‘Everyday Creativity’, which is reflected in one’s way of perceiving thinking and problem solving, is different from the ‘special talent creativity’ seen in outstanding creative achievements. Nature of Creative Thinking Creative thinking is distinguished from other types of thinking by the fact that it involves the production of novel and original ideas or solutions to problems. Sometimes, creative thinking is understood just as a new way of thinking or thinking differently. However, it is important to know that, besides novelty, originality is also an important characteristic of creative thinking.
Every year new models of household appliances, tape-recorders, cars, scooters, and television sets produced may not be original unless unique features are added to these products. Creative thinking thus refers to originality and uniqueness of ideas or solutions that did not previously exist. Creative thinking is also generally characterised by what Bruner calls “effective surprise”. If the product or idea is unusual, the response of most who experience it is one of instant surprise or of being startled.
Another important criterion that characterises creative thinking is its appropriateness in a particular context. Simply thinking of being different without any purpose, doing things in one’s own ways, being non-conformist, indulging in fantasy without any purpose or coming out with a bizarre idea, is at times mistaken for creative thinking. Researchers tend to agree that thinking is said to be creative when it is reality-oriented, appropriate, constructive, and socially desirable . J.P.
Guilford, a pioneer in creativity research, proposed two types of thinking: convergent and divergent . Convergent thinking refers to thinking that is required to solve problems which have only one correct answer. The mind converges to the correct solution. To illustrate, look at the question given below.
It is based on a number series, where you have to find the next number. Only one right answer is expected. Q. , , …..
what will come next? Ans. . Now you try to think of certain questions for which there is no one right answer but many answers.
A few such questions are given below: What are the various uses of cloth? What