Stimulating Creativity: Volume 1, Individual Procedures discusses the psychological and social factors affecting creativity, including techniques applicable in technological and consumer-related product areas. Creativity is a process consisting of three overlapping stages—hypothesis formation, hypothesis testing, and the communication of results. The book reviews past criteria of creativity, and then suggests techniques, based on social and psychological differentiating characteristics of creativity, that can stimulate creativity. The text also considers some procedures which the individual can use to stimulate creativity, or overcome blocks that stop creativity. The book explains in detail individual procedures, group procedures, as well the techniques appropriate in each stage of the creative process. The text notes that the creative process occurs in a social context, primarily manifested during the communication stage. The book considers the following group procedures for stimulating creativity, namely, brainstorming, creative problem-solving, synectics, and a personality-insight approach. Examples of programs employed in different companies or organization can free an individual from difficulties and problems, make him more receptive to other programs, or he can use these programs as basis to develop newer programs. The book can prove insightful for psychiatrists, psychologists, behavioral scientists, child educators, students or professors in psychology, for parents of young children or adolescents, and also for general readers interested in self-improvement.

V.1: Individual procedures; Plan of hte work; Theory and criteria; Individual procedures; Procedures for affecting the individual stages of the creative process; v.2: Group procedures; Other programs.

Creativity often leads to the development of original ideas that are useful or influential, and maintaining creativity is crucial for the continued development of organizations in particular and society in general. Most research and writing has focused on individual creativity. Yet, in recent years there has been an increasing acknowledgment of the importance of the social and contextual factors in creativity. Even with the information explosion and the growing necessity for specialization, the development of innovations still requires group interaction at various stages in the creative process. Most organizations increasingly rely on the work of creative teams where each individual is an expert in a particular area. This volume summarizes the exciting new research developments on the processes involved in group creativity and innovation, and explores the relationship between group processes, group context, and creativity. It draws from a broad range of research perspectives, including those investigating cognition, groups, creativity, information systems, and organizational psychology. These different perspectives have been brought together in one volume in order to focus attention on this developing literature and its implications for theory and application. The chapters in this volume are organized into two sections. The first focuses on how group decision making is affected by factors such as cognitive fixation and flexibility, group diversity, minority dissent, group decision-making, brainstorming, and group support systems. Special attention is devoted to the various processes and conditions that can inhibit or facilitate group creativity. The second section explores how various contextual and environmental factors affect the creative processes of groups. The chapters explore issues of group autonomy, group socialization, mentoring, team innovation, knowledge transfer, and creativity at the level of cultures and societies. The research presented in this section makes it clear that a full understanding of group creativity cannot be accomplished without adequate attention to the group environment. It will be a useful source of information for scholars, practitioners, and students wishing to understand and facilitate group creativity.

The creative process refers to the sequence of thoughts and actions that are involved in the production of new work that is both original and valuable in its context. This book examines this process across the domains of visual art, writing, engineering, design and music. It characterizes each domain’s creative process based on evidence stemming from creators’ accounts of their own activity and a wide-range of observational material and theories specific to each field. Results from empirical research are then presented across a set of closely linked chapters, using a common set of methodologies that seek to trace the creative process as it unfolds. This highly interdisciplinary edited collection offers valuable insight into the creative process for scholars and practitioners in the fields of psychology, education, and creative studies, as well as for any other readers interested in the creative process. Todd Lubart brings together a group of authors who are themselves actively involved in their respective creative fields and invites readers to adopt a broad perspective on the creative process in order to unravel some of its mysteries.

This book contains the papers presented at the International Joint Conference on Mechanics, Design Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing (JCM 2018), held on 20-22 June 2018 in Cartagena, Spain. It reports on cutting-edge topics in product design and manufacturing, such as industrial methods for integrated product and process design; innovative design; and computer-aided design. Further topics covered include virtual simulation and reverse engineering; additive manufacturing; product manufacturing; engineering methods in medicine and education; representation techniques; and nautical, aeronautics and aerospace design and modeling. The book is divided into six main sections, reflecting the focus and primary themes of the conference. The contributions presented here will not only provide researchers, engineers and experts in a range of industrial engineering subfields with extensive information to support their daily work; they are also intended to stimulate new research directions, advanced applications of the methods discussed, and future interdisciplinary collaborations.

The Psychology of Creative Writing takes a scholarly, psychological look at multiple aspects of creative writing, including the creative writer as a person, the text itself, the creative process, the writer's development, the link between creative writing and mental illness, the personality traits of comedy and screen writers, and how to teach creative writing. This book will appeal to psychologists interested in creativity, writers who want to understand more about the magic behind their talents, and educated laypeople who enjoy reading, writing, or both. From scholars to bloggers to artists, The Psychology of Creative Writing has something for everyone.