We will discuss the cognitive underpinnings of creativity, common barriers to creative insight and techniques for improving individual and team creative outcomes.

The concepts and techniques from this class will help you with product concept ideation for Assignment 8.

Required reading (post your written response before class) — read one of the articles below (your choice):
(note that access to HBR is limited, but you can access at least one article without registering and up to six with a free registration)

• Creativity Under the Gun, Teresa Amabile, Constance Noonan Hadley and Steven J. Kramer, HBR 2002
• The Power of Small Wins, Teresa Amabile and Steven J. Kramer, HBR 2011
• Creativity and the Role of the Leader, Teresa Amabile and Mukti Khaire, HBR 2008
• How to Kill Creativity, Teresa Amabile, HBR 1998

Prof. Teresa Amabile is an influential and inspiring researcher on creativity in real world organizations. If you are interested in building a thriving innovative organization, I highly recommend any of her writings.

Optional readings:

• Boden, M. A. (2009). Computer models of creativity. AI Magazine.
• Dow, S. P., Glassco, A., Kass, J., Schwarz, M., Schwartz, D. L., & Klemmer, S. R. (2010). Parallel prototyping leads to better design results, more divergence, and increased self-efficacy. ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact., 17(4), 18–24.

Lecture Slides