UCL School of Management is delighted to welcome Matt Cronin, George Mason University, to host a research seminar discussing ‘The role of perspective change in creativity.’​

Abstract

The role of perspective, the network of assumptions adopted in relation to a problem or domain of knowledge, has not been effectively leveraged in the research on what it takes to produce creative ideas, products, or least of all, knowledge. Perspectives draw the boundary between what one can and cannot conceive, but most perspectives are not fixed (as is commonly assumed), they are generated in the mind of a creator and they evolve as a situation progresses. What’s more, a not all perspective change is creative, and much of it is not the instantaneous “Aha!” processes typically associated with insight.  We argue that by elaborating perspective change as the central determinant of creativity, we can distinguish new forms of creativity, understand how non-creative (i.e., craft) thought promotes creativity, and identify a distinct system of functions that must work together to produce creativity. Articulation of this process should allow researchers to better reconcile a great many inconsistencies in creativity research, but also to identify the craft of creativity – the skill that one can learn in order to be more creative. When creativity becomes a learnable skill, it makes it an expandable resource.