ABSTRACT
This chapter presents Stage 3 of the process of constructing a comprehensive model of creative problem solving in mathematics, which involved forming a causal model incorporating all four dimensions of creativity (Person, Environment, Product—the macroscopic aspect—and Process, the microscopic aspect) identified and described in Chapters 3 and 4, thus embedding the conceptual framework and its cognitive and non-cognitive components. Key to this construction was the identification of the Creativity Intersection, in accord with Hennessey and Amabile's (2010, p.571) contention that “creativity arises through a system of inter-related forces operating at multiple levels”, and contemporary theory's position that creativity results from the intersection of each creativity dimension (Collins and Amabile, 1999). Identifying the nature of this intersection was an important step in unlocking the mystery of creativity.
The explanatory scheme used to build a comprehensive, causal model of creative problem solving is documented here, together with the rationale behind the author's mathematical formulation of the Creativity Intersection, which involved specifying a wide range of manifest variates (MVs) and latent variables (LVs) operating within each dimension of creativity.
