THEORIES ABOUT CREATIVITY

The analyzed currents are not the only ones that have contributed to the topic, but there are several others.
to be addressed. The categorization of schools is not completely rigid: there are
authors, who according to this classification, are mentioned in more than one current, depending on
the topic addressed within each of them.

Associationist theory. The human being finds in association a way to go

increasing their knowledge of the world. Regarding the characteristics of production,
studies have been done that reveal that in the creative product associations appear
remote, associations made from original and free ideas. According to this trend, the
creatives differ from non-creatives in two fundamental elements: the hierarchy of
the associations and their strength. The process of free association requires for
to express that an appropriate environment is believed to be created to carry it out, so that it is a
"way" of creativity. In the mid-sixties, two researchers: Mednick
(1962) y Malzman (1960) made valuable contributions to associationist psychology by
to engage in the study of creativity. Mednick defines creativity as 'associations'
oriented towards new combinations," and this will be all the more creative the further away
the associated elements are present.

Individual differences for creative associations rest on the capacity of

individual to produce 'remote associations' or those that have little in common with each other.

According to this theory, the number of associations made determines the degree of
creativity of the person, and the more remote the associations, the richer it is
product.

Malzman and others (1960) set out with the goal of 'studying the factors that
they promote originality and associative disposition.” They recognized the value that they have
the stimuli received in the family and social spheres, as well as the negative influence
that they can exercise. From this position, numerous creative games have been created.
that will contribute to the development of creative potential. One of the types of
activities are the "name pairs": the more distant the members of "the
"Couples" promote the development of creativity more, and the product will be more original.

Gestalt Theory. There is a strong analogy between the process of creative thinking and the process
perceptive: to understand means to grasp connections between the perceived stimuli,
generating casual or formal relationships. According to this trend, the process is more
creative and the most innovative product, the more pronounced the change in order appears,
diversity of connections. Wertheimer directly applied the contributions of Psychology
from Gestalt to the creative thinking process. He argues that a problem corresponds to
with an open figure, and produces in the one he thinks a tension that makes him immediately
impulse towards restoring balance, that is, towards the 'closed figure'. It also uses
the creative term as a synonym for productive, and considers that the confrontation with a
the problem is assimilated with a representation scheme similar to an open figure.
So, this means productively transforming the initial statement of the problem:
start a search through a sort of thread, through which each
perception is not isolated, but is directly linked or tied to the following one.
We must learn to look at a problem in a different way; to banish the routine with which
it is done and give a twist to perceiving.

Existentialist Theory. For this theory, the discovery of problems is as

important as finding the solutions and this original discovery of the problem is what
what distinguishes creators from those who are not. Individuals in these instances must
to be in a position to face the problem with all that it implies, without
to lose freedom to let oneself be dominated by the ideas that "are floating" in the meeting.
It is important to remember that at this moment of 'encounter', personal balance is disrupted.
As in every problem, it drives him to seek a solution that is what
will restore balance. The individual's encounter with their own world, with the environment and
with the world of the other makes creativity possible.

May talks about a 'meeting' between the subject and the environment as a trigger for the creative act. The
the object must be 'seen' and 'absorbed' by the subject. The differences lie in how it is perceived.
the object and how one reacts to it. There are beings that go through life with less or
greater indifference towards the other (person or object); for some, the indifference is total.
In a social environment plan, May says that: 'every conflict presupposes limits and the
fighting against limits is the genuine source of creative products.” The instances of
Conflict Mediation in which the mediator must unleash all their creativity to
reaching an agreement between the contenders refers to these sayings.

The concept of 'encounter' is shared by Sclachtel (1959) who argues that

A creative individual is one who is open to the environment. This behavior must be
understood as a link between the individual and the physical and social environment. The creative person is
the one who is alert and acts as a sentinel regarding the environment; this attitude offers her a
greater receptivity and a broader willingness to meet, beyond the way in which the
how that communication is established in the social sphere, nor with the quality of the
same. For this reason, the concept is reaffirmed that creativity is recognized as the
need to communicate with the environment.

There is an 'existential struggle' between two impulses that occur in man: that of
to remain open to the environment and to stay in their close world, in family.
creativity means the triumph of an open, receptive, vigilant being over perspective
intimate, incorporated into the usual, closed.

Transfer Theory. Guilford (1952, 1967) developed as an explanatory support for his
theory a model of structure of the intellect that constitutes the essential pillar for understanding its
proposal: the cube of intelligence. Its theory, called transmission or transfer,
it is essentially an intellectual proposal that argues that the creative individual is
motivated by the intellectual drive to study the problems and find solutions to them
Same. The Guilford model, based on combinatorial analysis, consists of three
dimensions, as all intelligent behavior should be characterized by a
operation, content, and product. The three dimensions are constituted, then,
for the contents of thought, its operations and its products.
On one axis are the mental contents, in which understanding is exercised.
Another of the axes is mental operations. Knowing updates the knowledge that is
registered in memory; divergent thinking is what enables great
amount of new ideas, of openness, and convergent thinking makes it so that the
reasoning focuses on one idea. Finally, the evaluation provides the
information about the best idea or the one that comes closest to the truth. And on the other axis,
they present the products of thought. For Guilford, creativity is an element of
learning and to learn is to capture new information. Creativity, consequently,
it belongs to the general aspects of learning and as such can be acquired and
transferred, for the same reason, to other fields or tasks.

Psychoanalytic Theory. The basis of it is the Freudian concept of sublimation.

Sublimation is the process postulated by Freud (1908) to explain certain activities.
humans that apparently have no relation to sexuality but find energy
in the force of sexual drive. Freud described it as an activity of sublimation,
mainly intellectual research and artistic activity. It is said that "the drive is
sublimated to the extent that it is directed towards a new purpose, non-sexual, and aims at goals
socially valued.

This process of displacement of the libido is considered as the starting point of

any creative activity. The ability to creatively sublimate, which in principle
Freud attributed it exclusively to the artist, then he transferred it to the observer of the art.

Regarding where the creative process has an effect, Freud asserts that it develops in the
unconscious there underlie the solutions creative.

Theory of Multiple Intelligences. Howard Gardner (1988) states that the individual
A creative person is someone who regularly solves problems, creates products, or defines
new issues in a field, in a way that at first is considered new, but
that ultimately comes to be accepted in a specific cultural context.

Gardner considers creativity as a multidisciplinary phenomenon that is not suited to

approach from a discipline as it has been done until now. This statement is based on that
creativity is a polysemous and multifunctional phenomenon although Gardner recognizes that
Because of its own formation, it seems inevitable that in the study of creativity, it places the
greater emphasis on personal factors and make use of biological perspectives,
epistemological and sociological to make a comprehensive approach. The Gardnerian system
it has three central elements whose 'nodes' are:

Individual: The aforementioned author distinguishes the world of the gifted child -but still unformed-
and the sphere of adulthood, already self-assured. It gives importance to the
sensitivity to the ways in which the creator makes use of the worldview of
little boy
Work: Refers to the fields or disciplines in which each creator works; the systems
symbols that you usually use, review, or invent new ones.
The other people: Also consider the relationship between the individual and others.
people from their world. Although some creators are believed to be working on
 isolation, the presence of other people is always fundamental; it studies the
family and the teachers, during the training period, as well as those who have supported
they have competed in moments of creative advancement.

In his book "Creative Minds" Gardner (1995) addresses, as a social scientist, the life and
work of seven "modern creative masters." Each of the chosen represents one of
the types of intelligence presented by him. Gardner states that creative solutions to
problems occur more frequently if individuals engage in an activity for
pure pleasure when they do it for rewards or external demands. Knowing that
one will be judged as creative, limiting creative possibilities.

VARIABLES THAT INTERVENE IN THE

CREATIVITY
Creativity is a personal skill of the individual, for this reason, not all beings...
humans have it equally developed. The existence of intervening variables in the
creative process explains this situation. Attending to the creative process, distinctions can be made
cognitive, affective, and environmental factors; training programs of the
creativity is mostly based on the findings made in this area of study.

Cognitive factors. They are those that relate to the perception and processing of the
information. The cognitive processes that occur in the creative act have certain
characteristics that will be described below:

a. Perception: It is the process of capturing information both in the external domain

as in the internal sphere. Through perception, the human being can capture
your needs in order to satisfy them. It is in the perceptual act then, where
the possibility of creation arises. To obtain a novel and creative work, it is
it is essential to have the senses open and ready to receive new information,
without adhering to prejudices and rigid frameworks about reality. It also implies,
to have the ability to recognize and classify problems. Finally, it
It can be said that from perception, data accumulate that will be the material.
of the creative process.
b. The elaboration process: This process enables conceptualizing and relating data.
and ideas in a system that allows understanding and acting on reality. The process
the elaboration occurs in the transaction between the individual and their particular environment, such
how it is perceived by him. This process is characterized by being multi-associative, it is
to say, allows one to contemplate simultaneously diverse and antagonistic data,
allowing them to associate with maximum freedom, flexibility, and richness,
looking for new organizations. These are the ones that allow action on reality
creatively. These production processes can be seen from different perspectives.
perspectives, such as:
o Thinking styles: The different ways of perception and response to
medium, they explain the existence of different cognitive styles. Varied
authors have agreed on two different ways of thinking, which have been
referred to in different ways. Nowadays, thanks to the advancement of
 knowledge about brain function, there is evidence
experimental which supports the existence of two different cognitive styles
related to the brain hemispheres. Many times, there has been a tendency to
associate creativity with the second type of these thinking styles.
However, most authors currently agree that
creativity arises from an integration of both modalities. While everyone
individuals possess both modalities, not everyone uses them, so the
the development of creative capacity includes facilitating and stimulating in the
person access to both styles of thinking. In the different stages
one of these styles is preferentially used in the creative process, depending on
the objectives that are pursued.
oThinking skills: Regarding the evaluation of thinking,
there are authors who have identified certain thinking skills that
would be related to the possibility of providing answers and solutions
novel or creative. There is agreement that all of these skills are very
important but the ones that would be central are those of fluency, flexibility, and originality.
oThinking strategies: Conscious thinking works on the
a base of intellectual tools with which people gather, develop,
organize and deliver the information. Most people,
they unconsciously select their own strategies, choosing
those that have been most useful and adaptive to them in the past. This
the selection of strategies is automatic, therefore it prevents resorting to a
broader range of ways of thinking. Thus, the development of creativity,
it assumes the knowledge and training of a wide range of strategies,
what allows resolving problems in a novel and different way from the rest
of the people.

Affective Factors. Regarding the affective factors that influence creativity, there
they distinguish some elements that appear as central to the mobilization of the
creative potential

1. Openness to experience: It refers to the degree to which a person is aware of

internal and external environment as a source of resources and useful information. It also
can translate into curiosity and interest in the environment. Openness to experience does not
it only involves committing to a greater number of experiences, but also refers to
a peculiar way of experiencing them. This would be characterized by a momentary
Detachment from previous conceptual schemes regarding experience. Within
from this point we can see:
Openness to experience and sensory channels: It refers to the willingness
affective for the use of different sensory channels. A large amount
methods to stimulate creativity are aimed at promoting the
disposition of people to use the different senses.
Openness to experience and internal world: Openness to experience
involves openness to the external world as well as the internal. A capable person
to perceive in an experience what happens to oneself, has a lot
more information, and therefore, it is more likely that I can establish
relate the best and most original.
 Limits for opening: Opening up to experience means opening up to the
unknown, something in front of which it is not known if control will be achieved. Without
to embrace, being open to experience would result in a better product
integration of the person, more self-awareness will give them the feeling
self-confidence and in the environment. Facing experiences
new promotes the exercise of coping mechanisms to
unknown situations, as well as helps to reduce the
anxiety in the face of the new. The novelty becomes something familiar, and therefore
not intimidating.
2. Tolerance for ambiguity: It refers to the ability to tolerate some time
in confusing and unresolved situations without rushing to resolve them by forcing a
premature closure of the problematic situation. Tolerating ambiguity does not imply
to remain in it, nor does it point to a chaotic, indiscriminate experience
but includes a way to assimilate the experience in an orderly manner without
force the answers.
3. Positive self-esteem: good self-esteem means accepting oneself with...
positive and the negative, with the weaknesses and the strengths. In this way a
A person who has achieved a good level of self-esteem will be able to achieve a good
self-understanding, comfort with oneself, security and confidence, less
sensitivity to criticism and failure, overcoming guilt and resentment,
will have greater confidence in their perceptions. Therefore, the integrated acceptance of
itself will allow a basic security that is necessary to open up to the
experience and tolerate ambiguity which opens up the possibility of taking risks in the
innovation. No causal relationship has been found between self-esteem and creativity,
even so, it has been proven that positive self-concept determines the expression of
the creative abilities, and that in turn creative expression influences the
self-concept and self-esteem.
4. Will to act: It refers to the motivation to see a work or a problem.
completed. This motivation would have a cognitive component at its base, in which
assigns a value to certain ideas or judgments about the positives of concluding and closing
stages, finish, works etc. As well as an affective component given by a taste
especially for seeing a finished product, for displaying it, etc.
5. Motivation to create: Motivation to create refers to the drive to create, as well as
the interest that participating in tasks that involve can provoke in a person
solve problems whose solutions are unknown. It has been observed that subjects
creatives are more motivated by expressions that cannot be
easily sorting, or those that present disconcerting contradictions.

From an educational perspective, it would be interesting to approach the topic with an approach that
allow to operationally define the variables that affect motivation. It would be
It is important to integrate here the findings related to successful experiences, the degree
of task difficulty and its relationship with motivation.

Environmental factors. They are the conditions, terrain, or climate that facilitate development and the
updating creative potential. Even though one can be creative in an environment
Unfavorable, creativity can be stimulated through favorable configuration.
of the physical and social environment. In general, the authors suggest the need for a
favorable environment delivered: trust, security and an appreciation of differences
individuals.

It has been observed that an empathetic, authentic, congruent, and accepting social environment,
allows the individual to explore in the symbolic world, take risks, commit, and lose
the fear of making mistakes. On the contrary, the pressure to conform, the dichotomy between
work and play, as well as the pursuit of success as an essential value, are the conditions that
they block the development of creativity.

CREATIVITY AND EDUCATION

The word creativity is one of the most ambiguous terms in educational psychology, and
the recognition of creativity as a natural ability is of great significance
educational.

Education in its broadest sense plays a prominent role in development.

human capabilities. If we are able to adapt to new situations skillfully,
it is because education has not neglected our growth in all areas. Every act
of our life demands a certain degree of creation, and it is evident that the first and great measure
the educator is to develop the ability for personal creation gradually and
according to the psychological age of the student. The importance of creativity in the system
education is a relevant and central topic in current debates about innovations and
educational changes. It emphasizes the development of creative thinking and attitude of the
Students should not remain absent from educational aspirations and goals.

Creative teaching especially focuses on the way of thinking and acting

peculiar to each individual. Any class activity allows for the freedom of
thought and stimulating communication of creativity. If the environment of the room
classes are attractive and generators of ideas and resources, the child will feel free to be, to think,
feel and experience in their own way, knowing in advance that they are accepted as they are and that they
will value your contribution.

The child who performs a task creatively contributes their experiences, perceptions and
discoveries and their achievements will have a defined relationship with their personality. Thus, their
Creative product transforms into a key to understand it better.

Educating in creativity is educating for change and shaping people rich in originality,
flexibility, future vision, initiative, confidence, risk lover and ready to face
the obstacles and problems that arise in their school and daily life.

Creativity can be developed through the educational process, favoring

potentialities and achieving a better utilization of individual resources
group activities within the teaching-learning process. Creative education is a
developer and self-actualizing education, in which not only is it valuable the
learning new skills and work strategies, but also learning about
a series of attitudes that at certain moments fill us with psychological qualities
to be creative or to allow others to be.

To teach creatively, one must begin by acknowledging that one has within a
hidden creativity, that you want to explore and that you want the children to explore it too.
explore. For this, there are different steps that must be followed:

Understand the nature of creativity

2. Practice your own creativity
3. Use teaching strategies that nurture creativity in students.

So far, education has been directed towards the possession of knowledge and the
teaching has been transmissive. Today, however, it is demonstrated that teaching and the
constructivist learning oriented towards creativity ultimately allows the subject
achieve better results than others, even in academic order. For this reason, one can
saying that creativity, in addition to helping students in conflict resolution,
expanding your thinking also helps you academically and thus it is even more demonstrated
the importance of creativity in the improvement of children's development in the
educational system.

Educating in creativity implies starting from the idea that it is not taught in a way
direct, but fosters and for this it is necessary to take into account the following
suggestions

learn to tolerate ambiguity and uncertainty: teachers must give it to you

space for students to think about a problematic situation that arises
presence(ambiguity) and also must create an atmosphere where the knowledge that is
that it is not immutable and static (uncertainty)
favor the will to overcome obstacles and persevere
develop self-confidence and conviction
foster a work culture for the development of creative thinking and
reflective
invite the student to transcend the present with a future project
learn to trust in the potential and not just in the real
overcoming the fear of ridicule and making mistakes
the authority to validate knowledge must stem from a social, dialogical process
and creative
when a creative climate is fostered, intrinsic motivation and achievement motivation must
to be present
contextualization of knowledge and critical thinking skills
creative
The fundamental needs of the student are related to teaching them to think.
creatively and reflectively, that is, to think excellently
the student’s creative and reflective thinking can occur once
verbal form of the teacher towards the students
convert classrooms into spaces to amaze, experiment, and investigate
 students need to be treated as people, that is to say, to have a good
communication when they are creating or thinking
The questioning is an excellent indicator that work is being done.
creative and critical thinking
unity of the cognitive and the affective in each session of creative atmosphere.

Just as we find suggestions for teaching creatively, we also find

blockages to the development of creativity:

Perceptual blocking: cognitive aspects that prevent us from grasping what it is.
problem, to see it in all its dimensions. Different aspects can be seen within.
from this blockage:
difficulty in isolating the problem, we become obsessed with just one aspect
losing the global perspective of the problem
blocking due to problem limitation, little attention is paid to everything that
there is around the problem
difficulty in perceiving remote relationships; inability to define
terms, does not establish connections between the elements of the problem
to consider the obvious as good; to accept the truth of what is apparent without doubting it
perceptual rigidity: it does not allow us to use all our senses for the
observation
difficulty in distinguishing between cause and effect
Emotional blockage: insecurities of the individual:
psychological insecurity
fear of making mistakes
to cling to the first idea that comes to mind
the desire to succeed quickly
emotional disturbances and distrust in subordinates
the lack of drive to carry the problem through to the end
Sociocultural blockages: relates to learned values:
conditioning of behavior patterns
social overvaluation of intelligence
overvaluation of competition and cooperation
orientation towards success
excessive importance to the role of the sexes

Creativity can also be associated with intelligence, and in relation to this we can
see that different behaviors occur in children depending on the degree of creativity and
intelligence they have:

1. High creativity - low intelligence:

disapproved behaviors in class
lower concentration and attention
low self-esteem due to feelings of rejection
socially isolated
good aptitude for establishing relationships between facts
Roles affect exams due to their poor performance.
 Low creativity - high intelligence:
they orient their activity towards academic success
feel socially superior
They show high concentration and attention in class.
they can express their opinions
Although they tend to keep a certain reserve and stay apart.
they adhere to the conventional in their works
fearing to make mistakes, they maintain behaviors within the norms
3. High creativity - high intelligence:
self-assured
high degree of concentration and attention
they tend to make friendships easily
tendency towards different forms of behavior
ease in the relationship and association of facts
aesthetic sensitivity
lack a sense of risk
easy in emotional relationships
Low creativity - low intelligence:
socially extroverted
more self-assured than group 1
opoca aesthetic sensitivity
school failure is compensated by one's social life

With these behavioral differences, we see once again the importance that it has
that creativity is educated in schools. It can be seen that the behaviors they adopt
Children, depending on their level of creativity, directly affect their school life.
and also in their daily life, and that furthermore the most adaptive behaviors are seen in the
children who have a greater degree of creativity, therefore it is important that children
learn to be creative and education should be concerned about it.

Development of creativity. An important reason to explore creativity in the

I wish to encourage individuals to have more creativity in all aspects of life,
both for the benefit of society and for one's own fulfillment. It is possible to learn
specific strategies useful for problems similar to those of the studies (fields,
techniques such as mathematics, engineering, and design), but it is important to teach
solving problems in a creative way (Mayer 1983).

There are, however, several techniques or ways to solve things more creatively, such as by
example, free oneself from the 'conceptual blocks', mental walls that block
the individual's ability to perceive a problem or conceive its solution. These can be
emotional, cultural, intellectual or expressive blockages. The following are suggested
points to develop creativity:

Think and understand the problem in time

Identify the most important data
To be consciously original
Really eliminate the problem
 Be objective
Find different ways to solve the problem.

In this regard, some conditions that can facilitate the impact of the techniques of
development of creativity is:

a. Ability or skill to raise, define, identify, or propose problems

b. It is integral. In a process, a characteristic of personality and a product that
exists in a specific context. The people who do creative things
(products), they did it with certain procedures (process) and acted in
determined way (personality and characteristics).
c. Focused creativity. One is creative where one can be creative. It is related.
also with the ways of focusing attention
d. Learning and successive approximations. It relates to the fact that individuals
they tend to increase behaviors that are rewarded

The development of consciousness into awareness is an independent variable related to

with creative ability. It can be said that they affect the functioning of the brain,
it affects the perception of reality; and changes in perception are fundamental
for the creative being.

CONCLUSION
The first thing that comes to light after creating the theoretical framework is that creativity is not a
a process as simple as it is commonly understood. The diversity of approaches makes us
reflect on the number of points that deserve to be considered when
study the creative process. Like any process, it consists of phases, which encompass
from the perception of the world to the verification of a creative behavior in the world
real. Despite the differences proposed in the various approaches, they all raise
that creativity is inherent to man and emerges in his daily activities. When it is directed
positively, it is applied constructively to human achievements, within the
different fields producing an enrichment of the human person. The orientation
Creativity allows for greater flexibility in coping with situations from early childhood.
from daily life, a guide to the potentialities that will develop an activity
personal development and openness to the environment. The awareness of
problem, the right understanding of it, the knowledge of basic aspects that can guide the
Creativity will allow future educators a guiding action that will be projected.
as a positive contribution to the environment.

It is important to keep in mind that creativity is not only expressed in artistic fields.
of life, but in all aspects of it. Thus, a creative person will be able to find
witty answers to situations as diverse as a math problem or how
solve a family issue. From this perspective, the creative person has an advantage.
over the one that is not. Creativity is a tool that grants freedom and momentum.
to develop potentials with the greatest fullness possible. The person who is not the owner
of their creative possibilities and has a limited imaginary world, they cannot even
wish for another way of life. Since the creative person is so in all aspects of the
life in the same way that the uncreative is not, we can affirm that creativity is
an aspect that defines the personality of the subject, since if we consider personality
how the way of thinking, feeling, and acting of an individual is more or less
consistent over time, creativity will be expressed in each of the
components of personality.