Researchers have developed a new method for training people to be creative, one that shows promise of succeeding far better than current ways. This new method, based on narrative (叙事的) theory, helps people be creative in the way children and artists are; by making up stories they imagine alternative worlds, shift perspectives (角度) and generate unexpected actions.
The current foundation of creativity training is the technique known as divergent thinking (发散思维), which doesn’t deliver the results that many hope for. A major issue is that this approach relies on data and information about the problems and successes of the past. It can’t come up with truly original actions. That’s where narrative method comes in, and both techniques could be used together.
The narrative method works by recognizing that we’re all creative. “We undervalue the creativity of kids and many others because we tend to think that some people are more creative than others, but the reality is that we’re just not training creativity in the right way,” said Angus Fletcher from the Ohio State University. Fletcher and his colleagues successfully used the narrative approach to train members from the US Army, the University of Chicago, and several Fortune 50 companies.
The narrative method asks participants to generate stories based on assumptive situations or think from someone else’s perspective. Their suggestions are then assessed by experts according to how certain they are that an action will work. For example, marketers might be asked to imagine a world where their competitor’s product was free and how they would respond to that, or to learn a little about how a co-worker thinks and then imagine how they would solve a specific problem.
The narrative method generates actual solutions without pressuring participants to come up with ideas that match an “appropriateness” criterion. What’s more, the narrative method doesn’t depend on data to fuel outputs, so it’s useful even in never seen-before situations.
12. What does the author say about divergent thinking?
A.It is perfect for multiple tasks. |
B.It is suitable for creative actions. |
C.It is unfit for complex problems. |
D.It is inadequate for desired results. |
13. What is Paragraph 4 intended to tell us about the narrative method?
A.Its effect on business climate. |
B.Its application in creativity training. |
C.Its role in improving product quality. |
D.Its value in assessing workers’ ability. |
14. Which is one advantage of the narrative method?
A.It relies on data and past performance. |
B.It prepares people for standard answers. |
C.It trains people to find practical solutions. |
D.It focuses on guessing the future correctly. |
15. What’s the best title for the text?
A.Creative Ideas and Creative Actions |
B.Narrative Approach and Divergent Thinking |
C.Narrative Method Can Make Anyone Creative |
D.There Should Be No Prejudice Against Creativity |