Which of the following is not a stage of the creative process?

Concept

In the classical stage model, creative problem-solving develops through preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification. Preparation gathers and organizes relevant material; incubation allows unconscious processing; illumination brings the insight; and verification tests and refines it.

Application

Incubation, preparation, and illumination are explicitly stages in this sequence. Motivation can initiate or sustain creative effort, but it is a facilitating condition rather than one of the stages in the classical process model.

Contrast

• Incubation: a pause during which ideas continue to develop below conscious attention.

• Preparation: the deliberate collection and examination of information about the problem.

• Illumination: the emergence of the promising idea or insight.

• Motivation: the drive that initiates and sustains effort; a facilitating condition that can accompany any stage.

Therefore, Motivation is not a stage of the creative process.