Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is Creativity?When Does Creativity Happen?Types of CreativityWhat Does It Take to Be Creative?Creativity and the Big FiveHow to Increase CreativityFrequently Asked Questions

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

What Is Creativity?

When Does Creativity Happen?

Types of Creativity

What Does It Take to Be Creative?

Creativity and the Big Five

How to Increase Creativity

Frequently Asked Questions

Close

What is creativity? Creativity involves the ability to develop new ideas or utilize objects or information in novel ways. It can involve large-scale ideas that have the potential to change the world, such as inventing tools that impact how people live, or smaller acts of creation such as figuring out a new way to accomplish a task in your daily life.

This article explores what creativity is and when it is most likely to happen. It also covers some of the steps that you can take to improve your own creativity.

Studying creativity can be a tricky process. Not only is creativity a complex topic in and of itself, but there is also no clear consensus on how exactly to define creativity. Many of the most common definitions suggest that creativity is the tendency to solve problems or create new things in novel ways.

Two of the primary components of creativity include:

In his bookCreativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention, psychologistMihaly Csikszentmihalyisuggested that creativity can often be seen in a few different situations.

Experts also tend to distinguish between different types of creativity. The “four c” model of creativity suggests that there are four different types:

Csikszentmihalyi suggests thatcreative peopletend to possess are ​a variety of traits that contribute to their innovative thinking. Some of these key traits include:

Certain personality traits are also connected to creativity. According to thebig five theory of personality, human personality is made up of five broad dimensions:

Each dimension represents a continuum, so for each trait, people can be either high, low, or somewhere between the two.

Openness to experienceis a big five trait that is correlated with creativity.People who are high on this trait are more open to new experiences and ideas. They tend to seek novelty and enjoy trying new things, meeting new people, and considering different perspectives.

However, other personality traits and characteristics can also play a role in creativity. For example,intrinsic motivation, curiosity, and persistence can all determine how much people tend to pursue new ideas and look for novel solutions.

Some strategies that can be helpful for improving creativity include:

Csikszentmihalyi has noted that creativity requires both a fresh perspective combined with discipline. As Thomas Edison famously suggested, genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.

How to Boost Creativity

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The late Maya Angelou also suggested that thinking creativity helps foster even greater creativity, “The important thing is to use it. You can’t use up creativity. The more you use it, the more you have,” she suggested.

Frequently Asked QuestionsCreativity does not reside in one single area of the brain; many areas are actually involved. The frontal cortex of the brain is responsible for many of the functions that play a part in creativity.However, other parts of the brain impact creativity as well, including the hippocampus (which is important to memory) and the basal ganglia (which is essential in the memory of how to perform tasks). The white matter of the brain, which keeps the various parts of the brain connected, is also essential for creative thinking.Research suggests that people can train their brains to be more creative.Engaging in cognitively stimulating tasks, going on a walk, finding sources of inspiration, and meditating are a few strategies that may help boost creative thinking abilities.Learn More:10 Ways to Boost Your CreativityThe “big five” are the broad categories of traits that make up personality. The five dimensions are openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Each trait involves a range between two extremes, and people can be either at each end or somewhere in the middle.

Creativity does not reside in one single area of the brain; many areas are actually involved. The frontal cortex of the brain is responsible for many of the functions that play a part in creativity.However, other parts of the brain impact creativity as well, including the hippocampus (which is important to memory) and the basal ganglia (which is essential in the memory of how to perform tasks). The white matter of the brain, which keeps the various parts of the brain connected, is also essential for creative thinking.

Creativity does not reside in one single area of the brain; many areas are actually involved. The frontal cortex of the brain is responsible for many of the functions that play a part in creativity.

However, other parts of the brain impact creativity as well, including the hippocampus (which is important to memory) and the basal ganglia (which is essential in the memory of how to perform tasks). The white matter of the brain, which keeps the various parts of the brain connected, is also essential for creative thinking.

Research suggests that people can train their brains to be more creative.Engaging in cognitively stimulating tasks, going on a walk, finding sources of inspiration, and meditating are a few strategies that may help boost creative thinking abilities.Learn More:10 Ways to Boost Your Creativity

Research suggests that people can train their brains to be more creative.Engaging in cognitively stimulating tasks, going on a walk, finding sources of inspiration, and meditating are a few strategies that may help boost creative thinking abilities.

Learn More:10 Ways to Boost Your Creativity

The “big five” are the broad categories of traits that make up personality. The five dimensions are openness, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Each trait involves a range between two extremes, and people can be either at each end or somewhere in the middle.

7 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

American Psychological Association.The science of creativity.

Csikszentmihalyi M.Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention.New York: HarperCollins; 2013.

Kaufman J, Beghetto R.Beyond big and little: The four C model of creativity.Review of General Psychology. 2009;13(1):1-12. doi:10.1037/a0013688

Kaufman SB, Quilty LC, Grazioplene RG, et al.Openness to experience and intellect differentially predict creative achievement in the arts and sciences.J Pers. 2016;84(2):248-258. doi:10.1111/jopy.12156

Elliot J.Conversations With Maya Angelou. Jackson, Miss.: University Press of Mississippi; 1998.

Cavdarbasha D, Kurczek J.Connecting the dots: your brain and creativity.Front Young Minds. 2017;5:19. doi:10.3389/frym.2017.00019

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