Creativity: Definition

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Merriam-Webster's Definition:

Pronunciation: krE-'A-tiv

Function: Adjective

  • marked by the ability or power to create : given to creating
  • having the quality of something created rather than imitated : imaginative
  • managed so as to get around legal or conventional limits; also, deceptively arranged so as to conceal or defraud


From Human Motivation, 3rd Edition, Franklin:

  • An ability to formulate ideas that would be useful in communications, entertainment as well as problem solving.

Franklin defines three reasons as to why people are motivated to be creative:

  • Necessity for the novel, complicated and/or varied stimulation
  • Necessity to communicate
  • Necessity to solve problems

Creativity involves the ability to not only understand the other perspective, but "generate" another point of view. Creativity tests measure the uniqueness of various perspectives in addition to the number of possible perspectives. Franklin claims that creativity is linked to the satisfaction for the unknown, the ability to tolerate ambiguity and flexibility.


How to categorize "creativity":

Cognition, knowledge, a mental process

  • Ability, power
  • Creativity
  • Cleverness, inventiveness, conception, design, innovation, imagination, vision, generative, ground-breaking and genius


See various Quotes to gain a larger perspective of what "creativity" is.

Related Research Reports

Taylor Whitmer 15:02, 9 May 2006 (PDT)

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