Abstract
Dual physicist and psychologist Shaw (1989) published an account speculating on the modelling of a series of feedback loops within the structure of the creative process following a series of in-depth interviews with 12 scientists concerning the use of cognitive and affective processes in the act of scientific creation. These feedback loops were hypothesized to operate between each phase of the classical model of creative problem solving as typified by the seminal work of Wallas (1926). However, data providing evidence of their operation has been scarce. Using a sizable sample (n = 405) and recently developed software that enables bidirectional pathways to be modelled (M-Plus v6), this study examines the evidence for the existence of feedback loops within the creative process using structural equation modelling (SEM) procedures. The research builds on the findings of a previous study in which participants solved two novel mathematics problems in the Mathematics Challenge for Young Australians. Empirical evidence for both the classical stage model of creative problem solving and Shaw’s feedback loops namely the Vinacke and Lalas loops, are presented and discussed. The participants were middle school students in Grades 7 to 10 drawn from across two states of Australia.
Highlights
Some 25 years ago, Shaw (1989) described a structure for modelling a creative situation that focused on thoughts as well as feelings
These feedback loops were hypothesized to operate between each phase of the classical model of creative problem solving as typified by the seminal work of Wallas (1926)
The purpose of the study was to form a comprehensive model of creative problem solving in which both cognitive and non-cognitive processes used in the creative “process” were modelled along-side other more macroscopic components related to the creative “person”, the creative “product” and the creative “environment” relevant to a confluence approach (Sternberg, 2006)
Summary
Some 25 years ago, Shaw (1989) described a structure for modelling a creative situation that focused on thoughts as well as feelings. Some models have sought to elaborate upon the number of stages involved in creativity as for example: (a) Shaw’s (1989) model of the “Eureka process”; (b) Osborn’s (1953) model of the “Applied imagination”; (c) the “Osborn-Parnes” model of creative problem solving (Isaksen & Parnes, 1985); (d) the “Core processes” model by Mumford and associates (1991); (e) the “Componential” model by Amabile (1996); and (f) the “Extended phase” model by Cropley and Cropley (2008) to state but some of these Each of these models has expounded on at least five stages with two sets of scholars advocating as many as eight (viz., Cropley & Cropley, 2008; Mumford, Mobley, & Uhlman, 1991). These were Cropley’s (2001) earlier “Holistic” model of creativity and Shaw’s model of the “Eureka process”
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