What Are the Stages of the Creative Process? What Visual Art Students Are Saying

A systematic framework of creative metacognition

Creative cognition does not just involve cognitive processes in direct service of the main task objective (e.g., idea generation), but also metacognitive processes that monitor and regulate cognition adaptively (e.g., evaluation of ideas and task performance, or development and selection of task strategies). Although metacognition is vital for creative performance, relevant work is sparse, which may be partly due to persistent ambiguities in the theoretical conceptualization of creative metacognition. Therefore, this article proposes a systematic framework of creative metacognition (CMC), which builds on recent advancements in metacognition theory and extends them to meet the specifics of creative cognition. The CMC framework consists of two dynamic components-monitoring and control-and a more static component of metacognitive knowledge, each subsuming metacognitive processes applying to the level of task, performance, and responses. We describe the presumed function of these metacognitive components in the creative process, present evidence in support of each, and discuss their association with related constructs, such as creative self-beliefs. We further highlight the dynamic interplay of metacognitive processes across task performance and identify promising avenues for future research.

A healthy liver will always deliver: development of a NAFLD awareness comic

Comics can be an effective tool to communicate health information and appeal to behavior change. The aim of this project, undertaken by a multidisciplinary team, was to develop a comic to raise awareness about non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and promote healthy lifestyles regarding dietary practices and regular physical activity patterns. We focused on the ability of comics in portraying abstract concepts to articulate NAFLD biomedical knowledge and use it as an encouragement/empowerment strategy towards disease-related beliefs, attitudes, intentions and behaviors. Formative research by means of a NAFLD awareness study with T2DM patients informed the selection of biomedical content and the design of characters and storylines on which the former was embedded. Mindful of graphic narrative and storytelling as a valuable tool in the domains of health promotion, disease prevention and therapeutic adherence, this work discusses the decisions that were taken for the materialization of the comic ‘A healthy liver will always deliver!’.

Developing and sustaining a social media ecosystem in speech-language pathology: Using innovative qualitative methods to visualise and cultivate a social media garden

Purpose: Qualitative research methods, grounded in an inductive analytic paradigm, increasingly inform clinical practice in the field of speech-language pathology. Social media research, often including qualitative methods, provides a valuable way to connect and listen to the voices of people with communication disabilities. With growing empirical evidence on the ways that people with communication disabilities use social media, and recognition of both benefits and limitations of its use, it is important to consider what will support clinicians to translate this work conceptually and safely into clinical practice.Method: In this paper, we use the tools of metaphor and arts-based knowledge translation to promote the translation of evidence into social media practice.Results: With social media being an important ecosystem to grow and nurture in speech-language pathology, a "picturing a social media garden" metaphor is proposed to further research translation. The metaphor will be used to frame strategies for applying qualitative techniques for speech-language pathologists to consider how to use social media in clinical and professional practice, as well as citing supporting literature to guide further reading.Conclusion: The suggested approaches could augment existing methods of assessment and intervention for people with communication disabilities and provide support for clinicians who want to develop their own strategy for using social media, build a vibrant social media ecosystem, and integrate social media interventions into their clinical services.

The Dynamic Creativity Framework

Abstract. The dynamic creativity framework (DCF) represents a new theoretical perspective for studying the creativity construct. This framework is based on the dynamic definition of creativity, and it has both theoretical and empirical implications. From a theoretical point of view, we review the characteristics of the dynamic creative process and its extension into the dynamic universal creative process, encompassing creativity at different layers of complexity. We discuss the key concept of creative potential, considering individual, sociocultural, and material viewpoints, and we show how the DCF is instrumental in clarifying the relationship between creativity and intelligence, between creativity and anticipation, as well as in introducing the concept of ‘organic creativity’. From the empirical perspective, we focus on the dynamic creative process broken down into four phases: i) drive, ii) information, iii) idea generation, iv) idea evaluation. We review results obtained through investigations accounting for the dynamic interplay between emotional and cognitive components defining creative performance for each. Experiments were conducted to measure the role of emotions and attention in driving the dynamic process, considering the processing of apparently irrelevant information and the interaction between idea generation and idea evaluation, always taking into account individual differences as measured through personality traits, performance variables, or lifetime achievement. Neurophysiological evidence is considered in discussing dynamic effects in divergent thinking, such as the serial order effect, as well as the possibility to enhance creative potential through neurofeedback. Finally, we report on the effects of different environments on the creative process, highlighting the dynamics produced by context-embeddedness.

How the Immune System Deploys Creativity: Why We Can Learn From Astronauts and Cosmonauts

In this interdisciplinary article, we investigate the relationship between creativity and the immune system; the creative features of the immune system and how the immune system and its role in regulating homeostasis might be related to creative cognition. We argue that within a multivariate approach of creativity, the immune system is a contributing factor. New directions for research are also discussed. When astronauts and cosmonauts venture into the new and extreme environment of outer space, their immune system needs to instantly adapt and find new answers to survive biologically and psychologically. Many astronauts report interest in creative activities and therefore represent an interesting group to investigate creativity in relation with the immune system. Little is known regarding (1) how the immune system interacts with and supports creative cognition and behavior, (2) if an individual's immune system, interacting with cognition, adapts more originally to a new environment compared to another's; in other words, if there is creativity in the domain of the immune system, and (3) the creative properties and functions of the immune system itself.

Creative Decision-Making Processes in Parametric Design

Decision-making in design is a cognitive process wherein alternatives are generated and evaluated, potentially enabling a more creative design process. In recent years parametric design’s heightened capacity for automatically generating and evaluating options has been celebrated by researchers and designers, but it has also placed an increased emphasis on decision-making activities which have not previously been studied in this context. This paper conducts the first in-depth protocol analysis of the decision-making process (DMP) in parametric design. Using empirical data, it identifies three parametric DMPs at the conceptual design stage: (i) “conclusive” DMP, (ii) “confirmative” DMP, and (iii) “simulative” DMP. The results of this research indicate that while conclusive DMP generates and evaluates design alternatives, its “forward incrementation” approach has only limited potential for creativity. The confirmative DMP develops three creative operation loops in parametric design, suggesting it may be an important creative process. The simulative DMP simultaneously addresses divergent and convergent thinking, also indicating potential creative operations and outcomes. The identification and analysis of these DMPs contributes to developing new knowledge about the processes used in parametric design and their capacity to support creative results.