Creativity and Human Relations

Reporter: Antonina D. Santos MAEd, AS

Creativity
is defined as the ability to transcend
traditional ideas, rules, patterns, relationships or the like, and to create meaningful new ideas, forms, methods, interpretation. refers to the invention or origination of any new thing (a product, solution, artwork, literary works, etc.) that has value.

Creativity and Personality Patterns

Research shows that creativity has little to
do with personality patterns (i.e. outgoing or shy, nave or sophisticated, impulsive or steady), or with the media used (like painting, music, architecture or literature), or with the products produced (such as in sciences, mathematics teaching or child rearing) or with the particular environment (in the city or in the province, in poverty or in plenty).

Creativity and Intelligence

Intuition (direct perception or insight) rather than
traditional intelligence is more linked with creativity. Known scientists like Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison did badly in school but were extremely creative. Some researchers believe that creativity is the outcome of same cognitive process as intelligence, and is only judged as creativity in terms of consequences, like when the outcome of cognitive process happens to produce something novel.

Ellis Paul Torrance proposed that a high degree of intelligence appears to be necessary but not sufficient condition for high creativity. That is, while there is a positive correlation between creativity and intelligence, this correlation disappears for IQs above the threshold of around 120. However, a study made by Getzels and Jackson among high school students concluded that high IQ and high creativity tend to be mutually exclusive with a majority of the highest scoring students being either highly intelligent or highly creative but not both. A 2005 meta-analysis found only small correlations between IQ and Creativity. An alternative view made by Renzulli in his Three Ring Hypothesis stated that giftedness is based on both

intelligence and creativity.

Creativity and Perception

Perception is the way we look at things.
Processing is what we do with that perception. The ability to consciously and creatively direct our attention and thinking towards our surroundings, people and events in a creative way encourages mental playfulness and choices in how to experience the world Perception is possibly the most important element in creative thinking before technical matters. So some ways of broadening and changing perception are needed to stimulate creativity

 In order to stimulate creativity so some ways of

broadening perception and changing perception is needed. The purpose of perception is to allow patterns to form in the mind and then to use them. The mind is very good at recognizing whole patterns, abstracting or identifying hidden patterns. Pattern formation relies upon the way we choose to look at something, by classifying things and identifying points of difference we make certain predictions and judgments. These predictions and judgments are the essential building blocks upon which ideas are formed, therefore the richer these building blocks the richer the potential of the ideas.

Creativity and Affect

Some theories suggest that creativity may be
particularly susceptible to affective influence. According to Alice Isen, positive affect has three primary effects on cognitive activity: 1. Positive affect makes additional cognitive material available for processing, increasing the number of cognitive elements available for association; 2. Positive affect leads to defocused attention and a more complex cognitive context, increasing the breadth of those elements that are treated as relevant to the problem;

3. Positive affect increases cognitive flexibility, increasing the probability that diverse cognitive elements will in fact become associated. Together, these processes lead positive affect to have a positive influence on creativity. Barbara Fredrickson in her broaden-andbuild model suggests that positive emotions such as joy and love broaden a person's available repertoire of cognitions and actions, thus enhancing creativity.

Creative Intelligence
In 1983, Howard Gardner proposed the theory of
multiple intelligences. These are nine (9) separate areas that creative people put their perspective to work. 1. Linguistics- People who are gifted writers, poets, songwriters, and speakers fall into this category. If you love language and are fascinated by its meanings, expressions, and rhythms, your intelligence falls into this category. 2. Logical- Mathematical- Scientists and mathematicians find pleasure in using the logical reasoning parts of the brain. Most of the standardized intelligence tests measure ability level in this area. 3. Musical- Most people whose intelligence falls into this category have a fond relationship with sound. As children, they likely to produce new combination of sound on their own.

4. Spatial Reasoning- A person who excels in this area has a knack for seeing how elements fit together in space. This type of intelligence can be expressed by building things, or by perfecting the art of flying a hand glider. The talent is physical and mechanical, rather than tied to ideas and concepts. 5. Bodily-Kinesthetic- the ability to use the parts of your body to solve problems is a type of intelligence. Athletes and ballet dancers are examples of people who excel in this area. 6. Interpersonal Intelligence This area of intelligence deals with ones ability to understand and deal with the world of people. It is an essential skill in all aspects of life, and particularly important in business.

7. Intrapersonal Intelligence means knowledge of oneself. A person with a large amount of this type of intelligence knows his or her own strengths and weaknesses, desires and fears, and can act on knowledge realistically. 8. Naturalistic- This area has something to do with nurturing and relating information to ones natural surroundings. Examples include classifying natural forms such as animal and plant species and rocks and mountain types; and applied knowledge of nature in farming, mining, etc. Careers which suit those with this intelligence include naturalists, farmers and gardeners.

9. Existential- spiritual or religious intelligence.

Gardner did not want to commit to a spiritual intelligence but suggested an existential intelligence. It is the ability to contemplate phenomena or questions beyond sensory data, such as the infinite and infinitesimal. Careers or callings which suit those with this intelligence include shamans, priests, mathematicians, scientists, cosmologists, psychologists and philosophers.
Examine your talents and abilities, to see which of these intelligence categories best describes you. If you are a manager, watch for the type of intelligence each of your workers exhibit and learn to use the abilities to the fullest capacity possible. Such knowledge can help to raise the level of an organizations creative output greatly.

Increase Your Creativity

1. Get into the Open Mode at work in our daily routine, most of us are in closed mode. When we were working, we feel pressured, we keep thinking about how much we have to do. Our everyday mode contains a certain amount of anxiety, little humor, a lot of stress, and a definite element of fear. But it doesnt contain creativity. The open mode on the other hand, is relaxed, expansive and less purposeful. In the open mode, we tend to let things come as they may; we tend to be more thoughtful; and we smile and laugh more open. The open mode often involves giving you sufficient time. Although you are likely to meet many people who claim to do their most creative work under pressure, the truth is that most of us produce better when we were given enough time to do the job.

2. Think of Yourself as Creative PersonOne of the biggest stumbling blocks to creativity is the belief that you cant do itthat you somehow arent good enough to create anything worthwhile. Research has shown that people who produce more creative output are different in one major way from those who create less: the more creative people believe that they are creative. The others have serious doubts. Believe in yourself creatively, and you will have accomplished an important step.

3. Learn to See Problems as Opportunities problems

4.
must not be viewed as something to get depressed about. They must be viewed as challenges to be met. Look for More Than One or Two Solutions to a Problem- A major stumbling block with our methods of learning is that we are taught to look for one right answer. When we should be casting about for many right answers and numerous ways to view a problem, we tend to go after that one surefire answer that will please the teacher or the boss and make us feel that we have succeeded. If you think there is only one right answer , you behave accordingly, and stop looking once you have found the answer at works. We settle for the one right answer out of a tendency to grab the first idea that comes. We make this error especially when we feel pressured, frustrated , and afraid we arent going to succeed in solving the problem. That first idea is good, but how do you know its the best.

5. Turn your Ideas into Action- Dont just dismiss your ideas, put them into action. Its so painful that the ideas you thought of then dismissed were later put into action by someone else in your workplace. 6. Dont be Afraid to Break Rules- Another related issue is out attitude towards rules. Whatever we do, we feel compelled to follow rules. For many years from kindergarten through high school, we are taught the rules. After we graduate, society has more rules for adulthood, and breaking them can get us into a lot of troubles. Many of those rule arent rules at all, only customs- customs everyone has been afraid to change. Sometimes rules outlive their usefulness, but we continue to follow them anyway.

7. Dont be Afraid to Make Mistakes- Most people have two selves: the safekeeping self, which keeps us fed, clothed and out of trouble, and the spontaneous self, which allows us the freedom and fun of doing things without structure and detailed planning. Our childhood training warns us not to be too spontaneous, not to be messy, and most importantly not to make fools of ourselves. Actually, making mistakes is one of the most effective ways of learning, and being a bit foolish is part of being human. The president of a successful, fast growing computer company tells his employees, Were innovators. Were doing things nobody has ever done before. Therefore we are going to be making mistakes. My advice to you: make mistakes, but make them in a hurry.

Increasing Creativity in the Workplace

1. Reward Creativity
If you want to get employees to think out-of-the-box, you need to motivate them with some form of rewards. Moreover, suggestions have to be taken seriously so that employees are willing to come up with more creative ways of improving the workplace. To kick-start things up, you can set goals for your employees to think up of some ways of making work processes more efficient. Perhaps each employee can be tasked to provide one suggestion by the end of each week and youll assess which idea is the best. This will be followed with a reward for the employee and equally important, implementation. The reward can be tangible ones like giving monetary incentives, or intangible ones like recognition from the organization by announcing the winner to the rest.

2. Anonymity and Confidentiality your employees may already be motivated to be creative but have no outlets to voice out their wonderful ideas. While the outspoken ones can always speak to the management about some suggestions they have in mind, others may be too shy or afraid to do so in this manner. Providing a suggestion box or anything similar would grant these employees the anonymity and confidentiality they crave, thereby inspiring the creative spirit that you wish to instill as part of the organization culture. However, some of the most creative ideas are born out of brainstorming sessions where a group of people discuss and debate about possible solutions to a problem. Having such a private channel for employees to contribute ideas may thus hinder the creative process. Moreover, those who provide the effective ideas wont get identified and get the recognition they need. It will be wise to balance both private and public mediums for employees to propose their suggestions.

3, Innovation Teams A more systematic way of promoting creativity in the workplace is to set up innovation teams. Each innovation team will be tasked to come up with ideas on how to improve the work process of a particular aspect. Deadlines are to be set to ensure that the teams present their ideas and be rewarded if they are excellent. When done properly, this will signal to everyone that the organization values work-related creativity. One catch is that such innovation teams may be seen as too deliberate to some employees. Creativity is supposed to be spontaneous; ideas arising from the strokes of genius. Having such teams may make it seem like an extra chore for those assigned to them, and the systematic approach (i.e. the focus on a single topic) may come across as too rigid for creativity to flourish.

4. Support Creativity Employees may be unwilling to take risks because they do not know whether the organization supports creativity. This is when you need to guide the organization in the right direction, and show that creativity is highly valued. This has a lot to do with how receptive you are to their ideas, and how you make known your intention to be a more creative company. One reason why employees are not thinking out-ofthe-box or coming up with solution that are vastly different from how things used to be done is that they may be afraid of the repercussions of making mistakes. Risk-taking has to be encouraged and be seen as a norm in the organization. Developing a creative culture takes time, but it starts off with management being more open-minded and less judgmental to the suggestions by employees.

5. Diversity Among Employee How can different ideas exchange if everyone thinks in a similar manner? Employees with comparable backgrounds, qualifications, experience, etc creates a homogeneous working environment. Perhaps having such homogeneity between the employees will facilitate team-bonding and such, but when it comes to workplace creativity, a uniform and agreeable crowd leaves little room for ideas to flourish. Rather than setting stringent recruitment prerequisites, you might consider giving more allowance in your criteria. Hire staffs from different knowledge and background and get them to mingle around in projects and even company events. Organize more informal settings between employees with dissimilar profiles for the interchanging of thoughts.

6. Positive Working Environment Sometimes, too serious a mindset can hinder creativity. Having fun during work allows one to be relaxed and thats where one tends to get inspired with wonderful ideas. Needless to say, a stressful or even depressing work environment doesnt give one the mood to think of doing things differently. The employee would only look forward to the end of the day. Psychological studies have revealed that positive mood can spur creativity. The idea is that positive mood awards us with greater flexibility in thinking because our perspectives are widened. We become more open-minded in that sense and are willing to explore alternatives. Knowing such findings now, incorporating fun into the work through teambonding activities or retreats every once in a while can be a crucial element in injecting creativity in the workplace.

Creativity in Education
Creative Teaching Creative teaching may be defined in two
ways: firstly, teaching creatively and secondly, teaching for creativity. Teaching creatively might be described as teachers using imaginative approaches to make learning more interesting, engaging, exciting and effective.

 Teaching for creativity might best be

described as using forms of teaching that are intended to develop students own creative thinking and behavior. However it would be fair to say that teaching for creativity must involve creative teaching. Teachers cannot develop the creative abilities of their students if their own creative abilities are undiscovered or suppressed.

 Carolyn Edwards and Kay Springate in

their article The lion comes out of the stone: Helping young children achieve their creative potential [Dimensions of Early Childhood] give the following suggestions on encouraging student creativity: Give students extended, unhurried time to explore and do their best work. Dont interfere when students are productively engaged and motivated to complete tasks in which they are fully engaged.

 Create an inviting and exciting classroom

environment. Provide students with space to leave unfinished work for later completion and quiet space for contemplation. Provide an abundant supply of interesting and useful materials and resources. Create a classroom climate where students feel mistakes are acceptable and risk taking is encouraged. Appropriate noise, mess and autonomy are accepted.

School leaders Encouraging Creativity

Teachers can do a lot to encourage
creativity in their classes but its a job only half done without the support of the school leadership. School leaders have the ability to build an expectation of creativity into a schools learning and teaching strategies. They can encourage,

 recognize and reward creativity in both

pupils and teachers. School leaders have the ability to provide resources for creative endeavors; to involve teachers and pupils in creating stimulating environments; to tap the creativity of staff, parents and the local community and much more.

 They have the ability to make creativity art

of the staff development programmed; to include creativity in everyones performance reviews; to invite creative people into the school and most important of all, to lead by example!!

Thank You