As soon as a person first picked up a primitive tool of labor, he began to actively transform the world around him. By and large, the whole meaning of a specific human life comes down to one or another activity. It can be creative or destructive, spontaneous or purposeful, spiritual, material or creative. In this article we will tell you as much as possible about the creative path of a person, features and stages of his development.
The main types of human activity
What is an activity? In the broadest sense, this is the way a person relates to the world around him. Human activity differs from animal activity in the following features:
- Consciousness of the process.
- Focus on a specific result.
- The transformative nature of the activity.
Any human activity has goals, motives, methods, means and tools. She also has her own specific object (object, phenomenon, or internal state of a person), on which this activity is directed.
In social psychology, it is customary to distinguish five main types of human activity - creativity, play, teaching, communication and work. We will talk about one of them in more detail below.
The essence of the concept of "creativity"
According to psychologists, there are only two levels of activity:
The first level provides a banal repetition of those algorithms of actions that were created by other people. Such activity is based on experience and does not require significant mental effort. The creative level involves the creation of a qualitatively new product or knowledge, thereby contributing to the development of human culture and civilization as a whole. It should be noted that any creative activity is impossible without reproductive. To write a worthy poem, one talent will not be enough. The poet must first familiarize himself with concepts such as rhyme, rhythm, and verse size, not to mention the rules of grammar and speech style.
Thus, creativity is a human activity, the distinguishing criterion of which is the uniqueness of its final result. The concept of creativity can be considered in two different aspects: as ability (in other words, creativity) or as a thought process. This will be discussed further in our article.
It is important to note that creativity is the only type of activity that simultaneously uses three rather unusual “tools” of the human brain: imagination, fantasy and intuition. Another important difference between creative activity and reproductive activity is that not only the end result has value, but also the process of such activity.
By the way, a separate branch of philosophy - heuristics - deals with the problems of creativity and the creative path of man.
The Problem of Creativity: A History of Research
The first attempts to study such a phenomenon as creativity began in ancient times. Many thinkers of ancient Greece were sure that it was in this activity that the very essence of human existence lies. At the same time, ancient philosophers distinguished between divine and actually human creativity.
But the most active period of research on this problem occurred in the last century. At the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, a special discipline was born - the psychology of creativity. She combined psychological, aesthetic, philosophical knowledge and ideas.
In the second half of the twentieth century, there was a demand for creative and creative workers, which gave a new impetus to the development of this scientific discipline. Nowadays, not only psychologists, but also sociologists, culturologists and even economists are actively engaged in it. All this once again confirms the fact that the role of creativity at the current stage of human development is steadily growing.
Basic Theories of Creativity
Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Erich Neumann, Abraham Maslow - all these scientists were more or less interested in the problem of creativity.
So, the well-known Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud, the author of the theory of psychoanalysis, believed that creativity is a kind of sublimation of human sexual energy. But the father of analytical psychology, Carl Jung, considered the archetypes of the collective unconscious to be sources of creative inspiration - genetically shapeless structures that take shape in art.
An interesting theory is offered by the founder of individual psychology Alfred Adler. In his opinion, each person was initially endowed with creative potential. In addition, Adler’s theory considers art as a way of compensating for a person’s personal flaws and flaws.
Gestalt psychology considers the creative path of a person as a special thought process, as a result of which the unified facts are combined into a single whole, which, in turn, leads to the so-called "insight". According to the concept of Jacob Ponomarev, creativity is a mechanism and a key condition for the development of matter, the formation of its new forms and variations.
Creativity as a process
Here's how German physician and physiologist German Helmholtz spoke of “creative insight” back in the 19th century:
“These happy influences often invade the head so quietly that you don’t immediately notice their significance, sometimes it’s just a coincidence that will indicate when and under what circumstances they came: the thought appears in the head and you don’t know where it comes from.”
It was in this way that scientific ideas and discoveries were born in the scientist’s head.
Creativity is, first of all, a thought process, as a result of which certain ideas of a person are realized in the outside world. Five characteristic features of any creative process can be distinguished:
- Creativity. Any creativity (with rare exceptions) is aimed at creating a new, useful and socially significant product.
- Spontaneity, originality, unconventional thinking.
- Close connection with the subconscious.
- Clearly expressed subjectivity of the process, which gives the creator a sense of moral and spiritual satisfaction.
- Social orientation of the process. Any creativity needs an assessment of society, and this assessment can be both positive and negative.
It is worth mentioning another important concept - the creative path. By it is meant independent practical activity of a person (artist, poet, writer, musician, etc.) in creating his material or intangible values ​​(works). In a narrower understanding, the creative path is a process of gradually revealing the creative potential of a particular artist, consisting, as a rule, of several stages.
Stages of a creative path
Different researchers offer their gradations of the stages of the creative process. We will consider only three of them.
Soviet psychologist Yakov Ponomarev identifies four successive stages of the creative path:
- Preparation (conscious work) - creates the prerequisites for insight and "conception" of the idea.
- Ripening (unconscious work) - the promotion of ideas in the right direction.
- Inspiration (the transition from unconscious work to conscious activity) is the "birth" of an idea, and its entry into the sphere of consciousness.
- Development (conscious work) - the finalization of the idea and its verification.
Peter Engelmeyer, Russian popularizer of science, considered the creative process from the point of view of the work of a scientist-inventor and singled out only three stages of such activity. It:
- The birth of design (hypothesis of the invention).
- Development of a scheme or plan.
- Constructive implementation of the plan (does not require special creativity).
P.K. Engelmeyer said this:
“In the first act, the invention is supposed, in the second - it is proved, in the third - it is carried out. The first act defines it teleologically, the second - logically, the third - in fact. "
Another Soviet psychologist P. M. Jacobson identified the seven stages of the creative process. Here they are:
- Intellectual readiness for the act of creativity.
- Definition of a problem.
- The origin of ideas and the formulation of tasks.
- Search for solutions to these problems.
- Obtaining the principle of invention (discovery).
- Turning a principle into a scheme.
- Technical design of the invention.
Main types
What types of creativity exist in the modern world? There are several classifications. According to one of them, there are only two main types of creative activity: practical and spiritual. Although this division is quite arbitrary.
Practical creative activity is specific and prosaic. It helps to translate the idea into reality. And here, of course, one cannot do without certain practical skills. Spiritual creativity is deeper and more interesting for scientists, because it is difficult to study. This type of creative activity takes place exclusively in the human mind. Moreover, the creator himself does not always control this process.
There is a more detailed classification of creative activity. According to her, the following types of creativity are distinguished:
- Art (this includes fine art - sculpture, graphics, painting, etc.).
- Musical and visual (pop, choreography, circus art, cinema).
- Literary (prose, poetry, oral folk art).
- Applied (architecture, crafts, etc.).
- Scientific and technical.
- Social.
- Pedagogical.
- Sports and gaming.
- Political.
Separately, it should be said about scientific creativity. Indeed, it is by and large that is the locomotive of scientific and technological progress and allows science as such to conquer more and more peaks. Not a single scientist can do without creativity and creativity, be it a physicist, teacher, geographer or mathematician.
What can be the creative path of a particular person? And how can you motivate him to work? This will be discussed later.
Creativity and personality
Creativity can also be considered as a process of interaction between a person and surrounding reality. So, S. L. Rubinstein said the following: “By making changes in the outside world, a person changes himself.” The Soviet psychologist Boris Ananyev even believed that creativity is a process of objectification of the inner world of a particular individual. The well-known Russian philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev went even further in this matter, saying that "a person is a creative act."
The outstanding American psychologist and economist A. Maslow regarded creativity as a tool for human self-expression. At the same time, he insisted that the ability for creative activity is inborn, not acquired. G.S. Altshuller had similar views. He believed that every person has creative abilities, but in order to realize them, certain conditions are necessary.
Creativity motivation
How to start a creative journey? How to motivate yourself to work? V. N. Druzhinin wrote on this score that "creativity stimulates itself." The main thing is to create the right motivation.
Once again, it is worth recalling that any person has creative abilities, regardless of his mental development. But in reality, not everyone develops the need to realize this rich and inherent potential of nature. The reasons for this may be hiding in improper upbringing, environmental constraints, restrictions and the taboos of society.
Immediately it is worth mentioning that the motivation for creativity should be sought within. A person must himself want to do something new and interesting. Creativity from a whip is simply impossible.
If you have “creative stagnation” and you don’t know how to get out of it, follow simple recommendations:
- Turn on your favorite music.
- Read a good book or watch a quality movie.
- Sleep (sometimes good ideas come to mind after a good sleep).
- Change the environment, take a short trip.
- Think only about positive things.
According to many psychologists, these simple tips will help you return to your creative rut and continue to work with a fresh head and new strength.
Academic and folk art
Creativity is professional (academic) or primitive (folk). Everything is extremely simple here. Academicism in creativity is the adherence to clear and generally accepted rules and norms that are taught in special universities, academies and conservatories. The following is an example of academism in painting.
Folk art, on the contrary, does not accept any rules. It is free and independent in its naivety. It is primitive, but not superficial. Folk craftsmen, as a rule, do not have a special education and create on a hunch of heart. For example, below is a drawing of a famous representative of folk art - Ukrainian artist Maria Primachenko.
Folk art has several subspecies. Among them:
- Primitive (naive) art.
- Arts and crafts.
- Folklore.
- Amateur art.
- Amateur (household) creativity.
Creativity Treatment
Creativity, it turns out, also cures various diseases and ailments. Art therapy is one of the most popular methods of psychotherapy today, combining traditional treatment and creativity. It allows a person to resolve internal conflicts, reduce stress, increase self-esteem and eliminate behavioral deviations. The author of this method is the artist Adrian Hill. It was first used in the middle of the last century in the USA and England.
Nowadays, art therapy is widely and effectively used in the following cases:
- Developmental abnormalities in children.
- Psycho-emotional disorders (depression, obsessive syndromes, panic attacks, etc.).
- Recovery after severe and prolonged illnesses, injuries.
- Fighting bad habits and addictions.
For therapeutic purposes, such creative activities as painting, sculpture and music are most often used.
Finally…
Creative activity, although it requires certain skills and abilities, is available to absolutely all people without exception. Do not know how to draw, no musical ear or literary talent? No problem! There are many other areas of life where you can realize your hidden potential - this is science, pedagogy, politics, sports. Find your path in creative life and achieve success, create something new and original, getting unprecedented pleasure from the process.