Potential in Creativity: Individual, Social, Material Perspectives, and a Dynamic Integrative Framework

ABSTRACT

In this article, the notion of potential as discussed within creativity research is examined. It is noted that there are multiple, sometimes competing, understandings of potential within the literature with the biggest gaps existing between individual perspectives, on the one hand, and sociocultural perspectives on the other. Affirming that a comprehensive understanding of potential needs to consider what individual, social, and material perspectives have to offer and, above all, pay attention to both person and context, the focus is turned toward the dynamic definition of creativity in order to construct a multi-fold classification of creative potential. Fifteen types of potential are abstracted and offered as an open framework for a more complex discussion and understanding of this key topic in creativity research. These include the potential of an Individual/Person/Actor (mini-c potential, little-c potential, Pro-c potential, Big-C potential, embedded individual potential), of a Process/Action (systemic process potential, embedded process potential, universal process potential), of a Product/Artifact (instantaneous potential, experiential potential, condensation potential, cultural evolution potential), and of the Press/Audience/Affordance (sociocultural context potential, action potential, virtual world potential). A summary of these is offered in the conclusion.

Acknowledgments

The Authors would like to thank Sergio Agnoli for useful discussions on the individual perspective.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.