ABSTRACT
The componential conceptualization is best considered a working model for a theory of creativity, a proposal of what a formal theory of creative performance might include. Grounded in the diverse data on creativity that have accumulated over the past 30 years, it includes the dispositional, cognitive, and social factors that appear to determine creativity. The componential conceptualization serves two major functions: It guides the formulation of specific hypotheses tested in the author's own research on social influences, and it serves as a framework for both reviewing past creativity research and generating the prescriptions that will be made for an applied social psychology of creativity. The author's theoretical statement includes a considerable expansion of the range of social-environmental influences. Although the original statement focused primarily on factors that can negatively influence an individual's creativity in any setting, the author's presentation of factors includes both negative and positive influences in organizational as well as individual work settings.
