Volume 8 (2021): Issue 2 (December 2021)

This article describes the development and testing of a novel creative and reflective writing task. Following the rationale of sand-tray and play therapies, participants were asked to meaningfully incorporate four objects from a randomly generated matrix of options into a creative short story. They then composed a second story that incorporated four possessions from home associated with important memories. Afterwards, participants produced interpretive statements or reflections on what the stories meant to them. An exploratory qualitative study was conducted based on narrative data from 15 young adult participants in Canada. Our goals were to: (a) explore the extent to which object familiarity was associated with qualitative differences in stories and interpretations, and (b) investigate for connections between features of participants’ stories and depth of interpretation. Analysis of creative stories resulted in a scheme of four response categories with ten subcategories. Participants’ interpretations of their own stories were coded based on self-described sources of inspiration, such as critical life episodes or popular media. Results are accompanied with excerpts of participants’ stories and reflections, and percentage comparisons are reported. Findings are presented in dialogue with established interpretive frameworks originating in depth psychology. Manipulation of object familiarity resulted in demonstrable differences at the levels of word length, point of view, narrative forms and features, self-disclosure, and reflection. Use of familiar objects in such a task appears to be a largely untapped resource that shows promise as a route to insight.

The amount of attention given to creative beliefs has increased in recent years. This article suggests that the selection of one´s best ideas from a set of self-generated alternatives should be included as an indicator of metacognition; something known as creative metacognition accuracy. The present investigation examined the role of creative mindsets and creative personal identity on the selection of one´s best idea, creative self-efficacy, and potential, under two conceptualizations of these beliefs: latent variables and latent classes. College business students completed a battery of questionnaires assessing creative mindsets, creative personal identity, and creative self-efficacy. In addition, participants completed a divergent thinking task involving improvement of smartphones an-d were asked to choose their best idea. Two independent judges also selected the best idea from participants’ set of self-generated ideas. Under the latent class conceptualization, a class with high levels of growth mindset and creative personal identity, and low levels of a fixed mindset showed higher levels of accurate idea selection and creative self-efficacy than the rest of the classes. Similarly, under the latent variable conceptualization, creative personal identity had a positive influence on accurate idea selection and creative self-efficacy.

While creativity is a key element of contemporary curriculum frameworks around the world, it is still insufficiently fostered in formal education settings. This study analyzes a project for collaborative musical creativity, entitled The Sonorous Paella. Participants (N = 12) were eight Year 4 secondary students, two professional musicians, an artist-in-residence, and a music teacher. Drawing on a graphic musical score, the participants worked together for 1.5 months to produce a group composition and performance. They were provided with various sound producers (instruments, everyday objects, technological devices) and were encouraged to flexibly utilize the physical space to maximize collaborative participation. Field notes and pictures taken during working sessions and rehearsals, audio recordings from the final concert, and individual interviews with all participants were qualitatively analyzed. In response to the three study objectives, we conclude that: (1) the design of this collaborative project was consistent with current research-based creativity discourses; (2) drawing on the quality and originality of the final concert, the project fostered the musical creativity of the group; and (3) participants’ perceptions of and opinions about their creativity learning processes were unanimously positive. Our final aim is to inspire music teachers in designing curriculum units that foster collaborative musical creativity.

Originality is the main criterion for creating an author’s work. However, authors are often influenced by previous works of other authors that they have seen, heard or experienced. The aim of this study is to identify criteria for determining creativity in authors’ works, trying to find and define the difference between accidental influence and deliberate misappropriation or plagiarism. This article does not claim an in-depth analysis of creativity and originality from a social science perspective. It is more a scientific essay on creativity from a law science point of view, so that further research can be carried out in the field of authorship and its determination. In order to find an answer to the research question (Where does influence end and plagiarism begin?), theoretical framework and knowledge about creativity were observed, international and national laws were studied, case law from different countries was researched, materials of international conferences were examined, as well as information accessible on the Internet on copyright issues was observed. The research used a descriptive method to investigate the works of various researchers on the types of mutual influence, regulatory framework and court practice in this field, as well as a grammatical, systemic, teleological, and historical interpretation of legal norms to assess the inadequacy of existing legal norms and propose the necessary amendments in legislative enactments. The main result of this study is understanding that the factor of consciousness or subconscious forms the main criteria. If the influence is unintentional, the copyright of the original work is not infringed, but if repetition is intentional, when it goes beyond originality, the new work is considered to be an appropriation of authorship or plagiarism.

This paper presents narrative-biographic research conducted with participation of women who declare that they have introduced important changes into their lives. The qualitative data was collected using narrative interviews as well as a tool to examine changes in the biographic perspective; namely, Line of life. In the presented paper, the authors reconstructed biographical self-creation, meaning the ways of life in which important changes are a central category of a story about life. The authors reconstruct three different ways of narrators’ lives – “spreading one’s wings,” “milestones,” “deus ex machina,” and a case study that describes the process of self-creation and introduction of important changes into a life in more detail.

Visual arts media in pre-school and early school years and development of children’s drawing are well researched. However, when one considers that children are endowed with a talent for visual arts, the research is not as comprehensive and clear-cut. The signs of freedom of expression and imagination, intuitiveness and originality, an inclination to individual work, high sensitivity, and other indicators begin to show soon after visual art gifted (VAG) children enter the representative stages of visual arts. This article was based on a longitudinal case study that was carried out to show some aspects of the functioning of a VAG child in pre-school and early school years and to make some suggestions on how to consider the needs of VAG children.

In the interview with Roni Reiter-Palmon, one of most prolific creativity researchers, we discuss her career, main areas of research interest, chosen research methods and share her thoughts about the future of research on creativity and effectiveness in scientific work.