The four phases of the creative process, according to Graham Wallas

The creative process is that: a process. Therefore, involves performing several steps systematically. There are several approaches in this regard. However, one of the best known is the four phases of the creative process proposed by Graham Wallas.

For a long time, It was believed that the creative process was related to external agents, such as muses or geniuses, who intervened to inspire the creator. Today we know that it is the result of intense and complex brain activity, but how it works remains a mystery.

Graham Wallas was a university professor and a theorist of political science and international relations. He stood out for his leadership in several areas and founded together with other colleagues The London School of Economics From london. One of the most interesting theses about the creative process is due to him. Let’s see what this is about.

Ideas and creativity

Ideas are mental representations that arise from reasoning or imagination. of a human being. They are associated with processes of reflection, creativity and the ability to apply intellect. Concepts are derived from ideas, which are the basis of all types of knowledge, whether artistic, scientific or otherwise.

The creativity It is the ability or capacity to generate new concepts or ideas, starting from existing ones.. Usually, it seeks to solve a problem. This involves constructive imagination and divergent thinking.

Although creativity is characteristic of human cognition, it is also present in several species of animals and completely absent in algorithmic computing systems. In humans, the creative process is very complex and requires communication between the two cerebral hemispheres.encompassing memory and intelligence, among other aspects.

All the mental processes in which creativity can participate are unknown, but what is clear to experts is that it is closely associated with imagination. A mental power that allows us to recreate actions, consequences or initiatives in an abstract space before bringing them to reality.

The four phases of Graham Wallas’ creative process

Although there are various approaches that analyze and synthesize the generation of creative ideas, one of the most notable is the one proposed by Graham Wallas. This proposes a model of four phases of the creative process that follow a certain order. Let’s see.

Phase 1: Preparation

This is the first of the four phases of the creative process. It seeks to identify a problem in a given context and includes the compilation of much of the information already available. It requires a conscious and voluntary effort of understanding and analysis.

It is a period of observation and immersion in which problematic situations are identified that are interesting and arouse curiosity. That is, the opportunity is detected. In it, the creative thinker probes, reviews and explores the characteristics of such situations. He focuses his attention on thinking about what he wants to intervene on.

Here it is worth clarifying that in some cases the problem itself could not even have been identified as a problem, which implies greater complexity and acuity to specify it. In other cases, the problem may be perceived more as a difficulty, challenge or task. Anyway, The fundamental thing in this phase is to thoroughly understand the situation and its implications.

Phase 2: Incubation

This stage of the creative process It is characterized by disconnection from the problem at hand for an indeterminate period of time.. This period is crucial so that the ideas that will help us solve the problem can emerge and it operates unconsciously.

In them, we can enter and exit the topic, through periods of activity and pause, according to our mood. We make unusual annotations, modifications and connections, which improve progress as ideas arise. Still, the rest stages constitute significant moments for the generation of creative ideas, as alternative solutions to traditional ones.

Thanks to incubation, ideas will arise spontaneously in a dream, while walking, during a trip or at any time. In some cases, it is at this stage that many give up, thus stopping the phases of the creative process, especially because they do not know how to wait.

Phase 3: Lighting

Of all the phases of the creative process, Enlightenment is the moment when ideas begin to take shape. It corresponds to the moment in which alternatives for the initial problem arise. Some authors call this moment “the eureka experience.” It is the stage in which the idea materializes into something concrete. Several illuminations can occur intermingled in the different stages, which lead to the creative idea.

This also includes the moment of greatest personal satisfaction, constituting a reward for the investment made. Also to the fact of having been able to find a solution along a path that no one had taken before.

Phase 4: Verification

It is the stage in which it is confirmed whether the new idea is truly novel and meets or does not meet the objective for which it was conceived. Once its usefulness, novelty and relevance are confirmed, all the time and attention required to develop and carry it out is dedicated.

During the verification stage, we look for check, strengthen, apply and evaluate the results with the aim of correcting or improving some aspect of the final result. Likewise, it is verified whether the creative process actually bore fruit and meets expectations after having followed the phases of the creative process.

Otherwise, you will have to go back to the incubation phase. and consider new options to achieve the goal. Here it should be noted that if fundamental aspects were not taken into account from the beginning, we would have to start all over again. In most cases, this phase also involves the socialization of the results.

Some additional considerations

Finally, it should be noted that all stages of the creative process present their own challenges. There is the intellectual part, but also the emotional part.

For example, it may be necessary to know how to manage the difficulties that always arise when taking a step forward and discovering that variables that we did not count on are actually coming into play, such as having to shape the solution in a smaller space than we expected. we believed. In fact, It is common that at various times the intention to abandon appears strongly..

Likewise, the pressure or desire to see results as soon as possible can ruin the work advanced. These types of processes have their own rhythmso patience is a necessary virtue so that precisely that creative idea ends up becoming an application with real results.

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