes are supported by special methods of information search, which are used when, due to some circumstances, it is impossible to obtain information spontaneously. A targeted search for information can be carried out in several ways:

Observation;

Research of documents;

Investigation of the situation;

Questioning;

Experiment;

Interviewing.

Observation is based on a person's ability to perceive the world in the process of audiovisual contacts with it. Journalistic observation differs from simple one in that it is purposeful and, so to speak, focused on a working idea. The popularity of this method is due to several reasons:

1. Being present at the scene significantly improves the quality of the material;

2. Direct observation allows you to see or intuitively grasp the essence of what is happening, some secret connections that elude in the presentation of others or official information;

3. Observation makes it possible to make independent assessments and conclusions;

4. When observing, the selection of facts for the text is easier and earlier than when working with documents (for example, with a press release).

Observation can be enabled or disabled. In the first case, the journalist participates in the event. And this is a special state of the individual. Therefore, there are rules of observation that are best followed:

1. Classify the elements of events to be observed as detailed as possible, using clear indicators;

2. Observe the same object in different situations (for example, the hero of the material);

3. Clearly record the content, forms of manifestation of observed events and their quantitative characteristics (intensity, regularity, periodicity, frequency);

4. Use columns for opinions and for factual data;

When working with documents, you should also follow some rules dictated by psychological attitudes:

1. Distinguish between descriptions of events and their interpretation (facts and opinions);

2. Determine what sources of information the compiler of the document used, whether it is primary or secondary;

3. Reveal the intentions that guided the drafter of the document;

4. Consider how the environment in which it was created could affect the quality of the document;

5. Reveal the intentions of the person who supplied you with the document.

As for the investigation, already at the stage of its preparation, it is necessary to use the knowledge of social psychology, for example, in the question of the resonance of the topic. There is no point in resorting to such a dangerous and difficult method to find out facts that do not interest the audience. It must be borne in mind that readers are primarily interested in circumstances that may affect them personally or people close to them.

In the experiment, the object is a means for creating an artificial situation. This is done so that the journalist can test hypotheses in practice, play out certain circumstances that would allow him to better know the object under study. In addition, in any experiment, the cognitive moment is combined with the managerial one.

The ethics of this method have been questioned, but many journalistic practitioners and theorists believe that the method is not only acceptable, but sometimes desirable. Especially in those cases where the situation requires urgent clarification, and its resolution is delayed.

Kashinskaya names the following motivating motives that necessitate the experiment:

1. Insufficiency of information to test or clarify the journalist's hypothesis;

2. Impossibility to obtain such information by other methods;

3. The need to obtain psychologically reliable arguments.

The experiment is connected with the creation of an artificial impulse, designed to show certain aspects of a person. A journalist can conduct an experiment on himself, infiltrated into some situation.

Quite often in journalism the biographical method is used. It is borrowed from related fields of knowledge: literary criticism, ethnography, history, sociology and, above all, psychology.

The method consists in questioning the direct participants of the event on socially significant issues.

From the very beginning, the attitude of journalists towards the biographical method was ambivalent. The researcher could only rely on the subjective opinion of an eyewitness to the events, so a psychological sense was necessary. The factor of subjectivity when using this method is manifested in everything: in the life experience of a person, and in behavior, and in actions, and in value judgments, and in worldview positions. For example, if a person says: “I was so scared that I couldn’t move,” does this mean that the situation was really catastrophic, or is it just an impressive person? Nevertheless, the history of the life of one person can help to reconstruct the dynamics of the development of certain processes.

When using the biographical method, you must adhere to the rules:

1. Compare the history of one person with the history of the society in which he lives;

2. Understand the dynamics of a person's biography, do not take the story out of the context of the biography;

3. To comprehend the behavior of a person, revealing his motivation.

In journalism, various testimonies, observations and memories of eyewitnesses are collected using the biographical method.

2. Stage of text creation

The result of this stage is a finished journalistic product. However, this stage also takes place in stages.

1. Ripening. This stage is characteristic of any creative act. Having received enough information, the brain should spend some time doing what can be defined as the generation of an idea. Usually this stage is invisible not only to others, but also to the creator himself. However, in journalism this stage has its own specifics. And the specificity lies in such a simple requirement as efficiency. A writer, an artist can nurture their idea for years, they can put it off and come back again after a long time. The journalist cannot afford it.

2. Illumination. The level at which an idea is verbalized or visualized in the mind.

The first step in this process is the final formation of the idea. It presupposes the birth of a holistic, although not yet quite clear vision of the future work. Such a vision arises on the basis of the concept obtained during the study of the situation. However, it is not identical to her. A concept is knowledge about reality plus its interpretation, attitude towards it. And the idea is already a mental image of the future work, which includes in a collapsed form the theme and idea, and the principle of organization. That is, the idea is that specific goal, the development of which was devoted to the initial stage of the creative act and which, during its final stage, will have to be embodied in the text.

The transformation of a concept into an idea is a moment associated with intense creative searches, conscious or unconscious. In some cases, they run parallel to the process of cognition, and it happens that the material has not yet been collected, and the journalist knows for sure how it will look like in the end. But the opposite happens. The idea is not generated. Why? If we know that an idea = a theme + an idea + a move (i.e., specific steps to implement the theme and idea), there is a fairly simple way to help ourselves - to resort to logic, realizing each of the terms. Most often it turns out that the reason for the braking is the absence of the principle of organizing the text, the move (it is also called the key, turn). You need to focus on finding it.

At the moment of the final formation of a journalistic idea, an acute problem often arises - when to stop? Sometimes it happens that we clearly understand that this option is the best and we cannot create anything more adequate. But it also happens that everything seems to be clear, there is a good idea, but you can still think, suddenly it appears the best way. Here you need to follow a certain rule: as soon as an idea appears that you evaluate as acceptable, you need to fix it on any material carrier. Otherwise, in the process of subsequent search, it will inevitably be “erased”. After writing down the idea, you can continue thinking. But until when? As a rule, the volitional decision is not made by the author himself. Either time is rushing, or the editor, or a new task. And yet there is an objective indicator that the idea is formed, right. The idea is ripe in the event that a heading is automatically and accurately formed for the text, if you do not have to puzzle over it later. The appearance of the name of the material in the mind is a sign of the readiness of the idea. This completes the enlightenment phase.

3. Concretization of the idea. For many, this operation comes as a plan. Sometimes written, sometimes oral. For example, Anatoly Abramovich Agranovsky, the well-known master of Russian journalism, always began work on the material by drawing up a plan. Once he was asked if he always follows a written plan. “No,” Agranovsky replied, “then the plan may change. But I can’t start without it…” Such an assessment of the plan suggests that the motivation lies not in the sphere of organizing the text (the plan does not serve as its frame), but mainly in the sphere of organizing the creative process. Why do you need a plan in this case? The fact is that the plan psychologically helps to feel the field of the text - on the sheet, in the lines. The plan also indicates that the process of creating the text has moved off the ground. Our consciousness cannot operate with thought patterns for a long time. The plan is usually a multi-level structure. And consciousness is able to keep in the complex only three thresholds, three levels of complexity.

Another way to concretize the idea is a forward outline, when not the subtopics of the text (as in the plan), but mini-ideas of text blocks are indicated. For example, the same Agranovsky: "Reduction ... of the aircraft."

Consider this surprising analogy. However, note: the apparatus is a mechanism. We are striving to improve the economic mechanism.”

Such a forward summary is usually drawn up when the journalist, as he gets acquainted with the material, penetrates deeply into the problem. He possibly has. Ideas and comments have already been developed that may be forgotten.

Most often, a combination of a plan and an advanced outline is used, when only those points of the plan for which an idea has already been formed receive an extension.

Sometimes journalists make a mosaic fixation: they write out some pieces in detail, and leave the rest of the work for revision. This is especially useful when using the lead method in a news item. (only leads are recorded).

4. Selection of material. This stage may coincide with the previous one, go in parallel. But most often the rigid framework of the material requires separate work. The result of this stage is the selected facts that contribute to the realization of the main idea of ​​the material.

5. Implementation of the plan. During this operation, the structure of the text is formed - a specific composition of facts, images, norms, the methods of their presentation are combined, text elements are formed - micro-meanings, their mounting connections are formed, the composition and vocabulary are specified, the combination of text and video, sound sequence is determined. It uses creative tools that correspond to a specific type of activity. And the wider the toolkit, the less constrained the journalist is in realizing his creativity.

6. Author's editing - work with a creative product. Editing as a component is also included in the previous stage, but it must be given a separate place and time. AT this case This refers to a conscious procedure of the creative process, which has a control character. It requires a view from the outside, because there can be discrepancies not only with the author's intention, but also with the profile of the publication or channel, with the materials in which this material will go. Even though the text will be reviewed by the editor, the journalist himself needs to edit it as clearly as possible. This is due to the fact that the more raw material you present to the editor, the more he will make corrections in accordance with his own, and not your intention, and this will distort final version text. It is important to remember that the audience is oriented, first of all, to the knowledge of the new, individual and unique. And this is primarily of interest and aesthetic experience. The viewer does not tolerate a template, imitation, copying. L.B. Ermolaeva-Tomina names the main criteria for evaluating the manifestation of creativity:

1. Reflection in the concrete universal from new, individual positions;

2. Transfer of thoughts and attitudes to reality in an unexpected and precise form;

3. The presence of all components corresponding to the fundamental spiritual needs of a person - in the knowledge of essential phenomena, in harmony with the beautiful world, in the awakening of new thoughts (co-creation).

Editing allows you to implement these criteria in the material - to clarify the obscure, to emphasize the essential, to highlight the main thing.

7. Translation control (internal and external). It is, as a rule, involuntarily and quite naturally carried out by a journalist when the latter asks members of the audience what the effect of the material is, or corrects the course of the conversation on the air.

Some scholars point out the similarity of the generation of a text with the process of childbirth, bringing us back to psychoanalytic theory. So, A.N. It is no coincidence that the bow reminds us of what psychologists say about the mechanisms of the birth of an idea. And the Canadian physician and biologist Hans Selye (the author of the doctrine of stress and the general adaptation syndrome) divided the creative process into seven stages, similar to the stages of the reproduction process:

1. Love or desire. The first condition for creativity is a lively interest, enthusiasm, and a desire to achieve results. This desire must be passionate in order to overcome difficulties and obstacles;

2. Fertilization. However great the creative potential of the journalist, his mind will remain sterile if it is not fertilized by the knowledge of concrete facts acquired in the course of study, observation and other methods of obtaining information;

3. Pregnancy. During this period, the journalist hatches an idea. This period may not be realized for a long time, as well as pregnancy. However, sooner or later tension is born;

4. Prenatal contractions. When the idea is born and matured, the journalist feels uncomfortable. This peculiar feeling of “proximity of the solution” is familiar only to true creators. For those who have not experienced it, it is easiest to imagine this sensation in a situation where a person painfully recalls someone's name;

5. Childbirth. Unlike real childbirth, the birth of a new idea not only does not cause pain, but always brings joy and pleasure. The process of creating a work begins;

6. Inspection and certification. The newborn is immediately examined in order to ascertain his health. This is also true of a newborn idea: it is subjected to logical and experimental verification. The material is mounted, edited, etc.;

7. Life. After the idea is tested, it begins to live in a new work. Unfortunately, in journalism, as a concrete material, it does not last long, but as a social effect, it can live for centuries.

The correspondence of the process of creativity to the process of birth can partly explain the meaning given to creativity by the creators themselves, and which the craftsman will never understand, just as a man will never fully understand the feelings of a woman who gave birth to her child.

Types and functions of creativity

Exist different types creativity:

• production and technical
• inventive
• scientific
• political
• organizational
• artistic
• everyday household, etc.

in other words, the types of creativity correspond to the types of practical and spiritual activity.

Vitaly Tepikin, a researcher of the creative factor of man and the phenomenon of the intelligentsia, singles out artistic, scientific, technical, sports-tactical, and military-tactical creativity as independent types.

Creativity as an ability

Creativity as a process (creative thinking)

Stages of creative thinking

G. Wallace

The description of the sequence of stages (stages) of creative thinking, which was given by the Englishman Graham Wallace in 1926, is best known today. He identified four stages of creative thinking:

1. Training- formulation of the problem; attempts to solve it.
2. Incubation- temporary distraction from the task.
3. insight- the emergence of an intuitive solution.
4. Examination- testing and/or implementation of the solution.

However, this description is not original and goes back to the classic report of A. Poincaré in 1908.

A. Poincare

They were especially willing to come ... during the hours of a leisurely ascent through the wooded mountains, on a sunny day. The slightest amount of liquor seemed to scare them away.

It is curious to note that stages similar to those described by Poincare were singled out in the process of artistic creativity by B. A. Lezin at the beginning of the 20th century.

1. Work fills the sphere of consciousness with content, which will then be processed by the unconscious sphere.
2. Unconscious work represents a selection of the typical; “but how that work is done, of course, it cannot be judged, it is a mystery, one of the seven world mysteries.”
3. Inspiration there is a "shifting" from the unconscious sphere into the consciousness of a ready-made conclusion.

Stages of the inventive process

In the most acute form, the connection between the personal and the creative is revealed by N. A. Berdyaev. He's writing:

Creativity Motivation

V. N. Druzhinin writes:

Creativity is based on the global irrational motivation of human alienation from the world; it is directed by a tendency to overcome, it functions according to the type of "positive feedback»; a creative product only spurs the process, turning it into a pursuit of the horizon.

Thus, through creativity, a person is connected with the world. Creativity stimulates itself.

Mental health, freedom and creativity

N. A. Berdyaev adheres to the following point of view:

The creative act is always liberation and overcoming. It has an experience of power.

Thus, creativity is something in which a person can exercise his freedom, connection with the world, connection with his deepest essence.

see also

Notes

Literature

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• Ananiev BG Psychology and problems of human knowledge. Moscow-Voronezh. 1996.
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• Berdyaev N. A. Experience of eschatological metaphysics// Creativity and objectification / comp. A. G. Shimansky, Yu. O. Shimanskaya. - Minsk: Ekonompress, 2000.
• Berdyaev N.A. The meaning of creativity// Philosophy of creativity, culture and art. - M.: Art, 1994.
• Winnicott D. Game and reality. Moscow: Institute for General Humanitarian Research, 2002.
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• Psychology and poetry Carl Gustav Jung
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• Psychology of children's creativity (part 1) Ella Prokofieva

The concept of creativity

CHAPTER 2. METHODS FOR SOLVING CREATIVE PROBLEMS

Do you agree with the statement that “the most valuable thing for society is free time individual"?

The phenomenon of creativity is inherent in man and is very important both for the individual and for society as a whole. Society develops thanks to new ideas, which are scientific discoveries, technical inventions, philosophical worldview concepts, etc. It has long been noticed that new ideas rarely appear as a result of gradual changes, more often it is an explosion, a leap, a sharp exit to a qualitatively new level. How is this creative "explosion" carried out? Is it possible to trace the mechanism of creativity and try to model it? - This will be discussed in this chapter.

There are many different definitions of the concept of "creativity". For example, according to the American scientist P. Hill, creativity is “a successful flight of thought beyond the known. It complements knowledge, contributing to the creation of things that were not known before. Polish researcher Matejko believes that the essence of the creative process lies in the reorganization of existing experience and the formation of new combinations on its basis.

The Big Encyclopedic Dictionary gives the following general definition of creativity: “Creativity is an activity that generates something qualitatively new and is distinguished by originality, originality and socio-historical uniqueness. Creativity is specific to a person, since it always involves a creator - the subject (producer, carrier) of creative activity.

The process of creativity is a very complex phenomenon, extremely difficult to describe, since "the inner essence of the phenomenon is inaccessible to direct research." Nevertheless, this one of the most important and interesting areas of human activity has long attracted the attention of scientists. Thus, an attempt to identify the main stages of the creative process was made in 1926 by the American psychologist G. Wallace.

G. Wallace identified several successive stages that are typical of the creative process:

1. Formulation of the problem, precise definition of the goal, collection of information on the problem and initial attempts to solve it.

2. Incubation (aging) - distraction from the task after unsuccessful attempts to solve it; while the problem remains in the subconscious, while a person can do other things.

3. Illumination - the emergence of an idea for a solution, often preceded by a random event-push.

4. Checking the correctness of the solution: testing and (or) implementation

Exist different kinds creativity: artistic, scientific, technical. Let's consider some procedures of technical creativity, in which, due to its specificity, they can be traced more clearly (you are already familiar with some of the technology lessons).

Technical creativity is the receipt of new results in the field of technology in the form of technical ideas, drawings, drawings, embodied in real technical objects. Technical creativity includes design and construction procedures.

Design - development and justification of the project of any object, abstracted from the material form. Design precedes construction and is a search for scientifically sound, technically feasible and economically viable engineering solutions. The result of the design is a project of the object being developed, initially presented in the form of texts, graphs, sketches, calculations, models, etc.

Design - development of a detailed scheme for the implementation of the intended object (system) and working drawings of all its parts and individual parts of the machine.

First, a prototype is made according to preliminary drawings and calculations. Further, all calculations are specified, working drawings and technical documentation are drawn up for their use in production. The result of design is a specific product design.

A separate phenomenon within the framework of technical creativity is invention.

Invention in the modern sense of the word is creative activity, as a result of which, on the basis of scientific knowledge, technical achievements and the solution of inventive problems, something is created fundamentally new.

In a certain sense, the entire history of the development of human civilization can be viewed as the history of invention. Based on the clues of nature, people invented and began to improve tools, learned how to sew clothes, make household items, etc.

If the newly created design is an invention, that is, a new engineering solution that did not exist before, then its innovative nature must be documented, and the discovery patented. Each inventor, in order not to "discover the Americas", must be an erudite specialist who has a good idea of ​​what is being done in the field of application of his intellectual efforts. And besides, he must know the laws that protect intellectual property.

Ability. A simple definition is that creativity is the ability to come up with or invent something new. As we will see below, creativity is not the ability to create something out of nothing (only God can do that), but the ability to generate new ideas by combining, modifying or reusing existing ones. Some creative ideas are amazing and brilliant, while others are simple, useful, practical ideas which no one has yet thought of.

Believe it or not, everyone has significant creativity. Just look at how creatively developed children are. In adults, creativity has often been suppressed during education, but it still exists and can be awakened again. Often, all it takes to be creative is to set yourself a creative challenge and make time for it.

Position. Creativity is also an attitude: the ability to perceive change and novelty, the willingness to play with ideas and possibilities, the flexibility of the worldview, the habit of using the good, and at the same time the continuous process of finding ways to improve. We are trained to accept only a small number of permitted or ordinary things, such as chocolate-covered strawberries. The creative person realizes that there are other possibilities, such as peanut butter and banana sandwiches or chocolate-covered prunes.

Process. Creative people work and constantly improve ideas and solutions, by gradually reworking and improving their works. Contrary to the myths surrounding creativity, very, very few works of creative excellence have been created with a single brilliant stroke or furiously fast action. Much closer to the real truth are the stories of companies that had to take the invention away from the inventor in order to sell it, because the inventor does not stop tweaking and honing his brainchild, always striving to make it a little better.

A creative person knows that there is always room for improvement.

Creation- the process of activity that creates qualitatively new material and spiritual values ​​or the result of creating an objectively new one. The main criterion that distinguishes creativity from manufacturing (production) is the uniqueness of its result. The result of creativity cannot be directly deduced from the initial conditions. No one, except perhaps the author, can get exactly the same result if the same initial situation is created for him. Thus, in the process of creativity, the author puts into the material some possibilities that are not reducible to labor operations or a logical conclusion, expresses some aspects of his personality in the final result. It is this fact that gives the products of creativity an additional value in comparison with the products of production.

CREATIVE PROCESS

Ironically—and in a reproach to modern cognitive science—no major theory has emerged in the last 20 years (as was the case with memory or perception) that can unify the scattered and sometimes conflicting studies of creativity. Absence general theory indicates both the difficulty of this topic and the insufficient attention paid to it by the general scientific community. And yet this topic is widely stated as an important part of Everyday life and education. Many years ago in the history of cognitive psychology, Wallas (Wallas, 1926) described four successive stages in the creative process:

1. Preparation: Formulation of the problem and initial attempts to solve it.
2. Incubation: Taking a break from a task and switching to another subject.
3. Enlightenment. Intuitive insight into the essence of the problem.
4. Validation: Testing and/or implementing a solution.

Wallace's four stages have received little empirical support; however, the psychological literature is replete with reports of introspection of people who have given rise to creative thought. The most famous of these explanations is due to Poincare (1913), the French mathematician who discovered the properties of automorphic functions. After working on the equations for a while and making some important discoveries (the preparatory stage), he decided to go on a geological excursion. During the trip, he "forgot" about his mathematical work (the incubation stage). Then Poincaré writes about the dramatic moment of insight. “When we arrived in Coutances, we took the omnibus to go somewhere else. And at the moment when I put my foot on the bandwagon, without any visible preparation of thought, the idea came to me that the transformations that I used in the definition of automorphic functions are identical to the transformations of non-Euclidean geometry. The author writes that when he returned home, he checked these results at his leisure.
Wallace's four-stage model of the creative process has given us a conceptual framework for analyzing creativity. Let's briefly consider each of the stages.

PREPARATION

Poincaré mentioned in his notes that he worked intensively on this problem for two weeks. During this time, he apparently tried and, for various reasons, rejected several possible solutions. But it would certainly be wrong to assume that the preparatory period lasted two weeks. His entire professional life as a mathematician, and perhaps also a significant part of his childhood, can be considered part of the preparatory period. A common theme in the biographies of many famous people is that even in early childhood they developed ideas, acquired knowledge and tried to develop their thoughts in a particular direction.
Under the influence of such early ideas, the most distant fate of a creative person is often formed. One of the many mysteries in this process remains why other individuals in similarly stimulating (and in many cases depriving) environments fail to gain recognition for their creative talent. Plato suggested that creativity could be the work of much more irresistible forces than the forces of the environment. Maybe it would be worth paying attention to the genetic basis of creativity.

INCUBATION

Why is it that a creative breakthrough often follows a period during which the problem may remain "ploughed under fallow"? Perhaps the most pragmatic explanation for this is that for a large part of our lives we relax, watch TV, scuba dive, play, travel, or lie in the sun and watch the clouds float, instead of thinking hard about some problem. requiring creative solutions. So creative acts often follow periods of sleep or idleness, most likely simply because these periods take a long time. Posner (1973) offers several hypotheses regarding the incubation phase. According to one of his assumptions, the incubation period allows a person to recover from the fatigue associated with solving a problem. A break in a difficult task also allows you to forget inappropriate approaches to a given task. As we have already seen, functional fixation can interfere with the solution of a problem, and it is possible that during the incubation period people forget old and unsuccessful ways of solving it. Another hypothesis explaining how incubation can help the creative process suggests that during this period we actually continue to work on the task unconsciously. This idea is consistent with William James's famous statement "We learn to swim in winter and skate in summer." Finally, during a break in the process of solving a problem, reorganization of the material can occur.

ENLIGHTENMENT

Incubation does not always lead to enlightenment (we all know many people who have been in incubation most of his life, but have not yet attained enlightenment). However, when this happens, it is impossible to make a mistake in the sensations. Suddenly, the light turns on. A creative person can feel a rush of excitement when all the bits and pieces of an idea suddenly fall into place. All relevant ideas are consistent with each other, and irrelevant thoughts are ignored. There are many examples of enlightenment in the history of creative breakthroughs. The discovery of the structure of the DNA molecule, the discovery of the benzene ring, the invention of the telephone, the completion of the symphony, the plot of the story - all these are examples of how, at the moment of enlightenment, a creative solution to an old annoying problem comes to mind.

EXAMINATION

Following the excitement that sometimes accompanies insightful discovery, it is time to check new idea. Verification is a kind of “laundering” of a creative product when it is checked for its legality. Often, after careful study, a solution that seemed to be a creative discovery turns out to be intellectual "samovar gold." This step can be quite short, as in the case of a recheck of calculations or a trial run. new design; however, in some cases, the verification of an idea may require a lifetime of research, testing, and revalidation.

Creation- the process of human activity that creates qualitatively new material and spiritual values ​​or the result of creating a subjectively new. The main criterion that distinguishes creativity from manufacturing (production) is the uniqueness of its result. The result of creativity cannot be directly deduced from the initial conditions. No one, except perhaps the author, can get exactly the same result if the same initial situation is created for him. Thus, in the process of creativity, the author puts into the material some possibilities that are not reducible to labor operations or a logical conclusion, expresses some aspects of his personality in the final result. It is this fact that gives the products of creativity an additional value in comparison with the products of production.

Creativity is an activity that generates something qualitatively new, something that has never existed before. Creativity is the creation of something new, valuable not only for this person, but also for others.

Types and functions of creativity

Vitaly Tepikin, a researcher of the creative factor of a person and the phenomenon of the intelligentsia, singles out artistic, scientific, technical, sports-tactical, as well as military-tactical creativity as independent types.S. L. Rubinstein for the first time correctly pointed out the characteristic features of inventive creativity: “The specificity of an invention, which distinguishes it from other forms of creative intellectual activity, is that it must create a thing, a real object, a mechanism or a technique that solves a certain problem. This defines the originality creative work inventor: the inventor must introduce something new into the context of reality, into the actual course of some kind of activity. This is something essentially different than solving a theoretical problem in which a limited number of abstractly distinguished conditions must be taken into account. At the same time, reality is historically mediated by human activity, technology: it embodies historical development scientific thought. Therefore, in the process of invention, it is necessary to proceed from the context of reality into which something new must be introduced, and take into account the corresponding context. This determines the general direction and the specific character of the various links in the invention process.

Creativity as an ability

Creativity(from English. create- create, english creative- creative, creative) - the creative abilities of an individual, characterized by a willingness to create fundamentally new ideas that deviate from traditional or accepted patterns and are included in the structure of giftedness as an independent factor, as well as the ability to solve problems that arise within static systems. According to the authoritative American psychologist Abraham Maslow, this is a creative direction that is innate in everyone, but lost by the majority under the influence of the environment.

At the everyday level, creativity manifests itself as ingenuity - the ability to achieve a goal, find a way out of a seemingly hopeless situation using the environment, objects and circumstances in an unusual way. Shire is a non-trivial and ingenious solution to the problem. And, as a rule, meager and non-specialized tools or resources, if material. And a bold, non-standard, what is called a non-stamped approach to solving a problem or meeting a need located in an intangible plane.

Criteria for creativity

Criteria for creativity:

• fluency - the number of ideas that arise per unit of time;
• originality - the ability to produce unusual ideas that differ from the generally accepted ones;
• flexibility. As Ranko notes, the importance of this parameter is due to two circumstances: firstly, this parameter allows us to distinguish individuals who show flexibility in the process of solving a problem, from those who show rigidity in solving them, and secondly, it allows us to distinguish individuals who are original solve problems, from those who demonstrate false originality.
• receptivity - sensitivity to unusual details, contradictions and uncertainty, willingness to quickly switch from one idea to another;
• metaphor - readiness to work in a completely unusual context, a tendency to symbolic, associative thinking, the ability to see complex in simple, and simple in complex.
• Satisfaction is the result of creativity. With a negative result, meaning is lost and further development feelings.

By Torrance

• Fluency is the ability to produce a large number of ideas;
• Flexibility - the ability to apply a variety of strategies in solving problems;
• Originality - the ability to produce unusual, non-standard ideas;
• Elaboration - the ability to develop in detail the ideas that have arisen.
• Closure resistance is the ability not to follow stereotypes and stay open for a long time to a variety of incoming information when solving problems.
• The abstractness of the name is the understanding of the essence of the problem of what is really essential. The naming process reflects the ability to transform figurative information into verbal form.

Creativity as a process (creative thinking)

Stages of creative thinking

G. Wallace

The description of the sequence of stages (stages) is best known today, which was given by the Englishman Graham Wallace in 1926. He identified four stages of creative thinking:

1. Training- formulation of the problem; attempts to solve it.
2. Incubation- temporary distraction from the task.
3. - the emergence of an intuitive solution.
4. Examination- testing and/or implementation of the solution.

However, this description is not original and goes back to the classic report of A. Poincaré in 1908.

A. Poincare

Henri Poincare, in his report to the Psychological Society in Paris (in 1908), described the process of making several mathematical discoveries by him and identified the stages of this creative process, which were subsequently distinguished by many psychologists.

stages

1. At the beginning, a task is posed and attempts are made to solve it for some time.

“For two weeks I tried to prove that there could be no function analogous to the one that I later called automorphic. I was, however, quite wrong; every day I sat down at my desk, spent an hour or two at it, exploring a large number of combinations, and did not come to any result.

2. This is followed by a more or less long period during which the person does not think about the problem that has not yet been solved, is distracted from it. At this time, Poincaré believes, unconscious work on the task takes place. 3. And finally, there comes a moment when suddenly, without immediately preceding reflections on the problem, in a random situation that has nothing to do with the problem, the key to the solution appears in the mind.

“One evening, contrary to my habit, I drank black coffee; I couldn't sleep; ideas crowded together, I felt them collide until two of them came together to form a stable combination.

In contrast to the usual reports of this kind, Poincaré describes here not only the moment of the appearance of a solution in consciousness, but also the work of the unconscious that immediately preceded it, as if miraculously becoming visible; Jacques Hadamard, referring to this description, points to its complete exclusivity: "I have never experienced this wonderful feeling and I have never heard that anyone but him [Poincaré] experienced it." 4. After that, when the key idea for the solution is already known, the solution is completed, verified, and developed.

“By morning I established the existence of one class of these functions, which corresponds to the hypergeometric series; I had only to record the results, which took only a few hours. I wanted to represent these functions as a ratio of two series, and this idea was completely conscious and deliberate; I was guided by the analogy with elliptic functions. I asked myself what properties these series should have, if they exist, and I managed without difficulty to construct these series, which I called theta-automorphic.

Theory

Theorizing, Poincare depicts the creative process (by the example of mathematical creativity) as a sequence of two stages: 1) combining particles - elements of knowledge and 2) the subsequent selection of useful combinations.

Poincaré notes that the combination occurs outside of consciousness - ready-made "really useful combinations and some others that have signs of useful ones, which he [the inventor] will then discard, appear in consciousness." Questions arise: what kind of particles are involved in the unconscious combination and how does the combination occur; how the "filter" works and what are these signs by which it selects some combinations, passing them into consciousness. Poincaré gives the following answer.

The initial conscious work on the problem actualizes, "sets in motion" those elements of future combinations that are relevant to the problem being solved. Then, unless, of course, the problem is solved immediately, there comes a period of unconscious work on the problem. While the conscious mind is busy with other things, in the subconscious, the particles that have received a push continue their dance, colliding and forming various combinations. Which of these combinations enter consciousness? These are the combinations "of the most beautiful, that is, those which most affect that special sense of mathematical beauty known to all mathematicians and inaccessible to the profane to such an extent that they are often inclined to laugh at it." So, the most "mathematical beautiful" combinations are selected and penetrate into consciousness. But what are the characteristics of these beautiful mathematical combinations? “These are those whose elements are harmoniously arranged in such a way that the mind can effortlessly embrace them entirely, guessing the details. This harmony is at the same time the satisfaction of our aesthetic senses and a help for the mind, it supports it and guides it. This harmony gives us the opportunity to anticipate the mathematical law. “Thus, this special aesthetic sense plays the role of a sieve, and this explains why one who is deprived of it will never become a real inventor.”

From the history of the issue

Back in the 19th century, Hermann Helmholtz similarly, although less detailed, described the process of making scientific discoveries “from the inside”. In these self-observations of his, the stages of preparation, incubation and illumination are already outlined. Helmholtz wrote about how his scientific ideas are born:

These happy inspirations often invade the head so quietly that you will not immediately notice their significance, sometimes you will only indicate later when and under what circumstances they came: a thought appears in the head, but you don’t know where it comes from.

But in other cases, a thought strikes us suddenly, without effort, like inspiration.

As far as I can judge personally, she is never born tired and never out of desk. Each time I first had to turn my problem in every way in every way, so that all its twists and turns lay firmly in my head and could be rehearsed by heart, without the help of writing.

It is usually impossible to get to this point without a lot of work. Then, when the onset of fatigue had passed, an hour of complete bodily freshness and a feeling of calm well-being were required - and only then did the good ideas. Often ... they appeared in the morning, upon awakening, as Gauss also noted.

They were especially willing to come ... during the hours of a leisurely ascent through the wooded mountains, on a sunny day. The slightest amount of liquor seemed to scare them away.

It is curious to note that stages similar to those described by Poincare were singled out in the process of artistic creativity by B. A. Lezin at the beginning of the 20th century.

1. Work fills the sphere of consciousness with content, which will then be processed by the unconscious sphere.
2. Unconscious work represents a selection of the typical; “but how that work is done, of course, it cannot be judged, it is a mystery, one of the seven world mysteries.”
3. Inspiration there is a "shifting" from the unconscious sphere into the consciousness of a ready-made conclusion.

Stages of the inventive process

P. K. Engelmeyer (1910) believed that the work of an inventor consists of three acts: desire, knowledge, skill.

1. Desire and, the origin of the idea. This stage begins with the appearance of an intuitive glimpse of an idea and ends with the inventor's understanding of it. A probable principle of invention arises. In scientific creativity, this stage corresponds to a hypothesis, in art - to an idea.
2. Knowledge and reasoning, scheme or plan. Development of a complete detailed idea of ​​the invention. Production of experiments - mental and real.
3. Skill, constructive implementation of the invention. Assembly of the invention. Doesn't require creativity.

“As long as there is only an idea (Act I) from the invention, there is still no invention: together with the scheme (Act II), the invention is given as a representation, and the III act gives it a real existence. In the first act, the invention is supposed, in the second, it is proved, and in the third, it is carried out. At the end of the first act, it is a hypothesis; at the end of the second, a representation; at the end of the third - a phenomenon. The first act determines it teleologically, the second - logically, the third - in fact. The first act gives a plan, the second - a plan, the third - an act.

P. M. Jacobson (1934) distinguished the following stages:

1. The period of intellectual readiness.
2. Perception of the problem.
3. The origin of the idea - the formulation of the problem.
4. Search for a solution.
5. Obtaining the principle of the invention.
6. Turning a principle into a scheme.
7. Technical design and deployment of the invention.

Factors hindering creative thinking

• uncritical acceptance of someone else's opinion (conformity, conciliation)
• external and internal censorship
• rigidity (including the transfer of patterns, algorithms in solving problems)
• desire to find an answer immediately

Creativity and personality

Creativity can be viewed not only as a process of creating something new, but also as a process that occurs during the interaction of a person (or inner world person) and reality. At the same time, changes occur not only in reality, but also in personality.

The nature of the connection between creativity and personality

“The personality is characterized by activity, the desire of the subject to expand the scope of his activity, to act beyond the boundaries of the requirements of the situation and role prescriptions; orientation - a stable dominant system of motives - interests, beliefs, etc. ... ". Actions that go beyond the requirements of the situation are creative actions.

In accordance with the principles described by S. L. Rubinshtein, by making changes in the surrounding world, a person changes himself. Thus, a person changes himself by carrying out creative activity.

B. G. Ananiev believes that creativity is the process of objectifying the inner world of a person. Creative expression is an expression of the integral work of all forms of human life, a manifestation of his individuality.

In the most acute form, the connection between the personal and the creative is revealed by N. A. Berdyaev. He's writing:

Personality is not a substance, but a creative act.

Creativity Motivation

V. N. Druzhinin writes:

Creativity is based on the global irrational alienation of man from the world; it is directed by a tendency to overcome it, it functions according to the type of "positive feedback"; a creative product only spurs the process, turning it into a pursuit of the horizon.

Thus, through creativity, a person is connected with the world. Creativity stimulates itself.

Mental health, freedom and creativity

The representative of the psychoanalytic trend, D. W. Winnicott, puts forward the following assumption:

In the game, and perhaps only in the game, a child or an adult has the freedom of creativity.

Creativity is about play. The game is a mechanism that allows a person to be creative. Through creative activity, a person seeks to find his self (himself, the core of the personality, the deep essence). According to D. V. Winnicott, creative activity is what ensures a healthy state of a person. Confirmation of the connection between play and creativity can also be found in C. G. Jung. He's writing:

The creation of a new one is not a matter, but an attraction to the game, acting on internal compulsion. The creative spirit plays with the objects it loves.

R. May (a representative of the existential-humanistic trend) emphasizes that in the process of creativity, a person meets the world. He's writing:

... What manifests itself as creativity is always a process ... in which the relationship between the individual and the world is carried out ...

N. A. Berdyaev adheres to the following point:

The creative act is always liberation and overcoming. It has an experience of power.

Thus, creativity is something in which a person can exercise his freedom, connection with the world, connection with his deepest essence.