What is creativity?

While imagination is an idea of something that is not yet in existence, creativity is developing those ideas to adapt to situations in existence, creating a purposeful original idea.

The development of these ideas are not always a physical construct, but can exist within the mind (Vygotsky (1976/2004; as cited in Kaufman & Beghetto, 2009). Creative thinking seeks to bridge the gaps in the environment, which require insight through knowledge and experiences (Runco & Jaeger, 2012). Therefore, creativity does not conflict with knowledge, rather knowledge and creative thinking enrich each other.

References

Kaufman, J.,& Beghetto, R. (2009). Beyond Big and Little. The Four C Model of Creativity. Review of General Psychology 13(1), 1-12. Retrieved from http://www.jamesckaufman.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Kaufman-Beghetto-2009-Beyond-big-and-little-The-four-c-model-of-creativity.pdf

Runco, M. A., & Jaeger, G. J. (2012). The Standard Definition of Creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 24, 92-96.