ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the use of mental imagery as a method for enhancing people’s creativity. It considers how the wider historical and cultural context has shaped an ambivalent attitude towards the study of mental imagery. It discusses explanations of the phenomenon of inner mental depictions such as Kosslyn’s quasi-pictorial theory and Pylyshyn’s description theory. The author provides an account of how imagination-based methods, originally developed by early pioneers such as Osborn, Gordon and de Bono, have become an established component of most creativity training programmes. The chapter focuses in particular on methods that use mental imagery for creative purposes, noting that, within the discipline of creative behaviour, they are mainly used for enhancing the production of creative ideas. The work of two key contributors is discussed in more detail: Parnes’ imagery methods for convergent and divergent cognitive processes in creativity, and Finke who uses imagery techniques for creative inventions. Some observations are made on how recent advances in understanding the nature of metaphor has stimulated some developments in applying metaphoric imagery to creative processes. The author identifies one approach in particular: Hyatt’s phenomenologically informed ‘intrapersonal communication dialogue’ model that displays clear parallels with the method presented in the book. Finally, the chapter discusses the patchy evidence base for the effectiveness of using mental imagery procedures for enhancing creativity. The author discusses the potential for the quest to identify the neural correlates of creativity to lead to more research interest focusing on the role played by mental imagery in creative processes.
