Several studies have shown an improvement in the performance of motor skills following imagined performance of the skill, or "mental practice." One unresolved issue has centered on whether the effect being observed is in fact a practice effect. As one alternative, the effect may be a simple instance of planning when to use a skill, or…

Presented in both English and Spanish, the article discusses 3 creative forces (remembering, discovery, and volition) which Tomas Rivera uses as the source of his work. (NQ)

The study relates performance on a cognitive-style measure of perceptual sensitivity and grade point averages to several indices of creativity as affected by a checklist procedure and verbal pretraining. Subjects were 76 students, half of which received verbal pretraining requiring them to list adjectives under five categories. The pretrained…

The purpose of this book is to examine various strategies for increasing creative productivity, particularly in industry and in the schools. In addition to the emphasis on training imagination, the articles included in this book analyze such critical variables as the physical and psychological atmosphere which encourages or stifles imagination,…

Examined the conversations of preschool children as they completed two different tasks--a picture making task and a doll playing task. Concludes that the children's speech was primarily task-focused and that the rate of speech varied with task. (FL)

Describes the author's experiences with a new teaching assignment with a diverse group of students whose problems ranged from gang related arrests to previous school failure. Presents a "reading the postcard" activity. Concludes that the understandings students gain, the cognitive connections they make, and the processes they experience give them…

This paper outlines cognitive processes underpinning creative ability, considers their development, and discusses the creative potential of the individual at various life stages. Creativity is viewed as an outcome of self-directed transformational activity. The roles of fantasy and imagination are discussed, as is the contrast between public and…

Examined changes in preschoolers' ability to distinguish among memories of performed, pretended, and imagined episodes, and used source monitoring as a tool for inferring the nature of preschoolers' conceptualization of pretense. Found significant improvements between ages three and four in their ability to distinguish performed actions from…

At the center of the conceptual framework there is visual imagery. Man's emotional and mental behavior is built on archetypal symbols that are the source of creative ideas. Native American pictography, in particular, illustrates this in the correlation between gesture speech and verbal speech. The author's research in this area has included a…

The author maintains that one's imagination, or "image-making" faculty, is a precious tool that we can learn to harness for individual self-development. She offers suggestions on how educators and counselors cna use mental imagery more effectively. (Author/HMV)

Examines the individual characteristic of imagination as it is perceived by American business managers and college undergraduate students majoring in management. The authors explore the results of a nationwide survey and its implications for efforts to improve management in the area of creativity. (CT)

Reviews research indicating that children's writing moves in an age-related sequence from the literal and factual to the metaphorical and affective and shows a growth in awareness of the psychological characteristics of the self and others. Presents an analysis of children's stories that provides guidelines for teachers and researchers to use in…

Discusses the experiences of students as they try to turn pictures in their head into poetry. Describes how the poetry of popular music can provide stimulus for student poetry. (HTH)

Describes a program that has been conducted for two years by a group of educators at the University of Hamburg, West Germany, in which participants investigated the pedagogical use of the story. Illustrates the way in which story telling can be used to teach concepts at a high level of synthesis. (KO)