Understanding Creativity: The Interplay of Biological, Psychological, and Social Factors

by John S. Dacey

This book combines the wonder and awe of human creativity with the complexity of its study. The authors advance the ?biopsychosocial' perspective as a model of the creative process. . . . This new perspective promises to further our understanding of the ?intricacies of the creative mind.' In the process of studying this book, readers may increase the probability of enhancing their own creativity.
--Richard E. Ripple, professor, educational and developmental psychology, Cornell University

In Understanding Creativity John S. Dacey and Kathleen H. Lennon offer a thorough examination of the three factors--biological, psychological, and social--that contribute to the creative process. This compelling book explores a breadth of topics on creativity how creative people operate as successful and imaginative problem solvers, the essential role self-control plays in realizing creative potential, and the most current discoveries about how the brain works on the neuronal and chemical levels. Most important, the book presents an innovative model that integrates the biological, psychological, and social elements and reflects the most significant advances in current creativity research.

Understanding Creativity beautifully reveals the intricacies of the creative process and advances an innovative new view that can help anyone interested in the creative process to not only better understand it?but to enhance it.

Table of Contents

Part Introduction

1. The Many Components of Creativity

2. A Brief History of the Concept of Creativity

Part Social Factors

3. The Role of the Family

4. The Role of the Social Context

Part Psychological Factors

5. Ten Traits that Contribute to the Creative Personality

6. The Special Contribution of Self-Control

7. The Formation of Creative Personality Traits

8. Creative Cognitive Processes

9. Creative Problem Solving

Part Biological Factors

10. The Brain at the Cellular Level

11. The Hemispheres of the Brain

Part Integration

12. A New Biopsychosocial Explanation of Creativity

310 pages, Hardcover

First published November 17, 1998

Reviews

[Danny Sifonte · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a pretty good book if you can sit through a scientific sort of book that goes into details with examples of how people could interperate different creativity tests. pretty cool!