An Investment Theory of Creativity and Its Development

This article presents an investment theory of creativity. The theory comprises 6 resources for creativity – intellectual processes, knowledge, intellectual style, personality, motivation, and environmental context. Creative performance results from a confluence of these elements. Main features of each resource are explained and the manner in which the 6 resources combine is discussed. Then a preliminary empirical study that tests aspects of the investment theory is briefly presented. Next, the development of creativity in terms of the 6 resources is described. Finally, potential criticisms of the investment theory are addressed. The goal of the theory is to understand in a cohesive way the foundations of…