Explaining Creativity

R. Keith Sawyer, a professor of psychology, education, and business at Washington University in St. Louis, is one of the world's leading scientific experts on creativity. He combines this scientific expertise with a strong hands-on background in real-world creativity. After receiving his computer science degree from MIT in 1982, he began his career with a two-year stint designing videogames for Atari. In 1990, Dr. Sawyer began his doctoral studies in psychology, studying creativity with Dr. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. Dr. Sawyer has also been a jazz pianist for over 20 years, and spent several years playing piano with Chicago improv theater groups.

R. Keith Sawyer's second edition of Explaining Creativity: The Science of Human Innovation is so expanded that it is a truly different book from the first edition. The first edition was (correctly) praised and appreciated; the second edition is required reading for anyone interested in the topic. In a just world, Sawyer's thorough and nuanced volume would be the best seller... Sawyer's book is easily the most thorough creativity text on the market. Graduate students and burgeoning researchers will want this book on their shelves. We highly recommend this book.

• Part I: Conceptions ; Chapter 1: Introduction ; Chapter 2: Conceptions of Creativity ; Part II: Individualist Approaches ; Chapter 3: Defining creativity through assessment ; Chapter 4: The creative personality ; Chapter 5: The creative process, part 1 ; Chapter 6: The creative process, part 2 ; Chapter 7: The creative process, part 3 ; Chapter 8: Computer simulations of the creative process ; Chapter 9: Biology and creativity ; Chapter 10: Cognitive neuroscience and creativity ; Part III: Sociocultural Approaches ; Chapter 11: Sociology ; Chapter 12: Group creativity ; Chapter 13: Organizational creativity ; Chapter 14: Culture and creativity ; Chapter 15: History and creativity ; Part IV: Creativity in the Domains ; Chapter 16: Visual Arts ; Chapter 17: Writing ; Chapter 18: Music ; Chapter 19: Theater ; Chapter 20: Science ; Part V: Everyday Creativity ; Chapter 21: Education and creativity ; Chapter 22: How to be more creative ; Chapter 23: Conclusion: The future of creativity ; Appendices ; The domain of creativity research ; Appendix A: Creativity timeline ; Appendix B: Creativity overviews ; Appendix C: Journals that publish creativity research ; Appendix D: Influential books in creativity research ; Appendix E: Journal special issues ; The field of creativity research ; Appendix F: Important creativity researchers ; Appendix G: Colleges and universities with a degree or certificate in creativity ; Appendix H: Professional associations and conferences ; References