Advertisement

ZDM

, Volume 49, Issue 7, pp 971–975 | Cite as

Mathematical creativity: psychology, progress and caveats

  • Bharath Sriraman
Survey Paper
First Online:

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to provide a concise survey of advances in the study of the psychology of creativity, with an emphasis on literature that is typically not cited in mathematics education. In spite of claims that mathematical creativity is an ill-defined area of inquiry in mathematics education, the literature from psychology can serve as an illustration for steady progress on numerous fronts including well defined terminology, established links between constructs (e.g., creativity and intelligence; creativity and motivation), integrated perspectives that resolve dichotomies (e.g., process vs product), and theories that are verifiable through empirical research. Psychology can provide us with prospects to pursue well defined lines of inquiry, and absolve us from the pressure of re-inventing well known findings. Three postulates and corollaries are provided with caveats to provoke readers and to stimulate future progress.

Keywords

Psychology of creativity Mathematical creativity Creativity and equity Task design Teaching for creativity 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. Amabile, T. M. (1996). Creativity in context. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.Google Scholar
  2. Bilton, C. (2016). A creative industries perspective on creativity and culture. In V. P. Glaveanu (Ed.), The Palgrave handbook of creativity and culture research (pp. 661–679). UK: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New York, NY: Harper Collins.Google Scholar
  4. Dodds, R. A., Smith, S. M., & Ward, T. B. (2002). The use of environmental clues during incubation. Creativity Research Journal, 14(3–4), 287–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Dodds, R. A., Ward, T. B., & Smith, S. M. (2003). A review of experimental literature on incubation in problem solving and creativity. In M. A. Runco (Ed.), Creativity research handbook. Vol. 3. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.Google Scholar
  6. Feist, G. J. (1998). A meta-analysis of personality in scientific and artistic creativity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2(4), 290–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Helfand, M., Kaufman, J., & Beghetto, R. (2016). The four-C model of creativity: culture and context. In V. P. Glaveanu (Ed.), The Palgrave handbook of creativity and culture research (pp. 15–36). UK: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  8. Hennessey, B. A., & Amabile, T. M. (2010). Creativity. Annual Review of Psychology, 61, 569–598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Leikin, R., & Sriraman, B. (2017). Creativity and Giftedness: interdisciplinary perspectives from mathematics and beyond. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Radakovic, N., & Jao, L. (2017). Review of creativity and giftedness: interdisciplinary perspectives from mathematics and beyond by Roza Leikin and Bharath Sriraman (Eds.). Mathematical Thinking and Learning, 19(2), 139–141. doi: 10.1080/10986065.2017.1298966.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  11. Sawyer, K. R. (2012). Explaining creativity: the science of human innovation. UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  12. Singer, F. M., Sheffield, L. J., & Leikin, R. (2017). Advancements in research on creativity and giftedness in mathematics education: introduction to the special issue. ZDM Mathematics Education, 49(1), 5–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  13. Silvia, P. J. (2015). Intelligence and creativity are pretty similar after all. Educational Psychology Review, 27, 599–606.Google Scholar
  14. Sio, U. N., & Ormerod, T. C. (2007). Does incubation enhance problem solving? A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 135(1), 94–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  15. Sriraman, B. (2005). Are mathematical giftedness and mathematical creativity synonyms? A theoretical analysis of constructs. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 17(1), 20–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. Sriraman, B. (2009). The characteristics of mathematical creativity. ZDM Mathematics Education, 41, 13–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Sternberg, B. (2017). ACCEL: a new model for identifying the gifted. Roeper Review, 39(3), 152–169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  18. Tan, A. G., & Sriraman, B. (2017). Convergence in creativity development for mathematical capacity. In R. Leikin & B. Sriraman (Eds.), Creativity and giftedness: interdisciplinary perspectives from mathematics and beyond (pp. 117–134). Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© FIZ Karlsruhe 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Mathematical Sciences University of MontanaMissoulaUSA

Personalised recommendations

Cite article

Buy options