"Cognition and Creativity" by Mark A. Runco and Ivonne Chand

Summary

This article by Runco and Chand explores the cognitive processes underlying creativity, blending traditional cognitive psychology with innovative perspectives unique to creativity research. It challenges purely scientific analyses by acknowledging the subjective nature of certain creative processes. The authors review how standard cognitive functions like knowledge, memory, and categorisation influence creative thinking. They propose a two-tiered model, highlighting problem finding, ideation, and evaluation as primary components, with knowledge and motivation playing a contributing, yet secondary, role, and discuss factors that can both facilitate and inhibit creative thought. The article concludes by emphasising the importance of interactions between these components rather than viewing them as distinct stages.