Changing Views of Creative Problem Solving: Over 40 Years of Continuous Improvement

By Scott G. Isaksen and K. Brian Dorval

Originally appeared in the International Creativity Network Newsletter, volume 3, number 1, 1993, pages 1, 4-5.

Editor's Note: This article is a brief summary of presentations and papers presented at the Annual Creative Problem Solving Institute and the International Creativity and Innovation Networking Conference held in Greensboro, North Carolina.

The search for understanding the creative process has been going on for quite some time. A variety of approaches have been taken, including the identification of models for how people create. Some of these models have described specific steps or stages which highly creative people followed when they were solving mathematical problems or writing and composing great literary works. Others have appeared rather static. It is appropriate, however, that models of the creative process should be dynamic and that fundamental changes in concepts, structures and views should be expected. Creative Problem Solving (CPS) is one such dynamic model that has been the subject of research and development for over 40 years. The purpose of this article is to describe the three major phases or waves of activity that have taken place regarding the development of the CPS framework and to share some of the outcomes and benefits derived from this activity.

Wave One: Deliberate Development of the CPS Model

The first major wave of CPS development started with the work of Alex Osborn over forty years ago. At that time Osborn clearly indicated that CPS was not intended as a formula and that the stages were outlined . . . merely as an aid to the understanding of the several phases of creative problem-solving (Osborn, 1953). The aim was to develop and validate a model of the creative process that would help people understand and use their creative talent more effectively. Descriptions of the CPS model included an initial seven stages (Osborn, 1953); which later identified three stages (Osborn, 1967). Further works (Parnes, 1967; Parnes, Noller & Biondi, 1977; Parnes, 1981) led to the modification of the three-stage model and outlined five CPS stages including Fact-Finding, Problem-Finding, Idea-Finding, Solution-Finding and Acceptance Finding.

This initial wave resulted in the establishment of the widely known Osborn-Parnes CPS model. A two-year instructional program at Buffalo State College was developed around this approach to cultivate the creative behavior of students. This approach was also widely diffused through the annual Creative Problem Solving Institutes hosted by the Creative Education Foundation in Buffalo, New York. Although the teachability of creativity was validated through research, not everyone needed or appreciated the same approach. The effectiveness and acceptance of the CPS methodology varied among participants. This wave also resulted in a bold but simplistic description and graphic representation of CPS. This is represented in Figure 1, Frame One: CPSI: The General System (Noller, Parnes, & Biondi, 1976). Despite the understanding that CPS was not a linear process nor a specific formula to follow, the graphic of the CPS model appeared to prescribe a series of stages to follow.

Wave Two: Expanding and Strengthening CPS

From the first wave we learned that people had different reactions to learning and using the CPS model. Since this initial version of CPS did not have universal appeal or applicability, the second wave focused on understanding individual differences that influenced the learning and application of CPS.

During the second wave social roles (client, facilitator and resource-group member) associated with using CPS in groups were examined in more detail (Treffinger, Isaksen & Firestien, 1983). A sixth stage, Mess-Finding, was added to the model to consider other factors such as characteristics of people and situations and to identify specific levels of ownership and clientship when applying CPS. A more deliberate balance was developed between the creative and critical-thinking phases within the model (Isaksen & Treffinger, 1985). The Fact-Finding stage was renamed Data-Finding to provide for the inclusion of impressions, feelings and opinions. To increase flexibility and more accurately describe how problem solving occurred, the six stages of CPS were organized into three main components including understanding the problem, idea generation, and planning for action (Isaksen & Treffinger, 1991; Treffinger & Isaksen, 1992). These changes are represented in Figure 1, Frame Two: Creative Problem Solving: Three Main Components and Six Specific Stages (Isaksen & Treffinger, 1987).

This second wave of development resulted in an improved understanding of the roles involved in effectively using CPS, a more balanced use of techniques and a more deliberate identification of the factors involved in getting started with the process. Although CPS was identified as a flexible process and broken into three components, the description, graphic representation and application of CPS continued to depict a linear and prescribed series of stages for problem-solving activity.

Wave Three: A New View of CPS

Although some major improvements and developments had been accomplished during the first two waves, the third wave began to swell when we validated that prior graphic depiction's of CPS were not sufficiently representative of how people used it (Pershyn, 1992). Based on this research and the need for a more accurate graphic depiction of CPS, we developed an alternative view (see Figure 1, Frame Three: Components of CPS: Isaksen & Dorval, 1992; Isaksen, Dorval & Treffinger, 1993). This new view of CPS breaks the three components apart to represent a more flexible, descriptive approach. It is also consistent with an emerging ecological framework for creativity research (Isaksen, Puccio & Treffinger, in preparation). This framework allows for more effective inquiry into how desired outcomes of a task, the orientation of people involved and the situational outlook of the context interact to affect the CPS process. This approach will undoubtedly provide challenges and opportunities for further improvements and developments in future views of CPS and will be discussed further in an upcoming ICN article.

Contact Information: Scott G. Isaksen, Center for Studies in Creativity, Buffalo State College, 1300 Elmwood Avenue, Chase Hall 244, Buffalo, NY 14222. K. Brian Dorval, Creative Problem Solving Group-Buffalo, 1329 North Forest Road, Suite D-15, Williamsville, NY 14221.

References

Isaksen, S. G., & Dorval, K. B. (1992). Creative approaches to problem solving. Buffalo, NY: The Creative Problem Solving Group - Buffalo.

Isaksen, S. G., Dorval, K. B. & Treffinger, D. J. (1993). Creative approaches to problem solving (revised edition). Buffalo, NY: The Creative Problem Solving Group - Buffalo.

Isaksen, S. G., & Treffinger, D. J. (1985). Creative problem solving: The basic course. Buffalo, NY: Bearly Limited.

Isaksen, S. G., & Treffinger, D. J. (1987). Creative problem solving: Three components and six specific stages. Unpublished instructional handout. Buffalo, NY: Center for Studies in Creativity.

Isaksen, S. G., & Treffinger, D. J. (1991). Creative learning and problem solving. In A. L. Costa (Ed.). Developing minds: Programs for teaching thinking (pp. 89-93). Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Isaksen, S. G., Puccio, G. J. & Treffinger, D. J. (in preparation). An Ecological Approach to Creativity Research: Profiling for Creative Problem Solving.

Noller, R. B., Parnes, S. J. & Biondi, A. M. (1976). Creative Actionbook. NY: Scribners.

Osborn, A. F. (1953). Applied Imagination. NY: Scribners . Osborn (1967). Applied Imagination. NY: Scribners.

Parnes, S. J. (1967). Creative behavior guidebook. NY: Scribners.

Parnes, S. J. (1981). The magic of your mind. Buffalo, NY: The Creative Education Foundation.

Parnes, S. J. , Noller, R. B. & Biondi, A. M. (1977). Guide to creative action. NY: Charles Scribner's Son.

Pershyn, G. (1992). An investigation into the graphic depictions of natural creative problem solving processes. Unpublished master's thesis. Buffalo State College, Buffalo, NY.

Treffinger, D. J. & Isaksen, S. G. (1992). Creative problem solving: An introduction. Sarasota, FL: Center for Creative Learning, Inc.

Treffinger, D. J., Isaksen, S. G. & Firestien, R. L. (1982). Handbook of creative learning. Sarasota, FL: Center for Creative Learning, Inc.