What have the studies of the cognitive processes of creativity ...

[gbarreiro]

What have the studies of the cognitive processes of creativity revealed?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

How do innate talent and acquired skill play into expertise?
 
  What will be an ideal response?

[jaygar71]

Answer to Question 1

Some of these researchers believe that what distinguishes remarkably creative individuals from less remarkable people is their expertise and commitment to their creative endeavor. Highly creative individuals work long and hard. They study the work of their predecessors and their contemporaries. They thereby become thoroughly expert in their fields. They then build on and diverge from what they know to create innovative approaches and products and thereby change society. One study examined the creativity of projects completed by design students. The researchers found that the greater the knowledge amassed by a student, the greater, on average, the creativity of the project.

Answer to Question 2

A richly elaborated knowledge base is crucial to expertise in a specific area or domain, but not all differences in performance can be explained in terms of knowledge level alone. There is considerable debate as to whether differences between novices and experts and among different experts themselves are due either to innate talent or to the quantity and quality of practice in a domain. Many espouse the practice makes perfect point of view. The practice should be deliberate, or focused. It should emphasize acquisition of new skills and applications rather than mindless repetition of what the developing expert already knows how to do. Ericsson argues that when people invest thousands of hours into acquiring a skill, their skills actually may change so that novice or intermediate performers cannot even be validly compared with experts.

Some, however, take an alternative approach. This approach acknowledges the importance of practice in building a knowledge and skill base. It also underscores the importance of something like talent. Studies have shown that factors, like starting age, personality traits like grit (persistence when trying to accomplish goals), passion, and general intelligence may play a role in the acquisition of expert skills.