ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses theories of creativity and creative work which operate in different traditions and paradigms. Creativity does tend to be associated with novelty, in both the output or product which is created and the 'path' or method for creating it. For many psychology researchers, there is an additional focus on how creativity can be promoted and measured or assessed. Taking improvisational theatre as both an example and a model, R. Keith Sawyer discusses how a creative performance is produced by a group of actors working together, without a pre-set plan. He describes how 'novel patterns can emerge from group interaction, even when there is no single person controlling or directing the group'. Although Sawyer's work has explored the collaborative nature of activities which are conventionally recognized as creative, in the fields of music and the arts, he is interested in its applications to other fields, particularly business for the development of new products.
