The 4 Stages of Creativity

When you think of someone as 'being creative', we automatically assume that they are creating new ways to look at the world around us either through art or science. This narrow thinking, however, is not always an entirely accurate way to describe someone's creative capabilities. A simple decision of what tie to wear is a perfectly good example of creativity being performed on a daily basis. These different acts of creativity can be broken up into four levels to measure; min-C, little-C, pro-C, and big-C. The two researchers that came up with the 4 C model were James Kaufman and Ronald Beghetto, the authors of Beyond Big and Little; the Four C Model of Creativity. Their model attempts to break down the original two broad levels of creativity, big-C and litle-C, so that creativity can be more accurately measured.The little-C is commonly associated with everyday creativity, like performing your job at your workplace. Big-C is for those individuals that have mastered a subject and is noticed for it, whether it they found an alternative treatment for cancer with positive results or they wrote a hit song heard on the radio. Mini-C is below the little-C level and consists of the creative process that someone goes through when learning a subject, like learning to tie a tie. Pro-C is between little-C and big-C and is for those who have surpassed others in the subject but has not yet mastered the field enough to be recognized for it. In consideration with these different levels of creativity that are measured, it is safe to say that we are all creative at least once a day, even if you don't realize that you are. The decisions to study art, to change your hairstyle, or to start a family are what make us unique and creative in our lives.