The Plasticity of Natural Concepts and Creativity

This chapter discussed the relationship between the characteristics of concepts used by an individual and a social group on the one hand and the ability to think creatively on the other. We argue that a specific feature of concepts which we call the plasticity of concepts, i.e., the plasticity of the process of object identification, is an important premise for the originality and produc- tivity of thinking. This chapter describes the structure and functioning of natural concepts and experimental data which show how to increase the plas- ticity of concepts and, consequently, increase creativity. Social factors like the educational system or migration and multicultural meeting points have an important impact on the development of concepts plasticity. To provide an example, in the last part of the chapter, we discuss possible relationships between educational practices in a classroom and concept plasticity in children.