Discovery-oriented behavior and the originality of creative products: A study with artists.

In order to examine the significance of the “problem-formulation” stage of creative activity, 31 advanced art students were observed in a quasi-naturalistic setting of an art school while carrying out an assignment to produce a still-life drawing. Observations of “discovery-oriented” behavior were recorded for each subject from the time he began organizing the still-life objects until he completed the actual drawing. The finished art work was independently evaluated by an expert panel on three dimensions: overall value, originality, and craftsmanship. A positive relationship was found between discovery-oriented behavior at the problem-formulation stage and the originality (but not the craftsmanship) of the creative product. The study affirms the theoretical and empirical importance of the problem-formulation stage of the creative process and suggests a method for observing and analyzing behavior at this stage.