Robert Sternberg's Investment Theory of Creativity and how to develop Creativity

The investment theory of creativity, proposed by Robert J Sternberg and  Todd Lubart (1995), holds that creativity is in large part nothing but a decision to "buy low" an new and novel idea and "sell high" once their ideas have gained some acceptance, thereby reaping the profits and moving on to the next unpopular idea. 


Creative individuals, by their nature, tend to defy the crowd and resist merely thinking/doing what others are thinking/doing, instead they tend to go off in their own direction, seeking to propose ideas that are both novel and useful in some way. 


The greatest obstacle to creativity is the limitations one places on one’s own thinking and not strictures/objections from others. However it is not clear if the restrictions on creativity are internal or, down the line, externally imposed due to the environmental (social and cultural) aspects.


People are not born creative but can develop a set of attitudes toward life that characterize those who are willing to go their own way.  Examples of such attitudes toward life are willingness to (a) redefine problems in novel ways, (b) take sensible risks,  (c) “sell” ideas that others might not initially accept, (d) persevere in the face of obstacles, and (e) examine whether their own preconceptions are interfering with their creative process.  Such attitudes are teachable and can be ingrained in students through instruction that encourages students to think for themselves.


Creativity comprises several different aspects:  (1) abilities, (2) knowledge, (3) styles of thinking, (4) personality attributes, (5) motivation, and especially intrinsic motivation, and (6) environment.   


A person can have the creative ability but not creative attitude. In such case without a willingness to take sensible risks or an environment that provides at least minimal support for creativity, that individual’s potential creativity may be suppressed.  At the same time, an individual can have a creative attitude but no creative ability. Thus without the skills of creativity, such as looking for reconciliation of opposing ideas and dialectical thinking—may not reach his or her full creative potential.


Ability
Creative work requires applying and balancing three abilities that can all be developed (Sternberg 1985, 1988b; Sternberg and Lubart 1995).
• Synthetic ability is what we typically think of as creativity. It is the ability to generate novel and interesting ideas. Often the person we call creative is a particularly good synthetic thinker who makes connections between things that other people don't recognize spontaneously.
• Analytic ability is typically considered to be critical thinking ability. A person with this skill analyzes, evaluates ideas and pursue good ones. The creative individual uses analytic ability to work out the implications of a creative idea and to test it.
• Practical ability is the ability to translate theory into practice and abstract ideas into practical accomplishments. The creative person uses practical ability to recognize that the idea has potential audience, find the right audience and convince them that an idea is worthy and the new procedure is better than the old one.


Knowledge.
On the one hand, one needs to know enough about a field to move it forward. One cannot move beyond where a field is if one does not know where it is. On the other hand, knowledge about a field can result in a closed and entrenched perspective, resulting in a person’s not moving beyond the way in which he or she has seen problems in the past. Knowledge thus can help, or it can hinder creativity




Thinking Style:
Thinking styles are preferred ways of deploying the skills available to a person.  A legislative thinking style which has a preference for thinking and a decision to think in new ways is particularly important for creativity. What is Important here is the preference, rather than the ability. It also helps to become a major creative thinker, if one is able to think globally as well as locally, distinguishing the forest from the trees and thereby recognizing which questions are important and which ones are not.


However legislative thinking is influenced heavily from the environment such as  teachers, schools, managers, work etc.


Personality:
Certain personality attributes for creative functioning. These attributes include, but are not limited to, willingness to overcome obstacles, willingness to take sensible risks, willingness to tolerate ambiguity, and self-efficacy. If being creative means defying the crowd, so that one has to be willing to stand up to conventions if one wants to think and act in creative ways.  Often creative people seek opposition; that is, they decide to think in ways that countervail how others think. However one may decide not to take the countervail position, if they feel that there is high-risk in the outcome.


Motivation:
Intrinsic, task-focused motivation is also essential to creativity. The research of Amabile (1983) has suggested that people rarely do truly creative work in an area unless they really love what they are doing and focus on the work rather than the potential rewards.


Motivation is not something inherent in a person and one decides to be motivated by one thing or another. Often, people who need to work in a certain area that does not particularly interest them will decide that they had better find a way to make it interest them and will find  angles that makes it  appealing for them rather than bore them.


Environment:
Finally, one needs an environment that is supportive and rewarding of creative ideas. One could have all of the internal resources needed to think creatively, but without some environmental support (such as a forum for proposing those ideas), the creativity that a person has within him or her might never be displayed.


Confluence


Concerning the confluence of these six components, creativity is hypothesized to involve
more than a simple sum of a person’s level on each component.


First, there may be thresholds for some components (e.g., knowledge) below which creativity is not possible regardless of the levels on other components. Second, partial compensation may occur in which a strength on one component (e.g., motivation) counteracts a weakness on another component (e.g. Environment).  Third, interactions may occur between components, such as intelligence and motivation, in which high levels on both components could multiplicatively enhance creativity.


Creative ideas are both novel and valuable but are often rejected as it stands up to vested interests and defies the crowd.  The crowd does not maliciously/willfully reject the new idea but does not recognize and often does not want to recognize, that the proposed idea represents a valid and advanced way of thinking. Crowd often perceives opposition to the status quo as annoying, offensive, and reason enough to ignore innovative ideas. 


The creative person has to sell his ideas but it is often found that once it is sold and accepted by the general crowd, the creator may leave the idea to others and moving on to another idea.  Also while creators want others to love their ideas, but sometimes the immediate universal acknowledgement for an idea may indicates that it is not particularly creative.


Areas which help creative to be develop as proposed by Strenberg [2001] and are:



1. Defining and Redefining Problems,
2. Question and analyze assumptions,
3. Do not assume that creative ideas sell themselves: sell them,
4. Encouraging Idea Generation,
5. Recognize that knowledge can both help and hinder creativity,
6. Identify and surmount obstacles,
7. Take sensible risks,
8. Tolerate ambiguity,
9. Believe in oneself (self-efficacy),
10. Find what one loves to do,
11. Delay gratification,
12. Role-model creativity,
13. Cross-fertilize ideas,
14. Reward creativity and creative effort,
15. Allow mistakes,
16. Take self-responsibility for successes and failures,
17. Encourage creative collaboration,
18. Allowing Time for Creative Thinking
19. Imagining and see things from others’ points of view,
20. Maximize person–environment fit,
21. Continue to allow intellectual growth
22. Playing to Strengths
23. Seeking Stimulating Environments
24. Finding Excitement




Bibliography
Robert J. Sternberg [2006], The Nature of Creativity,   Creativity Research Journal 2006, Vol. 18, No. 1, 87–98 [Link]
Robert J. Sternberg and Wendy M. Williams,[1996] How to Develop Student Creativity,
ASCD [Link]
Williams, WM, Markle, F, Brigockas, M and Sternberg, RJ (2001). Creative Intelligence for School (CIFS): 21 Lessons to Enhance Creativity in Middle and High School Students. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon
Robert J. Sternberg [2007], Creativity as a Habit, Researchgate.com [link]


Note:
Much of this article is copied from various articles of Robert Sternberg. I have just attempted to simplify and paraphrase these for my understanding. In the process I hope to also helps others too. Please refer to the orginal articles in the bibliography for additional information