Do you have problems solving complex problems? Can't you come up with a single creative idea? So, you are using the wrong area of the brain. What contributes to the manifestation of creativity and an innovative approach to simple problems? This is productive thinking. It helps people create something or find a simple way out of a difficult situation. Read all the details below.
Definition
Productive thinking is a creative approach to solving problems. Creative thinking is what designers call it. It is these creative people who know how to turn on and off the imagination as they wish. But thinking is not so simple designed to control it by volitional effort. In fact, no one knows exactly how the brain functions. But scientists were able to systematize and write out the processes that, in their opinion, occur in gray matter at the time of thought. These stages were called processes and stages of creative thinking.
Any person is faced with the fact that from time to time he needs to include creative thinking. For example, when a friend asks you a simple question: "What superpowers would you have if you were a superhero?" It is difficult to give a definite answer to this question if you have never thought about it before. Therefore, one has to include imagination, imagine and analyze an unreal situation.
Formation
Productive thinking is the process of the origin of creative thought. And what is involved in its formation?
- Memory. To come up with something, you need to have a knowledge base. Look at the little children who endlessly ask their mothers: "What is this?" Only by gathering visual images can a person use his imagination. The more experience and knowledge a person has, the easier it will be for him to invent or imagine something.
- Thinking. For a creative thought to creep into the head, a person must think and reason. Only due to the fact that a person can draw parallels between several areas of knowledge and make logical connections can a creative thought be generated. The more often a person thinks, the better his thinking will be developed.
- Imagination. In order to think creatively, you need to use your imagination. The more often you use it, the better it will work. A child fantasizes worse than an adult. Parents manage to compose fairy tales on the go. Children need time to make any unreal story. The more a child listens and reads fairy tales, the faster his imagination will work.
- Intuition. The experience of experienced events leaves its mark on a person. Intuition is information that a person from his consciousness translated into the subconscious. It works only when the experience gained tells a person what to do in a given situation.
- Personal worldview. All people think differently for the reason that each person is a unique person. Education, upbringing, communication environment and personal preferences leave an imprint on the structure and logic of thinking.
Stages
The origin of thought is a complex process. And what is the emergence of an idea? In productive thinking, this is the transformation of an abstract image into something concrete. There are several stages of creative thinking.
- The emergence of an idea. Before making another invention, the master should sit and think about whoever needs to make life easier this time and what exactly. Typically, ideas for inspiration come from the environment. Observers can see a lot of interesting things even for a short walk from home to work.
- Awareness of the idea. When a thought is formulated, it needs to be considered. For example, an engineer decided to make life easier for builders, but did not think up how. At this stage, he must think through mechanisms that will help people in their work. Ultimately, the engineer will have the idea of creating a crane.
- Work on the idea. When a thought has found its first shape, it needs to be specified. In the case of a crane, the engineer will need to draw up drawings, sketches and diagrams of the future machine.
- Decision. Outline ideas are formed and processed. At this stage, the idea took its shape. and it becomes clear to the inventor what and how to do next.
- Execution. The last stage is the realization of an idea. It should be noted that not always a thinker, engineer, designer, etc., personally embodies his idea. Most often, specialists who will perform all the dirty work are hired for this purpose.
Kinds
What is the difference between productive and reproductive thinking? In the first case, a creative idea is being formed. A man comes up with something new that did not exist before him. In the second case, a person does not invent anything. He can solve the problem thanks to his knowledge and skills. What are the types of productive thinking?
- Theoretical Its essence is that a person will think about a solution to a problem. No action will be taken. All the creative that will be used in the process of work will be a manifestation and synthesis of acquired experience and knowledge.
- Clear. Thinking, the process of which can be traced, is characteristic of visual people. Such persons cannot think in their heads; it is easier for them to depict everything on paper. Visual thinking is often used in design bureaus so that different people can work together on the same project.
- Figurative. In order for a person to be able to invent something, he will use the previously accumulated knowledge. The way of his thinking will be easily traced through the images that will form the basis of the idea.
- Spontaneous. It is not always possible to structure thinking. Chaos is always peculiar to creative personalities. Some people do not accept any systems, and this is displayed not only on their lifestyle, but also on the way of thinking.
Features
Creative productive thinking, although considered unsystematic and illogical, nevertheless, in order to qualify it, some features were deduced.
- Possession of logical operations. Only a person who knows how to think and will use logic in his projects can claim to be creative. Any creative brainchild should somehow interpret and present to the audience and surrounding people.
- The presence of novelty. Creative thinking will not be such unless something non-standard is present in it. It is the presence of novelty that distinguishes reproductive thinking from productive.
- Understanding rational things. A person must not only use logic, but also understand what he is doing and why he is doing. Doing anything just to do something is great stupidity.
- Knowledge of ways to create harmony. Any creator must adhere not only to logic and common sense, but also to the elementary laws of beauty that apply in his area of competence. For example, an artist cannot paint a picture without using any compositional rules.
Quality
Productive thinking in psychology is divided into several categories:
- Width. When a person thinks about something, she can cover with her inner gaze the entire field of knowledge that is available on this issue.
- Depth. A person is not sprayed, he concretizes his task and tries to look at the root of the problem.
- Rapidity. All people think differently. Someone is used to using a creative approach to solve everyday problems, and someone turns on the imagination only when there is an urgent need for it.
- Criticality. A person should always look objectively at the product of his thinking. Criticism is what helps a person to develop and do work on mistakes.
The processes
Have you ever wondered what happens in the brain when you try to imagine or imagine something? The processes of productive thinking that scientists have identified:
- Analysis. A person always thinks about a problem or an idea before giving it a go.
- Comparison When an idea or problem has taken on more or less understandable outlines, they are compared with the individual's experience.
- Synthesis. Ideas are created at the junction of what has already been seen and fantasy. Through the fusion of these two forms, new thoughts appear.
- Generalization. A person collects all knowledge and ideas together to see what can be done from this set.
- Concretization. When the material is prepared and the idea is formed, it is concretized and worked out.
Development
Some people may complain that they have a poor imagination. The development of productive thinking is not advanced mathematics. Parents should deal with this process in order to raise a healthy and intelligent child. How can you develop your imagination? One of the easy ways is to compose fairy tales. A person can invent fables or tell stories, but arrange them in an unusual way.
Creative thinking contributes to the development of creative thinking. If you want to be more creative, think about where your knowledge and skills can come in handy. Start writing music or paintings, sculpt, dance or sing. All this helps to engage the right half of the hemisphere.
Examples
What is the result of productive thinking? An example of this approach is any creative specialty. For example, take the work of a designer. These people must work every day in order to generate ideas that did not exist before them. The result of their work are logos, business cards, corporate identity and all kinds of graphic design sites.