Problematic concepts of creativity

1. Towards a New Theory for CreativityIn Arab World Amman – Jordan (November 16-17, 2013)Prof. Dr. Qassim Hussein SalihHead of Iraqi Psychological Association .

2. Problematic concepts of creativity Creativity has more than 20 definitions * The ability to make human products and ideas (such as symphonies or solutions to social problems) that are both novel and valued by others. * The generation of ideas that are original, novel, and useful. *The ability to think about something in novel and unusual and come up with unique solutions to problems. *A cognitive process that leads to the production of something that is both original and worthwhile.

3. * Creativity thinking skills include the ability to turn thingsover in your mind ,like trying to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange. + Question: How can we possibly define creativity as a single construct that unifies the work of Leonardo da Vince of Vincent Van Gogh and Isaac Newton of Albert Einstein, and of Mosart and Nicolaus Copernicus? * We suggest the following definition: Creativity is a cognitive mental process, regardless whether it relies on conscious or unconscious, characterized by smart beautiful thinking leads to product deserves value and importance ,adding to knowledge something new in its specialization field stimulates pleasure and surprise.

4. IDEAS + Intelligence and creativity are not the same thing .Although most creativepeople are quite intelligent; the reverse is not necessary true. Many highly intelligent people are not very creative. + Creativity in applied sciences (physics, A) differs from social sciences (psychology...) and arts (B). -In (A): its more objective, logical, convergent, wheres in (B) its more subjective, emotive, and divergent. + Flexible beliefs and broadly accepting attitudes toward other cultures, other races, and other religions creeds enhance creativity. + We can not study creativity by isolating individuals and their works from the social and historical milieu in which their actions are carried out.

5. Creativity Theories The paper covered 14 theories: Freud,Jung,Gestalt,Pavlov,.. to the last one & Freud , da Vinci, and Dali: Because of its emphasis on symbolic and unconscious though, psychoanalytic theory has been extensively applied to art and literature. - The psychoanalytic formula is that creative work of art satisfy unconscious wishes, because these wishes are often unacceptable, they have to be disgused.Artistic techniques are used for this purpose.(da Vinci was a man of extreme sexual inhibition brought about by castration anxiety. da Vinci channeled his sexual energy into creating the Mona Lisa. Freud believed that the Mona Lisa's mysterious smile was the smile of Leonardo's mother.

6. Although psychologists and art critics debatewhether many works of art unconsciously based, there is general agreement that twenties-century art movement known as Surrealists saw Freud's concept of the unconscious mind as the true source of untainted creativity.(Rene Magritte and Salvador Dali are two of the best known Surrealist artists. & Guilford has used two concepts: -Convergent thinking: Thinking that is logical and conventional and that focuses on a problem until a solution is found.( produces one correct answer.)

7. Divergent thinking: Thinking that is loosely organized, only partially directed, and unconventional. It produces answers that must be evaluated subjectively .(produces many answers to the same question). {Architects need to use divergent thinking whencreating the design and convergent thinking to be sure the building is structurally sound}

8. & Sternberg theory: Three – Facet Model of Creativity: There are three mental processes regard creativity: Metacognition components, its function to define the problem and formulate strategy to solve it. Performance components to execute it. And acquired knowledge (insight).

9. Comments: Theory means a coherent set of interrelated ideas that helps to make predictions and explain data. Or a statement of some general principles that explain a phenomenon or a set of phenomena. -We reached a conclusion that no certain theory provided comprehensive interpretation to “creativity” concept. -Because Arab intellectuals and their honest politicians believe that the future of the State is fundamentally depend on its own talented and creative citizens, thus it is essential to take this matter seriously and find newways to hunt our future.

10. NEW SUGGESTED APPROACH • There are 4 determinisms regrd interpretation behavior: Psychological, environmental, biological, and socialculutral. • We consider “creativity” is a human activity which is processed and created rationally through the brain software, which may occur under three conditions: biological composition, sort and quantity of stimulus and characteristics of the intellectual outputs. • - That means multiple individuals and environmental factors must converge for creativity to occur.

11. * Social change in most Arab countries is arbitrary. Creativity achieved in healthy social context and planned social change not arbitrary one and that could be accomplished if the following conditions taken into our consideration: 1.  Fairness; in applying legislations: education is the right for every child and so it is the governments duty to facilitate the necessity for this issue and to provide help to ensure that every one will have this right of the chance for education in Arab world. - The first legislation for Arab authorities to issue is the compulsory education system (between ages 6-16 years

12. - The second legislation to accompany the compulsory education is the National Curriculum for education with open windows to modern education in the world. 2.       Equality; by giving each individual similar opportunity. Education should be for all and all have equal opportunities regardless of race, religion, health and ability. 3.   Freedom; in thinking, expression and behavior.

13. ARAB FAMILY • Family should involve in exploring and developing creativity in their children, but most of Arab families are still use traditional socialization. The most important for their children are to pass the exams which depend on memory not on critical thinking.

14. Arab Schools-Suggestions • Most of Arab schools are still classic and not have profile of gifted pupils. We suggest the following checklist of characteristics: - high mathematical - alert curiosity - Independence of action - initiative, anxious to do new things - imagination in thinking - fluency in non-verbal communication

15. Suggestions -2 -Varied interests - learning quickly through experience - Mature sense of humor - originality and creativity in thinking - Showing desire to learn in daily work – Showing relationships among apparently unrelated ideas.

16. Arab Educational Systems • The school essential function is to establish creative readiness, but Arabs schools, in general, have not received their attention. • Most of Arab students from primary to University are passive observers. • Most of Arab Educational Systems provided children with passive stimulus; no climate for dialogue or critical approach which is essential for creativity.

17. This means looking carefully to renew curriculum, teaching style, classroom organization, technology of education and well qualified teachers in order to cope with an increasingly dynamic world. Thus these educational systems need real coup to clear out the out of date curriculum and teaching methods.

18. IRAQ !!! • Iraq is the only Arab-Asian country expose over the last twenty years to a systematic unprecedented wave of brain drain (1991-2013). • After 2003 over 600 Iraqi intellectual had been killed and more than four thousands academicians and researchers left Iraq. • We politely asking the conference to issue special statement in favor of maintaining the Iraqi intellectuals and calling back the scattered Iraqi brain to contribute with others to rebuild their devastated country.

19. HOPE • The change winds of Arab Spring that overwhelming Arab world since January 2011 cold open the doors widely for creativity , intellectuality, democracy and pease as expected,but the wind goes in the opposite direction.This because arab enviroment was repellent to creativity for more than thound years!. • Although.. believers in creativity still hold the hope!! THANK YOU