Question

Describe the elements of creativity.

Hint:

Remember the four core elements of divergent thinking: {Fluency} (how many?), {Flexibility} (how many types?), {Originality} (how new?), and {Elaboration} (how detailed?).

Answer 1

Creativity is the ability to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others. Psychologists often describe creativity in terms of several key elements, particularly in the context of divergent thinking:

Fluency: The ability to produce a large number of ideas or solutions to a problem in a given amount of time. It is about the quantity of ideas.

Flexibility: The ability to think about a problem from multiple perspectives and to generate ideas across different categories. It is about the variety of ideas.

Originality: The ability to produce novel, unique, or statistically infrequent ideas. It is about the newness or unusualness of ideas.

Elaboration: The ability to add details, flesh out, and expand upon an idea. It is about the depth and complexity of ideas.

Another important element is the distinction between:

Divergent Thinking: Generating multiple possible solutions to a problem (brainstorming).
Convergent Thinking: Finding a single, best solution to a problem.
Creativity often involves a balance of both types of thinking.