MORE
In action
How can one study what one believes to be ungraspable?
Creativity
Under the lens of science
The nature of creativity is often perceived as mysterious, even ungraspable. The historiography of famous artists and scientists portrays creativity as sometimes inaccessible and, above all, very rare. It's said that thousands of people have seen an apple fall, but only Newton ever wondered why. Is creativity so inaccessible, so elusive? Does it belong only to a handful of people whose achievements have left their mark on our history-what is called the big-C creativity The genesis of the revolutionary creative breakthroughs of J.R.R. Tolkien, Marie Curie, Albert Einstein or Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart have certainly inspired many thinkers interested in creativity.
At the CREO lab, our team is more interested in how the brain produces original ideas in all areas of life, beyond the arts and sciences that have made history. Creativity is part of everyday life! We believe that a kind of little-c creativity inhabits, often unbeknownst to us, many of our thoughts, decisions and reasoning. This creativity is complex and involves many different mental processes. We believe that a person's potential to engage in such creativity is partly measurable by their divergent thinking.
Research
Within the walls
Our research focuses on divergent thinking, the ability to consider several alternative solutions to a problem or different points of view in a situation. Although divergent thinking is only a partial indicator of a person's creative potential, this notion translates a very complex concept into an observable measure that can be submitted to the scientific method.
Research carried out in the lab exposes people to divergent thinking exercises under different experimental conditions to examine the effects on the number of ideas produced, their flexibility and originality. This method provides information on the very nature of the divergent thinking process - how do people react to examples, increased constraints or feedback on the originality of their ideas? We are also interested in relating individual differences in divergent thinking to other cognitive or emotional aspects of the person.
Seeking and valuing alternatives
Outreach
Out of the lab
Our activities are mainly academic in nature, but we think it's important to share science outside the university context - to reach out to those who could benefit from research! We have a number of initiatives in place. In partnership with non-profit organizations, we write simplified science articles and hold conferences aimed at demystifying creativity.
In response to schools' interest in encouraging creativity in their classrooms, we have developed Cosmos, an educational activity for third cycle students in primary schools. The activity is based on research into the cognitive psychology of creativity, and draws on our team's experience in science outreach, animation and graphic design. Students are invited to engage in a creative process, then reflect on the strategies used to generate ideas. The aim is to demystify creativity and show that it's within everyone's grasp.
