Activity . Process of Creative Thinking In recent years, more and more attention has been given to the way the human mind operates. Research has made it clear that thinking of new and unusual ideas involve more than a flash of insight. There are stages before and after the new ideas come.
The starting point in creative process is the need to think or bring out something new which initiates the effort. Not everyone experiences this need, as one can be happy and contented, in carrying out routine work. The need for search of new ideas and solutions arises from sensing problems and gaps in information. The process of creative thinking begins with the preparation stage that requires one to understand the task or problem in hand, analyse the problem, and become aware of the background facts and related information.
The process evokes curiosity and excitement to think more and more in different directions. The person tries to look at the task or problem from different angles and viewpoints. Here, divergent thinking abilities discussed earlier play their role to help one extend in new directions. Coming back to the process, when the person is trying to generate alternative ideas and trying to view the problem or task from an unusual perspective, there may be a feeling of getting stuck.
One may even get disgusted with failure and may leave the problem or the task for sometime. This is the stage of incubation . Research shows that creative ideas may not occur immediately during incubation when the individual is not consciously thinking about the problem but seeking relaxation from conscious effort. They may occur or strike when a person is doing something else, for example, going to sleep, waking up, taking a bath or just walking along.
Followed by incubation is the stage of illumination - the ‘Aha’! or ‘I have found it’ experience, the moment we normally associate with emergence of creative ideas. There usually is, a feeling of excitement, even satisfaction, of having found a creative idea. Last is the stage of verification when the worth or appropriateness