Creativity 11

7/28/2019 Creativity 11

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Cognitive Approaches to

CreativityLife offers many problems for which our textbooks fail to

supply solutions. In this way problem situations differ from

those in school []. We learn many answers in school, but

life doesnt ask the right questions. This is where problemsolving becomes more basic than memorisation.

What is creativity?

Cognitive modelsA symbolic model

A connectionist model


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Describing creativity

P(sychological)-creativity vs H(istroical)-

creativity (Boden, 1990)

Productive vs reproductive problem solving

(Gestalt: Wertheimer, 1982)

Convergent vs divergent thinking (Hudson,

1968)


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P- and H-creativity Boden, 1990

Creativity depends on perspective Psychological creativity: creative from

perspective of the individual

finding a new way to get to university

working out what presents to buy people for

Christmas

Historical creativity: creative from perspective

of society designing the Millennium Bridge

writing a research article


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Reproductive vs Productive ProblemSolving

Gestalt (Wertheimer, 1982)

Reproductive problem solving: using old and familiar

knowledge and ways of thinking to solve a problem

Productive problem solving: doing something new

Weisberg, 1993, 1995

Continuous thinking (reproductive)

Discontinuous thinking (productive)

Problem restructuring (productive)


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MARGIE, MOPs, or XPs? A

symbolic cognitive model.Schank and Cleary, 1995


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Bottom up solution MARGIE (Rieger, 1975)

Principles Search through all possible

reasons for an action.

Combine these in all possible

ways

Identify those combinations of

reasons that explain the action

being considered

Performancee.g., John hit MaryJohn

wanted to be hit. He wanted Mary

to be mad at him so Mary would hit

him. So he hit her

Problems

Very slow

Combinatorial explosion

No learning


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Top down solution: SAM (Schank & Abelson,1977) and MOPS (Schank, 1982)

Principles

SAM = Script Applier Mechanism,

MOP = Memory Organisation

Package

The system applies a set of

expectations (Scripts or, more

sophisticated, MOPS) based on

previous knowledge, to a

particular scenario, and makes

inferences about information that

is not stated explicitly in the story.

Performance

Infers Mary ordered her meal,

Mary ate her meal etc.

Identifies Mary left a big tipas anomalous

Fast

Problems

cannot explain why Mary left a

big tip


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Only use bottom up when top downfails

Principles

Apply knowledge structure (i.e.

apply MOPS: top down

processing)

If top down process fails to find

explanation then apply bottom up

process (i.e. MARGIE)

Performance

Will interpret typical (not-

unusual) stories quickly

Knows when bottom upprocesses are needed

Problems

bottom up process will still

have all the problems

associated with MARGIE

(slow, computationally

expensive etc.)


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Top down processing, with applicationof XPs to handle anomalies

Principles

XP=explanation package:

XP is a frozen explanation - pre-packaged chain of

inferences that can be used to explain a specified anomaly Three stage process:

Detect an anomaly (situation not handled by existing

MOPS)

Find explanation by applying XPs Learn from explanation (generate and store new MOPS

and XPs)


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Creative explanation: Detection andexplanation

characteriseanomaly and

developquestion

search for XP toanswer question

found?

NO

restructureexplanation

apply XP togenerate anexplanation

testexplanation

does itwork?

YESgo to learnprocedure

YES

NO


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Creative explanation: Learning

expectation failure andexplanation

found?

NO

YES

search memory for similarexpectation failure

create new MOPfrom failure and

explanation

store failure with explanation

if explanation results fromrestructuring

generate and store anew XP


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Schank and Cleary, Summary:

Intelligent misuse of knowledge

process is relatively simple, but success

depends on existing knowledge (how manyrelevant MOPS and XPs are present in the

systems knowledge base)


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Summary

A lot of everyday cognitive tasks can be though of ascreative

Symbolic models

decompose creative problem solving into sub-

tasks and suggest processes by which these mightbe achieved. Maybe some pedagogic use.

Network (connectionist) models

Are more parsimonious

Explain how more fundamental, lower level cognitive

processes might result in the behaviours that we label as

creative

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Creativity 11