Psychology of Creativity : Advances in Theory, Research and Application

Creativity is a topic that has gained increasing interest over the past decades and, unlike other topics which have sudden "e;moments of glory"e; and then quickly become neglected, it is an issue that continues to attract the attention of researchers and practitioners, overcoming the fluctuating fashions and curiosity of the moment. For this reason, it can be useful to consider periodically what is new about creativity. The aim of this book is to discuss recent developments in the field of creativity. More precisely, attention has been paid to four aspects. Firstly, the concept of creativity changes as a consequence of transformations in the social and cultural environment. Thus, the way creativity is meant needs to be always updated by referring it to new requests and goals. Secondly, new theoretical constructs are proposed or unsuspected links between creativity and other notions are explored, so as to revise the old concepts. Thirdly, new research methods and instruments are devised and investigators have new opportunities to shed light on further aspects of creativity. Finally, both researchers and professionals discover new fields where creativity can be cultivated and trained, broadening the range of possible applications. A variety of subjects are addressed by following different approaches and by considering different aspects of creativity. Hopefully this should allow readers to have an updated view of what is currently debated and investigated in the field of theory and research about the psychological processes involved in creativity.