Rich picture: A systems technique for studying creativity

Mihalyi Csikszentmihalyi’s systems model has provided a landmark for the study of creativity phenomena as resulting from the relations between creators, fields and domains of knowledge. Given Csikszentmihalyi’s research roots in psychology, the model was developed using creative individual’s accounts. There is a need to further study creativity so that existing complexities, fragmentations and nuances of the different parts of this model in several realms of life can be identified. This vignette proposes and reflects on the use of a systems thinking technique called ‘Rich Picture’ or RP. RPs have been extensively used to offer researchers a comprehensive view of a situation as perceived by those people involved and affected by it. The vignette explains the detail of a rich picture and provides some insights into its use to study how creativity unfolds among higher educators involved in sustainability and social innovation.