Encyclopedia of Creativity - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0122270754 ISBN 13: 9780122270758

Publisher: Academic Press, 1999

Synopsis

The Encyclopedia of Creativity is the sourcebook for individuals seeking specialized information about creativity and motivation. Subjects include theories of creativity, techniques for enhancing creativity, individuals who have made significant contributions to creativity, physiological aspects of creativity, and virtually any topic that touches upon the subject. Entries are placed in alphabetical order with cross-references to other topics and entries where appropriate. Each entry is written in simple easy-to-understand terms summarizing the most important aspects of creative research and writing relating to the specific topic. A bibliography in the back of each article suggests additional sources for more information. The text is visually enhanced throughout by illustrations and photographs.

• A source-book of specialized information about creativity and motivation
• Includes virtually any topic dealing with creativity
• Entries are placed in alphabetical order with cross-references
• Written in easy-to-understand terms
• Illustrations and photographs throughout
• Contains select biographies of internationally renowned creative individuals from throughout history

About this title

About the Authors

Mark Runco, Director of Creativity Research & Programming, Southern Oregon University, Ashland OR, USA

Mark Runco earned his Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the Claremont Graduate School in California and has studied creativity ever since. He is currently a Director of Creativity Research & Programming, Southern Oregon University, Ashland OR, USA He began his teaching career as an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Hawaii, Hilo. He then taught at Cal State Fullerton for 22 years. He was also an adjunct professor at the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration for nearly 15 years and lectured regularly at Universidad de Cantabria in Spain and Shaanxi Normal University in Xi'an, China. He is a distinguished consulting faculty member at the Saybrook Graduate University in San Francisco and remains on the University of Georgia Graduate Faculty
Mark developed nine seminars on creativity, including "Creativity: What It Is and What It Is Not," "The Assessment of Creativity," "Creative Cognition," and "Social Contexts for Creativity." He is Fellow and past president of Division 10 (Psychology, Art, Creativity, and Aesthetics) of the American Psychological Association.
Mark also founded the Creativity Research Journal, which he still edits, along with two new journals: Business Creativity and the Creative Economy, and the Journal of Genius and Eminence. In 2010, Mark published the "rCAB" (Runco Creativity Assessment Battery), a comprehensive battery of tests for the assessment of creativity. He has published over 300 articles, chapters, and books on creativity, its measurement and enhancement. His textbook Creativity: Theories and Themes: Research, Development, and Practice has been translated into 10 languages. The 3rd edition will be published in 2020. He also was an Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of Creativity, which was published in 1999 and the second edition, which was published in 2011.

Steven Pritzker, Psychology/Creativity Studies Faculty, Saybrook University, Pasadena, CA, USA

Steven Pritzker received his Ph.D.in Educational Psychology from the University of Southern California. He taught Writing and Creativity and Writing at UCLA Extension and Foothill College and Educational Psychology at USC. Steven was a Professor for 17 years at Saybrook University where he founded and was Director of the Creativity Studies Certificate and the Creativity Studies Masters and Doctoral Specializations. He is still on the faculty there and has guest lectured at universities and spoken at conferences in many countries.

Steven’s research has dealt with creativity and writing in television; collaborative creativity in writing and business; creativity and spirituality; audience flow; the effect of alcohol on creativity; comedians and longevity and the creative process in high achieving writers.
Dr. Pritzker is Past President a Fellow of Division 10 of The American Psychological Association (Psychology of Creativity, Aesthetics and The Arts). He also served on the Educational Coalition of the American Psychological Association where he was commissioned to be Executive Producer of the video Creativity in the Classroom which is among the top ten most viewed videos released by APA. He also developed this into a Continuing Education Module for psychologists and teachers.

Steven worked in network television where he was a Writer and/or Executive Story Editor, Producer, Supervising Producer or Executive Producer on over 200 network television shows. His credits include writing episodes of the Emmy winning Mary Tyler Moore Show and Room 222. He is a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of America. His background in the business world includes experience in marketing, advertising, training, and consulting. He has presented seminars regarding business and creativity.

Steven was Humor Editor and a write for Psychology Today magazine and Editor-in-Chief of the first edition of The Encyclopedia of Creativity published in 1999 as well as the second edition published in June 2011.

Reviews

This two-volume encyclopedia aims to be "comprehensive, and written for a wide audience. Here everyone from the casual newcomer to the seasoned researcher can find a broad cross section of information and even guidance about creativity." Unfortunately, that is only partly true. On the plus side, the articles (generally ten to 20 pages long) cover a wide variety of topics and contain lively biographical sketches of famous creative individuals whose lives have been studied in relation to theories of creativity. Contributors, predominantly psychologists, also include experts in business, education, and the arts. Each article contains definitions of terms unfamiliar to the general reader and also a bibliography. Unfortunately, as is often the case with collections of articles by many authors, the tone is uneven; some of the articles are inaccessible to nonspecialists. Furthermore, most of the biographical sketches, supposedly included to illustrate certain theories about creativity, do not adequately do so. Finally, the index is incomplete: for example, there are no entries for "bipolar disorder," "manic depression," or "depression," and although the relationship between depressive illness and creativity is discussed in the article "Affective Disorders," the nonspecialist would have a hard time finding the information. For large academic libraries only.
-Mary Ann Hughes, Neill P.L., Pullman, WA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From the Preface Creativity is multifaceted and manifested in different ways in different domains. Moreover, there are different processes that can each lead to creative work. Thus a comprehensive Encyclopedia of Creativity required many different kinds of articles. There are articles that present overviews of the different theories and perspectives about creativity. There are reviews of a number of domain-specific areas, such as the arts, acting, architecture, and dance. Creativity and education are examined in articles about thought processes, such as the enhancement of creativity, intelligence, and memory. Programs and courses in creativity are discussed as well as strategies, tactics, techniques, and tests of creativity. Those interested in business and organizational creativity can view articles about advertising, brainstorming, corporate culture, creative climate, group creativity, innovation, leadership, and teams, among others. Many articles examine the creative process across domains, covering how we come to be inspired, work methods, individual differences, and other factors that may impact creativity, be they psychological, physical, or sociological. The complex interrelationship between society and creativity is explicitly examined in articles about censorship, conventionality, conformity, consensual assessment, cross-cultural differences, and several others. Because this encyclopedia focuses on scientific information about creativity, there are also articles that discuss research methodology, definitions, and even the concept of creativity itself. Finally, there are selected biographical studies conducted with creativity as the key concern. The sampling of biographical subjects represents eminent individuals in different domains, including inventors, writers, scientists, psychologists, and painters.

As is apparent from the breadth of articles included, the study of creativity is a vast subject. Several topics required more than one perspective and more than one article. The Encyclopedia of Creativity is alphabetically organized with extensive cross-referencing that will allow the multitude of bridges and relationships to be easily found and explored.

Edition details

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0122270754
• ISBN 13: 9780122270758
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 1663
• Editor: Runco Mark A., Pritzker Steven R.