ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an extensive review of macroscopic and microscopic models of creativity to generate an operational definition of “creativity”, in the context of the research reported in this book, and to inform the development of a framework of creative problem solving that identifies, describes and measures cognitive and non-cognitive elements by outlining the microscopic processes involved in the broader creative process.
The review focuses on recognized conceptual frameworks and the roles of cognitive and non-cognitive processes. In Part 1, the author discusses, in depth, Mooney's (1963) product, process, person and environment taxonomy (macroscopic models). In Part 2, she highlights the seminal works of theorists such as Wallas and Hadamard, who propounded preparation, incubation, illumination and verification as the processes of creativity, and emphasized the importance of “unconscious” events (microscopic models). She also explores theories concerning dual systems of reasoning, particularly those of Sloman and Epstein, who both identified reasoning based on feeling (associative/intuitive) and rationality (rule-based/analytic). The term “unconscious”, as used in this chapter, is true to the literature reviewed. It is replaced with the author's preferred term “non-conscious” in other chapters.
