Formation of Creative Personality Traits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Formation of Creative Personality Traits - Essay Example The factors which stimulate facilitate or hinder its development (Magno,2008, p.2.)The two main perspectives, upon which all the theories of formation of creative personality are based: mental and social. Secondly, as the name indicates, human is the centre and focus of this theory. Personality (chapter 10) writes that, "Ultimate value is placed on dignity of person." The main theories discussed in this chapter, regarding the formation of creative personality are: psychoanalysis, mental illness, psychotism, addiction and humanistic theories. I believe psychotism, addiction and mental illness theories are very narrow and constricted. Psychoanalytical viewpoint focuses more "importance to art in the expression of the unconscious mind" (Magno, 2008, p.4) and "view a person as fairly passive, as a reactor to his or her life circumstances rather than an active agent" (Dacey & Lennon,1998, p.137.) The major contrast of the theories is differing themes of self, health, development and consciousness gives much smaller role to the unconscious drives. I consider individual as an active agent, who has all the control over his life and decisions and he deliberately, consciously and cognitively engages himself to be creative to meet the daily errands. So, I decide that Humanistic approach to the formation of creative personality convinces me more than other theories. ... Carl Jung gave birth to this link of mental health and creativity. Magno (2008) also touched this point and quoted Rollo May and Diamond, who believed that "creativity had an important role in healing and establishing genuine meaning in life." (p. 6.) The idea has evolved immensely and now creativity is linked with the healthy status of mind and "emotional well being" of a person. (Simonton, 2000, p.151.) Simonton (2008) also argued that the "psychological weakness can sometimes be converted into a form of optimal functioning" (p. 153.) In humanistic psychology, "to create is associated with human nature" wrote Magno (2008, p.3) and I utterly agree to this viewpoint. Dacey & Lennon (1998) explained this view point at its best by writing that," people are able to make active choices as they construct their lives" and they have the control and right to choose. (p.137) Creativity is essential to living and that is why each of us, at some point, is creative. Magno (2008) wrote, "All events of life can involve creativity." (p.13.) To stimulate creativity, we need to full fill its demands. Maslow's needs of hierarchy, puts "self-actualization and aesthetic needs" as the basis of creativity. (p.137.) I believe, while agreeing with humanistic approach that creativity is an on going process and develops through out the life span. The humanists see this development of creativity as occurring throughout life (Dacey & Lennon, 1998, p.147.) On the contrary, Psychoanalytical school of thought believed that the initial years of life are critical, "at the end of which creative ability becomes fixed" (Dacey & Lennon, 1998, p.151.) This view opposes the psychoanalytic view and