Abstract
This paper explores the subject of cognitive creativity as an inborn human characteristic and not a learnt skill. It analyses views of various psychologist and authors that are in support of the proposition that cognitive creativity is an innate. The paper advances an argument that creativity is unique mental process that differs from individual to individual. This difference is as a result of difference in personality. Personality is a product of mental process and creativity is a component of personality that endures in a person from childhood to adulthood. Therefore, the paper takes the position that creativity is inborn because of its consistency. Other traits, which influence creativity, have also been discussed in the paper. They include insight, flexibility and independence. Creativity is the cognitive ability to initiate creations, interventions, innovations, and discoveries that provide solutions to existing problems. It is a component of human thinking that is displayed in problem solving and service or product development. Every person poses unique creativity, which differentiates the person from others. This creativity is inborn and is as a result of mental processes which are distinct in each person. For this reason, there is no shared creativity and every person is born creative. The difference comes in the level of creativity which again is influenced by ones personality. To this end creativity is a trait acquired at birth and not a skill leant through experiences. The concept of creativity as an inborn human characteristic was evident in ancient Roman and Greek cultures. These two cultures recognized that creative thinking manifested by philosophers and poets was not as a result of experience but from inspiration. Therefore, creative individuals were considered as being possessed. Meaning, their creative works were out of inborn abilities which external environment had no control over. It is for this reason that the Romans coined the word genius to refer to the highly talented one in recognition of superiority of mental process over learnt experiences. Even today, the relationship between thinking processes and creativity is undisputed although the question of whether it is a skill or traits still persists. Psychologists have made remarkable progress in their investigation of creativity and cognitive phenomenon from a scientific point of views. Gestalt analysis of creativity to a large extent shows that creativity is inborn and that all people are creative in their own rights. His analysis had a profound impact on the research on thinking. Against, the expectations of many psychologists, Gestalt outlined the place of negative experience in creative thinking. He distanced experience as a factor in creativity and proposed that inner qualities of individuals such as insight had were the main drivers of creativity. Weisberg states “Familiarity with Gestalt view has led to widespread belief that productive problem solving as well as creative thinking in general comes about only by breaking away from experience and letting our ideas roam freely” p.32 . According to Smith, Word & Finke (2013) creativity is not a skill learnt through experience. Instead, they propose that it is an aspect of cognitive process that develops through the influence of genetics. Thus, creativity is inscribed in an individual make up, and a person cannot be taught to become creative. However, it can be improved by acquisition of skills. This argument strongly supports the view that creativity is innate. It points out that an individual gene has an influence over his/her creativity. Consequently, some people are born more creative than others because the human genetics differ from person to person. The role of genetics in the development of an individual is not disputed. However, it proportion of influence over human characteristics is still undetermined. Nonetheless, because creativity cannot be learnt, it can be argued that it is inborn in totality. An individual thinking process is a key determinant of his or her level of creativity. Cognitive processes are influenced by internal or inborn characteristics. Therefore, it can be argued that creativity is influenced by inner characteristics of individuals. For instance, concentration affects logical thinking, which in turn affects one’s ability to think creatively when presented with difficulties. This is because the inner drive to pay attention to problems is an inborn skill that is not learnt. Each person sees problems in different ways depending on his or her mental interpretation of the problem. Therefore, the solution to a problem cannot be one. It is only judge as creative on the basis of value and originality. For this reason, there can many creative solutions to challenges. This difference emanates from the variance in thinking. Creativity is a trait and not a skill. Trait is a reflection of individual personality and personality is influenced by cognitive processes. Creative individuals display certain traits, which appear to be universal and common to them. The trait or enduring habits are kind of thinking, behavior or feeling which is consistent in every encounter a person get (Haslem, 2006). This distinguishes an individual from the other. The consistency of creativity makes it fit within the definition of trait. Individual many have similar traits but not of the same level. This is also true to creativity. People may provide similar creative solution to an existing problem. However, the level of creativity exhibited by those solutions cannot be the same. This demonstrates that creativity is distinct to every individual. In essence, it is inborn and not transferable through educations. There are cognitive processes that relate closely with creativity. Creativity requires insightful thinking, which cannot be learnt through experience. Insights occur in cognitive structures and are spontaneous in nature. They are associated with personal beliefs, which nature experience has no influence over. One cannot learn to be insightful. Another cognitive aspect that is associated with creativity is openness to experience. Creativity is highly related to eccentricity which is an inborn characteristic. People who are open to experiences tend to be more creative. Theirs is also aspect of curiosity, interest originality and perfect attitude. All these are inborn in nature. Creativity is considered among higher thinking skills. Therefore, the level of creativity varies from individual to individual because it is a thinking skill which not everyone differs in. Individuals do not learn higher thinking skills. Rather it is a manifestation of cognitive processes, which is unique to every individual. The ability to solve problem depends on intelligence. However, intelligence is not a measure of one’s creativity. According to King, Goodson & Rohani (2013), creativity involves both the use of convergent and divergent thinking to come up with solutions and produce ideas. Therefore, it transcend above normal learned concepts and rules. By using creativity people get to distinguish between unrelated occurrences and logical meaning of events. According to Hoyes & Mellon (1990), the measure of real life depiction of creativity relates to personality. Consequently, creativity is an aspect of personality. For this reason, individual differences manifest themselves in expression of creativity. Indeed, research has succeeded in pointing out that creative some confluence in personality. They are show flexibility in approach to issues and are also independent. Personality is innate and has closes association with creativity. Therefore, creativity remains unchanged in person from childhood to adulthood. The enduring nature of creativity makes it a trait and not skill. On the other hand, skills are sharpened and changes according to experiences. Creativity is a natural ability. Skills, on the other hand, occur through education, training and life experiences. Creativity, as an inborn characteristic is not subject to changes in a life time. Conversely, skills, however, can be improved through comprehension and knowledge acquisition. Many individuals may acquire a similar set of skills through similar training experiences. On the other hand, cognitive creativity encompasses an individual’s developmental habits. Consequently, an individual creativity distinguishes him/her from other people.Conclusion Every person poses a unique creativity which helps the person to develop and interact with the physical world. No single person has the same creativity as the any other person. Each individual is born creative although the level of creativity differs. Creativity is judged on the basis of worth and originality. It is, therefore, a relative expression. There is no single measurement tool for creativity because it is considered very subjective and a personal characteristic of a person. It is influenced by mental processes and individual differs in thinking capabilities. Thinking processes are innate and are not subject of personal experiences.
References
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Hoyes, J. R. and Mellon, C. (1990). Cognitive Processes in Creativity.Occasional Paper No. 18. Retrieved November 5, 2013 from http://www.public.iastate.edu/~cschan/235/7_HayesCreativity.pdf
King, J. Goodson, L. and Rohani, F. (2013). Higher Order Thinking Skills.Assessment and Evaluation Educational Services Program. Retrieved November 5, 2013 from http://www.cala.fsu.edu/files/higher_order_thinking_skills.pdf
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