Influence of Creative Thinking

and Playfulness on Creative Styles

of the Individuals

Mritunjay Kumar, Satyaki Roy and Ahmed Sameer

Abstract This study was done to understand the influence of creative thinking and
playfulness in enhancing creative self-esteem of students. 40 freshmen master’s
students in the Design discipline, participated in the study. Participants were
required to undergo an activity involving creative thinking and playful activities.
Their creative self-assessment was carried out using creative style
questionnaire-Revised (CSQ-R), pre and post activity. Results did not indicate a
global increase in creativity of the students as assessed by CSQ-R. However, two
subscales of CSQ-R viz. Use of other people (p < 0.001) and Environmental
Control/self-regulation (p = 0.04) showed significant change post activity. The
findings are discussed in light of cognition research. We argue for design and
implementation of such creative thinking based workshops in enhancing the cre-
ative styles of individuals especially through improvement in working with groups
and self-regulation of the individuals.

Keywords Creativity

Creative assessment

Creative thinking Creative

activity
Creative workshops

Creative enhancement

Creative style
questionnaire-revised

M. Kumar (&)
S. Roy

Design Programme, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India
e-mail: mritunjk@iitk.ac.in
S. Roy
e-mail: satyaki@iitk.ac.in
A. Sameer
Psychology Discipline, Department of HSS, Indian Institute
of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India
e-mail: Sameer.praiser@gmail.com

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017 465

A. Chakrabarti and D. Chakrabarti (eds.), Research into Design for Communities,
Volume 2, Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies 66,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-3521-0_40
466 M. Kumar et al.

1 Introduction

Creativity is a well-researched topic and various disciplines use varieties of defi-

nitions, theories and approaches. A comprehensive definition of creativity says “it’s
an interaction encompassed by multiple attributes e.g. the environment, aptitude,
the process and the individuals or group that achieves a novel and useful perceptible
product suitable in the social context” [1]. Indeed creativity is one of the complex
and multifaceted attribute required by individuals. Creative thinking is a necessary
element for the individuals facing the challenges of the competitive world where
demands are high. As once Einstein said “You can never solve a problem on the
level on which it was created.” This clearly indicates the need of shift to creative
thinking where the problem needs to be sensed differently.
Various factors contribute to the development of creativity. Guilford [2–4] saw
creativity as a collection of various complementary components (cognition, mem-
ory, convergent thinking, divergent thinking and evaluation). Creative people often
engage themselves in various activities (a) collaborate and share their ideas with
somebody else to be creative (b) influence from the external factors to facilitate
their creativity (c) brainstorming techniques to generate multiple ideas [5]. Personal
characteristic of an individual and creativity are also related. Amabile [6] suggest
that motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic) helps improve the creative potential of the
individuals who are motivated to work with rational playfulness. Individuals
experience joy and thus are motivated to engage themselves in the learning process
and other activities during the process of playfulness. Playfulness has a beneficial
effect on creativity and Innovation.
Today fostering of creativity is one of the major target for the primary education
for different countries in the world. The present education system comparatively
emphasize more on the examination based patterns as compared to the real learning
in classrooms [7–9]. Goodale also argues that the traditional examination pattern
hampers the growth of creativity since they only require limited memory associa-
tions and divergent thinking process [10]. Education committees and commissions
in India have frequently criticized the Indian education system where they fail to
foster creativity amongst the Individuals [11]. G.S. Sharma and Mandal also
reported that the Indian education system is struggling to endeavor creative abilities
amongst the children which is essential for their futuristic success and prosperity
[12]. Hence education system must not only focus on the development of intelli-
gence but also on development of creative expression.

1.1 Playfulness and Creativity

Playful activity is characterized by positive mood behaviour which elicits creativity,

or helps in generating novel solutions to a problem [13]. Playfulness and creativity
are linked together where play helps to generate novel ways to deal with the
Influence of Creative Thinking and Playfulness … 467

existing problems. Playful activities require imaginations which utilizes individ-

ual’s previous memory associations. Breaking the established patterns, thoughts or
behaviours are the major characteristics of a playful activity. Play activity features
are best suited to find the appropriate way in the conflicting situations without
worrying about the real time challenges. The rules can be broken, results are
spontaneous and individuals get intrinsically motivated to perform a task [14].
Individuals discover new approaches and methods to deal with the challenges
through play. Also previous memory associations help improve creativity. People
who are open to new experiences are found to be more creative.
Another characteristic of play is that it enhances individual’s knowledge and
behavioural repository, making it more flexible to adapt to new conditions.
However, playfulness might not appear to output immediate goals or benefit. Rather
the experience gained from these playful activities helps the individuals to perform
better in the later stages of life.
The design of Foldit [15], protein folding game is one good examples of
complex creative problem solving through crowdsourcing. Foldit attempts to solve
the complex protein folding structures by the participants all over the world through
a computer based interface. The folding part is highly intuitive and high scored
solutions are analyzed by the researchers to be applied in the real world. Such kind
of creative thinking based playful activity can certainly contribute in unlocking the
unsolved mysteries regardless of domain specific knowledge. However, playfulness
and creativity in computer based games is another huge research area which needs
to be explored in depth.
Training courses provided to the individuals certainly have established some
degree of success in fostering creativity [14]. Major objective of this study was to
see that playful creative thinking facilitates creativity amongst the individuals. We
encouraged individuals to work together in groups, share their experiences and
knowledge ultimately affecting their creative style. Creative style refers to the
approach or strategy when trying to solve a problem [16]. Diversity of the student
encourage creativity and the multidisciplinary approach of the design discipline will
help generate new ideas. This idea is well supported in literature [14] where they
say more creative ways will arise when people interact with each other rather than
working in isolation. Personal interpretation of playfulness significantly influence
creativity [17]. The aforementioned literature indicates the relationship between
creativity and playfulness. However, having less scientific research done in this area
to identify what people do to be creative? What process they adapt to be creative?
We propose the following hypothesis which tries to identify the creative process
that individuals take to be creative when engaged in playful activities.
Hypothesis—Creative thinking playful activity influence the creative styles of
individuals.
468 M. Kumar et al.

2 Method

2.1 Participants

This study employed 40 freshmen students from the design discipline, 29 males and
11 females, (Mean age = 24.6 years, SD = 2.3) from a technical Institute who
voluntarily participated in the study. The participants joined the Institute for their
Master of Design degree programme after clearing the CEED (common entrance
examination of design, India)1 entrance examination, written test and interview. The
students can be perceived to some extent as creative individuals as they cleared all
India competitive examination for design (CEED). They were a part of the design
course module which was being offered in the Institute. Participant’s background
varied from Civil engineering, Computer Science, Aerospace engineering,
Mechanical Engineering, Electrical engineering, Architects and Fashion Designers.
40 participants were divided in 8 groups having 5 members in each group
randomly.

3 Materials

3.1 Creative Thinking and Playful Activities

The course blended a mix of playful learning with basic theory on the design
thinking (how to solve a problem). The course was organized into 3 modules for a
period of four months. 1st module only focused on the theoretical part of the design
thinking process. 2nd module focused on the playful activities done in groups and
the 3rd module consisted the prototyping phase (tinkering with various materials,
developing various forms). Course variety included repeated brainstorming ses-
sions, group playful activities etc. In this paper we specifically present the 2nd
module for its direct relation with creativity and playful activities.
6 playful games were used for the students.
• Game 1: Fit inside the circle
All 40 students had to fit inside a 15-in. radius circle marked on a ground. They had
to fit inside the circle with a nice form. After each successful attempt the circle size
got reduced by 2 in. Figure 1 shows the game played by the students.

1
CEED—Common entrance examination for design is a national entrance examination for post
graduate studies in the field of design. This examination is hosted annually by the Industrial design
Center, IIT Bombay on behalf of MHRD, Govt. of India.
Influence of Creative Thinking and Playfulness … 469

Fig. 1 Participants playing the game ‘fit inside the circle’

• Game 2: Reach the other side alive

Participant groups had to imagine a scenario where there was a chemical apoca-
lypse that has happened in a factory and the only way to survive the situation was to
reach the other side of the chemical infected area. Participants were provided few
newspapers which could only be used as a medium to reach the other side. Group
reaching the other side first, wins the game.
• Game 3: Make the longest tower
Participant in groups had to make the longest tower only with the help of few
newspapers, glue and paper cutters within a fixed time constraint. The group who
makes the longest tower wins the game.
• Game 4: Sinking boat. Whom will you save?
Participants were given an imaginary situation where each one of them will play a
typical character from the real life, for example—An engineer, President of India, A
differently abled person etc. Scenario—All 40 characters are in a sinking ship where
they can only save 10 people due to the limitation of the life boats available in the
ship. The challenge was to choose the appropriate person.
• Game 5: Imagine a space and illustrate the elements.
Students were asked to imagine a space, for example—Economy section of the
airplane, a lecture room etc. Students were then provided with a piece of paper with
25 blank frames and were asked to illustrate individual elements from that imagined
space on the blank frames provided, for example—(table, chair etc.).
470 M. Kumar et al.

• Game 6: Metaphorical thinking

Students were asked to find analogy between an umbrella and a turtle and were
asked to conceptualize an umbrella for disastrous situations.

3.2 Format and Structure of the Games

Our designed games help the individuals to be more creative in their approaches
when solving a problem by:
1. These games involve the process of divergent thinking with an open choice
approach. Individuals can freely assimilate (think new ideas or imagination) and
accommodate new schemata to solve the problem of each game.
2. These games involve the peer discussions and collaboration which helps in the
process of divergent thinking. Individuals try to judge their attitude and
approach when working in groups. Individuals also empathize towards the other
group members (understanding their emotions).

3.3 Ratings

To assess the creative styles or approach of the participants, CSQ-R (creativity

styles questionnaire revised) [16] was used pre and post course module. CSQ-R is a
self-measure and reporting scale consisting of 78 items which targets the partici-
pant’s beliefs, approach, procedures and environmental control used to expedite
creativity in their lives. Kumar et al. [16] also suggested that this self-rating
questionnaire can help the individual to understand their creative tendencies which
can later be then modified or improved as per the context and need. The CSQ-R is
measured within eight subscales or local measures: (a) Belief in the Unconscious
processes (contains 17 items) assess the participant’s intrinsic beliefs about being
creative (e.g., “I feel that new ideas possess me and guide me through to completion
almost automatically”), (b) Use of techniques (contains 18 items) indicate aug-
menting creative skills with specific strategies or any techniques (e.g., “I am always
thinking/fantasizing about how to do everyday things differently”), (c) Use of other
people (contains 9 items) illustrates the collaborative approach of the individuals
who consult, share their ideas and work with other people (e.g., “I am at my
creative best when I work in a group”), (d) Final product orientation (contains 7
items) focused on the extrinsic motivation of the individuals towards the final
product (e.g., “I think a final product that is not readily observable through the
senses can emerge in a creative act”), (e) Environmental Control (contains 18 items)
focused on the influence of various stimuli existing in an environment
to self-regulate and facilitate creativity (e.g., “I reward myself in some way after
Influence of Creative Thinking and Playfulness … 471

I have worked on my creative idea (s) for a designated period of time”),

(f) Category superstition (contains 2 items) assess the superstitious beliefs and
practices to facilitate creativity (e.g., “I have a favorite tool—a certain pen/easel/
thinking cap, etc. without which I would find it hard to concentrate when I am
engaged in creative work”), (g) Use of senses (contains 5 items) emphasize the use
of all the five senses to be creative (e.g., “I tend to use my sense of touch a lot in my
creative work”). Participants rated each subscale questions on a these values—1
(Strongly agree), 2 (Agree), 3 (Unsure), 4 (Disagree) and 5 (strongly Disagree).
Each subscale ratings were totaled to give separate subscale scores.

4 Procedure

Before beginning the 2nd module, participants were asked to fill the CSQ-R
questionnaire. This was done to record the existing mindsets, beliefs, strategies and
techniques towards being creative. Course was conducted twice a week which ran
for a period of 4 weeks and each game was played by the participants within a
duration of 30–45 min. Participants were provided with all the necessary tools as
per demanded by the game rules. Participants either performed these playful
activities individually (game 5 and 6) or in groups (games 1–4). All these activities
were performed on an open terrace (66 ft  48 ft) wider space to accommodate 40
students for various activities. After each activity participants were asked to submit
a report with a refined version of the solution in a notebook within 2 working days
for evaluation. Participants were instructed to fill the CSQ-R questionnaire after the
2nd module was over to evaluate the difference and impact of these playful
activities on being creative on various subscales.

5 Results

This study examined the change in the creative style index of the individuals on
various subscales. The results were analyzed using the repeated measures, Tukey—
HSD analysis was done and the results were found highly significant for the sub-
scale the use of other people (p < 0.001) and found significantly high for
Environmental control/Self-Regulation (p = 0.04). Tables 1 and 2 show the sig-
nificant improvement found in the two subscales. Table 3 summarizes all the rat-
ings of the CSQ-R on various subscales. We also examined the overall change
which showed no significant differences. The results revealed a greater engagement
and performance in the creative activity when participants worked in groups. We
observed an initial repulsion amongst the individual to share or discuss the idea
amongst them but eventually the fear of rejection got subdued once the participants
were instructed to be open to the weirdest or the wild ideas. Think aloud protocol
was used in each group to come up with multiple solutions. Further, participants
472 M. Kumar et al.

Table 1 Summary of repeated measures ANOVA for the subscale (use of other people)
Within subjects effects_other people
Sum of squares df Mean square F p η²
Other people 45.276 1 45.276 349.2 <0.001 0.9
Residual 5.057 39 0.13
Note Type III sum of squares

Table 2 Summary for repeated measures ANOVA for the subscale (environmental control and
self-regulation)
Within subjects effects_self regulation
Sum of squares df Mean square F p η²
Self-regulation 0.002 1 0.002 4.333 0.044 0.1
Residual 0.022 39 5.585e−4
Note Type III sum of squares

Table 3 Ratings of all the subscales of CSQ-R (pre and post activity)
Subscale Pre-activity (mean Post-activity (mean
score) score)
1. Belief in unconscious processes 52.82 52.95
2. Use of techniques
3. Use of other people 59.87 59.87
4. Product orientation 27.5 27.47
5. Environmental 19.55 19.65
control/self-regulation
6. Superstition 48.55 48.35
7. Use of senses 4.6 4.725
16.05 16.02

also self-regulated themselves to facilitate their creative work during this course i.e.
they used external stimuli to facilitate their creative process (music, consumption of
snacks, assigning a particular place for the creative work). This result suggests the
influence of playfulness on the usage of external stimuli to self-regulate, or facilitate
creativity.

6 Discussion

Although vast literature exists regarding the relationship of playfulness and cre-
ativity, very few literature discusses the impact of playfulness on creative styles of
the individuals. Our paper identifies the major creative styles used when people are
engaged in a playful activity. Playful activities certainly help improve creative
styles of individuals. This is in conformity with the earlier literature [6, 14, 18]
Influence of Creative Thinking and Playfulness … 473

which discusses influence of playful activities in enhancing creative esteem of the

individuals. The evidence indeed showed that working in groups was found to be
more facilitating in generating ideas than working individually. Playful activities,
especially when performed in groups helps to re-channelize individual’s collabo-
rative tendencies and their approach in using external stimuli to facilitate creativity.
Playful activities should be carefully designed which will ultimately help the
individuals to identify their other creativity styles which has not been found sig-
nificant in this paper.
Playfulness can enhance the motivation of individuals to be more involved in the
task rather than leaving or getting frustrated with it. Playful creative thinking can
also be beneficial in terms of motor skills and social interaction ultimately affecting
the well-being of the individuals. Results suggest the implication of positive,
playful mood and creative thinking helps in fostering creativity. Organizations who
are concerned with generating new ideas, new discoveries generally require mul-
tiple skillsets and we think creative thinking and playfulness are the mediums which
should be adapted to meet those requirements. Intrinsically motivated individuals
perform better [6] and playfulness provide a new way to challenge and find a novel
solution which fulfills as a sufficient reward. It has also been found that people tend
to work harder and perform better when driven by intrinsic rather than extrinsic
motivation [14].
However, the role of environment and tangible tools with which we interact
should also be considered when creative playful activity is performed. The degree
of playfulness might also differ in the context in which it occurs. Individual dif-
ferences such as personality traits and behavioral styles also plays a major role
when determining a creative output. More research is needed to reveal exact nature
of influence of playful activities on creativity.
Putting these results and earlier findings together we can conclude that creative
play involves freedom, fun and breaking the rules and this perspective might be
helpful to analyze cognitive skills that can be used in later stages of life specially
when solving the complex real world problems. Academic achievements can be
fostered by motivating such creative thinking workshops where playful learning
environments can be used as a tool in the conventional forms of learning. These
type of activities can help the individuals to identify their present style of creative
process and act as an insight to modify their attitudes or make them into the right
mindset of being creative. People must realize the complexity of a creative process.

References

1. Plucker, J.A., Beghetto, R.A., Dow, G.T.: Why isn’t creativity more important to educational
psychologists? Potentials, pitfalls, and future directions in creativity research. Educ. Psychol.
39(2), 83–96 (2004)
2. Guilford, J.P.: The nature of human intelligence. McGraw-Hill, New York (1967)
3. Guilford, J.P.: Intelligence, Creativity, and Their Educational Implications. Edits Pub., San
Diego (1968)
474 M. Kumar et al.

4. Guilford, J.P.: Creative Talents: Their Nature, Uses and Development. Bearly limited, Buffalo
(1986)
5. Kumar, V.K., Holman, E.R. Rudegeair, P.: Creativity styles of freshmen students. J. Creative
Behav. 25, 320 (1991)
6. Amabile, T.M.: Creativity in Context: Update to “The Social Psychology of Creativity”.
Westview Press, Boulder (1996)
7. Raina, M.K.: Social Change and Changes in Creative Functioning, pp. 8–9. National Council
of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi (1989)
8. Chadha, N.K.: Creativity, intelligence and scholastic achievement. Indian Educ. Rev. 18(32),
145–170 (1990)
9. Freeman, J. (ed.): The Psychology of Gifted Children: Perspectives on Development and
Education. Wiley, Chichester (1985)
10. Goodale, R.A.: Methods for encouraging creativity in the classroom. J. Creative Behav. 4,
91–102 (1970)
11. Sarsani, M.R.: Creativity in Schools. Sarup & Sons, New Delhi (2006)
12. Khan, N., Gash, N.A.: A comparative study of extreme groups of delinquency proneness, on
the non-verbal dimensions of creativity–in Kashmir Region
13. Hutt, C.: Exploration and play in children. In: Symposia of the Zoological Society of London
(vol. 18, pp. 61–81). The Society
14. Bateson, P., Bateson, P.P.G., Martin, P.: Play, Playfulness, Creativity and Innovation.
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (2013)
15. Cooper, S., Khatib, F., Treuille, A., Barbero, J., Lee, J., Beenen, M., Leaver-Fay, A., Baker,
D., Popović, Z.: Predicting protein structures with a multiplayer online game. Nature 466
(7307), 756–760 (2010)
16. Kumar, V.K., Kemmler, D., Holman, E.R.: The creativity styles questionnaire-revised.
Creativity Res. J. 10(1), 51–58 (1997)
17. Fix, G.A.: The psychometric properties of playfulness scales with adolescents. Unpublished
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Fairleigh Dickinson, New Jersey (2003)
18. Runco, M.A.: Creativity: Theories and Themes: Research, Development, and Practice.
Elsevier, London (2014)