Insight out: making creativity visible

Models of creative problem solving are predicated upon mental states to explain everything from the outcome of problem‐solving experiments to the emergence of artistic creativity. We present two converging perspectives that describe a profoundly different ontological description of creativity. Our a...

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Main Authors: Vallée-Tourangeau, F, March, PL
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2019
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author Vallée-Tourangeau, F
March, PL
author_facet Vallée-Tourangeau, F
March, PL
author_sort Vallée-Tourangeau, F
collection OXFORD
description Models of creative problem solving are predicated upon mental states to explain everything from the outcome of problem‐solving experiments to the emergence of artistic creativity. We present two converging perspectives that describe a profoundly different ontological description of creativity. Our analysis proceeds from a distinction between first‐order problem solving, where the agent interacts with a physical model of the problem and second‐order problem solving, where the agent must cogitate a solution to a problem that is presented as a verbal description of a state of the world but where the agent does not or cannot transform physical elements of a problem. We acknowledge the recent evidence that foregrounds the importance of working memory in problem solving, including insight problem solving. However, we stress that the impressive psychometric success is obtained with a methodology that only measures second‐order problem solving; we question whether first‐order problem solving is equally well predicted by measures of cognitive or dispositional capacities. We propose that if mental simulation is replaced by the opportunity to engage with a physical model of a problem then the environment can provide affordances that help the participant to solve problems. In the second part of the paper, we present the subjective experience of an artist as he monitors the microdecisions that occur during the morphogenesis of a large, clay, sculptural installation. The testimony is a vivid demonstration that creative action occurs, not in the brain, but in the movement between the hand and the clay. Insight becomes outsight.
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spelling oxford-uuid:753ca3e4-e9a1-4270-a632-b0993bcafc4d2022-03-26T20:08:06ZInsight out: making creativity visibleJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:753ca3e4-e9a1-4270-a632-b0993bcafc4dEnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordWiley2019Vallée-Tourangeau, FMarch, PLModels of creative problem solving are predicated upon mental states to explain everything from the outcome of problem‐solving experiments to the emergence of artistic creativity. We present two converging perspectives that describe a profoundly different ontological description of creativity. Our analysis proceeds from a distinction between first‐order problem solving, where the agent interacts with a physical model of the problem and second‐order problem solving, where the agent must cogitate a solution to a problem that is presented as a verbal description of a state of the world but where the agent does not or cannot transform physical elements of a problem. We acknowledge the recent evidence that foregrounds the importance of working memory in problem solving, including insight problem solving. However, we stress that the impressive psychometric success is obtained with a methodology that only measures second‐order problem solving; we question whether first‐order problem solving is equally well predicted by measures of cognitive or dispositional capacities. We propose that if mental simulation is replaced by the opportunity to engage with a physical model of a problem then the environment can provide affordances that help the participant to solve problems. In the second part of the paper, we present the subjective experience of an artist as he monitors the microdecisions that occur during the morphogenesis of a large, clay, sculptural installation. The testimony is a vivid demonstration that creative action occurs, not in the brain, but in the movement between the hand and the clay. Insight becomes outsight.
spellingShingle Vallée-Tourangeau, F
March, PL
Insight out: making creativity visible
title Insight out: making creativity visible
title_full Insight out: making creativity visible
title_fullStr Insight out: making creativity visible
title_full_unstemmed Insight out: making creativity visible
title_short Insight out: making creativity visible
title_sort insight out making creativity visible
work_keys_str_mv AT valleetourangeauf insightoutmakingcreativityvisible
AT marchpl insightoutmakingcreativityvisible