"Imagery, Creativity, and Emergent Structure" by Ronald. A. Finke

This paper, by Ronald A. Finke, explores the cognitive processes involved in creative thinking, specifically focusing on the role of mental imagery. It argues that creative thinking involves a combination of structured and unstructured processes, reviewing recent studies demonstrating that novel ideas can arise from the deliberate manipulation of mental images, as well as from spontaneous, unexpected insights. The author proposes the geneplore model of creative cognition, outlining how generative and exploratory processes interact to produce creative outputs. He further contrasts structured imagination, which draws on familiar knowledge and patterns, with the more spontaneous and unpredictable nature of chaotic thinking. Ultimately, the paper advocates for a balance between these two approaches, suggesting that creative thinking that effectively combines structured and unstructured elements is the most effective, leading to creative realism.