Sternberg's Facets of Creativity

Robert Sternberg laid out several “facets of creativity” in a 2006 article he wrote summarizing 25 years of interest and study on the subject of creativity.

1) Intellectual Abilities are necessary, according to Sternberg (2006) with three particular skills being key to creativity. First, the ability to see problems in novel ways, or what Getzels (1964) and Csikszenthmihalyi (1994) call problem finding. This synthesis requires the ability to move beyond predictable thinking and look at numerous options simultaneously. Another key intellectual ability is key to creativity is the capacity to look analytically at various ideas and determine which are going to be valuable or useful. Finally, what Sternberg refers to as “practical-contextual ability” (2006), the capacity to be aware of the value of one’s pursuits and convince others of this value. It is crucial that an individual have all three of these skills so that one can come up with new ideas, analyze them to see which are worthwhile and then convince others of their value. Any one of the skills would be limited without the others.

2) Knowledge is another of the key facets of creativity defined by Sternberg (2006). The idea here is that one must have a sufficient amount of knowledge to come up with novel ideas and solutions. Sternberg also stresses the fact that one must not let one’s knowledge limit the ability to think freely.

3) Thinking styles are important to creativity. In particular, the legislative style (Sternberg, 2006), wherein one decides and prefers to think in new ways.

4) Personality is a factor that comes up time and time again in creativity research. There are many different ideas about what kinds of personalities tend toward creativity. Sternberg discusses a few attributes which foster creativity. Self-efficacy, risk taking, a tolerance for ambiguity, and desire to overcome challenges. It is also important that one be comfortable being unconventional as creative ideas are often not popular as they are initially being developed.

5) Motivation is another aspect of creativity that comes up as the subject of numerous empirical studies and theoretical discussions. Sternberg suggests, as others have confirmed (Csikszentmihalyi, 1994; Amabile, 1985). that intrinsic motivation, wherein creative acts are the motivation for work rather than external rewards, is fundamental to creative functioning.

6) Environment is important to creativity because an internal tendency or aptitude requires a supportive arena in which to display new ideas. Without this facet, Sternberg (2006) suggests, the individual might never display creativity.

7) The final facet of creativity that Sternberg stresses is the confluence of the elements listed above. The interplay of these various elements as well as the levels of each an individual possesses are key to creative functioning.



Amabile, T.M. (1985). Motivation and creativity: Effects of motivational orientation on creative writers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 48(2), 393-399.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1994). The domain of creativity, in Feldman, D.H., Csikszentmihalyi, M., Gardner, H. (Eds),Changing the World: A Framework of the Study of Creativity, Praeger, Westport, CT, pp.135-58.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. & Getzels, J.W. (1971). Discovery-oriented behavior and the originality of creative products: A study with artists. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 19(1), 47-52.

Getzels, J.W. (1964). Creative thinking, problem-solving, and instruction. In E.R. Hilgard (Ed.), Theories of learning and instruction (63rd Yearbook of the national Society for the Study of Education, pp. 240-267). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Sternberg, R.J. (2006). Creating a vision of creativity: The first 25 years. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, S (1), 2-12.