Gender differences in creative thinking revisited: Findings from analysis of variability

This study investigated gender differences in creativity among 985 schoolchildren (499 boys, 486 girls) by analyzing both means and variability. A relatively new creativity test, the Test for Creative Thinking-Drawing Production (TCT-DP), was employed to gain a more refined understanding of gender differences in creativity using a gestalt approach. Whereas the results of analyses of means generally supported the Gender Similarities Hypothesis, the variability analyses tended to support the Greater Male Variability Hypothesis and the Gender Difference Hypothesis. Analyses of the TCT-DP subscales revealed that both genders have their relative strengths and weaknesses in creative thinking. Whereas girls outperformed boys in thoroughness of thinking, boys outperformed girls in boundary-breaking thinking. Variability analyses further showed that more boys clustered in the two extremes of the composite score. Significantly greater variability was found for males on five criteria of the TCT-DP. The educational implications of such a complex pattern of gender differences are discussed. With a view to searching for an explanation for gender differences, several lines of further research are proposed.     

Dissociative Experiences and Creativity in Fine Arts Students

Studies on creative personality have revealed that the relationship between personality and creativity remains unclear, and various types of creative thinking have been have been associated with various personality traits. To assess the influence of dissociative experiences on creativity in the context of fine arts education, in which the creative process plays a key role, a sample of fine arts students received a test of creative potential and the dissociative experiences test. The results revealed significant differences in creativity (creative imagination and creative experiences) between students scoring high or low in the number of dissociative experiences. High dissociative experiences scores were associated to high scores in creative imagination and creative experiences, and low scores in dissociative experiences were inversely related to creative imagination and creative experiences. Further studies are required to corroborate these findings.     

A Tale of Two Generations: Creativity Growth and Gender Differences Over a Period of Education and Curriculum Reforms

The Wallach–Kogan Creativity Tests were translated into Chinese and later fully computerized for research in Hong Kong. The normative data of two cohorts (1994 and 2002) of school children were employed to test the hypothesis that growth in creative thinking occurs in a society or culture during a period of education and curriculum reforms that emphasize creative thinking. Results of multivariate analysis of variance and subsequent univariate analysis of variance supported the hypothesis. Moreover, some interesting gender differences in creativity growth were observed, underlining the fact that boys and girls should be treated differentially to obtain a desirable creativity growth for them.     

A study of the greater male variability hypothesis in creative thinking in Mainland China: Male superiority exists

This study tested the greater male variability hypothesis in creative thinking with a Chinese student sample in Mainland China. The Test for Creative Thinking-Drawing Production (TCT-DP) was administered to 627 Chinese adolescent boys (n = 332) and girls (n = 295). Results using the boy/girl variance ratio (VR) generally supported the hypothesis that boys have greater variability than girls in creativity test performance. However, results using the boy/girl ratios from different regions of the creativity score distribution revealed a pattern of male superiority. While boys significantly outnumbered girls in the higher extremes, girls tended to outnumber boys in the central region and the lower extremes. Results from an analysis of the means lent further support to the findings of male superiority. Plausible explanations for greater male variability and male superiority in Mainland China are proposed. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Creativity in Men and Women: Threat,Other-Interest,and Self-Assessment

Previous research into gender and creativity has provided little evidence for consistent differences between men and women in creative performance. This research revisits this topic by proposing a person × situation approach, arguing that gender differences in creative performance only occur in certain contexts, but not others. Based on the assumption that men and women tend to differ in self versus other orientation, experimental instructions varied whether our participants’ (n = 169) creative efforts benefit the self or others, and whether creativity occurred under conditions of threat or not. In the absence of threat, women outperformed men in the originality of their creative efforts when the task was beneficial to others. This effect was eliminated in the presence of competitive threat. In contrast to some previous work, threat also increased creative performance under some circumstances. Results also revealed gender differences in self-assessment of creativity such that women seemed to be somewhat more attuned to the objective level of the originality of their creative performance than men. The discussion focuses on implications for research on gender differences in creativity, arguing that researchers must appreciate that gender differences in creativity, so far as they exist, are likely embedded in specific situational contexts.     

Gender differences in creative achievement: a survey of explanations.

Thus far, in most fields of endeavor, the majority of seminal achievements have come from men. In this article, we have considered some possible explanations for this phenomenon, and for each of these explanations, some theories of creativity that would stress it. We have emphasized that creative achievement depends on both biological and environmental factors and that inborn talents establish a potential whose fulfillment depends on appropriate experiences. Because men and women differ in both factors, either or both could have produced the achievement difference. Moreover, achievement can occur in fields requiring different abilities. Talent may not be wide ranging but directed toward specific endeavors, with men and women differing not in amount of talent but in the fields preferred. Changes in women's roles and cross-cultural studies may shed further light on the gender difference, but environmental explanations alone are premature.     

Gender Differences in Divergent Thinking: Use of the Test of Creative Thinking-Drawing Production on an Egyptian Sample

The issue of gender differences in creativity has been a controversial and much-disputed subject for decades. The purpose of this study was to explore gender differences in divergent thinking and the effect of gender-grade level interaction on divergent thinking. The sample consisted of 901 (367 boys and 534 girls), from K to 6, who were recruited from 7 coeducational schools in various rural and urban school districts in southern Egypt. The students’ divergent thinking was assessed using the Test of Creative Thinking-Drawing Production (TCT-DP), a nonverbal measure of creative potential. The results of the study indicated no gender differences in divergent thinking, but the grade level effect was statistically significant, as was the interaction effect between gender and grade level (in 3 of the TCT-DP subscales).     

Preschool Pretend Play Behaviors and Early Adolescent Creativity

Individual differences in creativity across the lifespan have been identified, but little research has focused on the development of creativity during early adolescence. This project examined individual differences on two measures of creativity in early adolescence as well as the predictability of adolescent creativity from pretend play behaviors during the preschool years. Realistic role‐play behavior was assessed at age 5 for 127 children who later completed two creative thinking tasks (TCT‐DP and the Alternative Uses Measure) when the children were 10–15 years of age. Realistic role‐play when the children were age 5 significantly predicted their scores during early adolescence on the Alternative Uses Measure but not the TCT‐DP. Significant sex differences were found for amount of time engaged in realistic role‐play at age 5 and performance on the TCT‐DP, with girls engaging in more role‐play at age 5 and scoring higher on the TCT‐DP during early adolescence than boys. No sex differences were observed for the Alternative Uses Measure. These results suggest that preschool role‐play behaviors represent early creativity and are tapping aspects of creativity development that are manifested in early adolescence.     

Dealing with the Criterion Problem by Measuring the Quality and Quantity of Creative Activity and Accomplishment

The criterion problem was one of the focal points of early studies of creativity, but several useful criteria have been developed in the last few decades. The investigation reported here represents additional progress. This report (a) describes a new quality of creative achievement index for each domain of the Creative Activity and Accomplishment Checklist (CAAC); (b) compares quality and quantity of creative activity and accomplishment using CAAC data from 202 students; and (c) introduces 2 new scales for the CAAC, one representing everyday creativity and the other technological creativity. The advantages of the modified CAAC include the assessment of both quality (i.e., socially recognized) and quantity of creative achievement, as well as additional breadth in the domains that can be reliably assessed. Analyses of CAAC data confirmed that (a) all domains, including everyday and technological creativity, were reliable in the sample of students and (b) the quality of creative activity did indeed differ from its quantity. There were few sex differences, but boys outperformed girls in technological creativity and girls outperformed boys in the arts. Limitations and future research are noted.     

从信息加工的角度看创造力过程

传统意义上定义的创造力并不能完全揭示创造性行为和认知的本质,最近的研究从认知信息加工的角度提出了创造力活动中的认知过程具有一定的普遍性和规律性,并将认知过程分为初级过程和次级过程,初级过程为产生合成过程,提取和组织信息;次级过程则是对信息进行更高层次的筛选和监控,同时初级过程和次级过程存在一定的交互作用     

Toward a Theory of Creativity in Diverse Creative Women

ABSTRACT: Little is known and limited research has been completed about creative women, their creative processes, and the decisions they face about their own creative productivity. Few books or even articles suggest how creativity can be better developed, enhanced, or increased in a diverse population of girls and women. The social and political movement focusing on women during the past five decades has provided some understanding of women's creative processes as well as the creative roles that women have played in our society and the forces that shape those roles. In this article, current research is analyzed, focusing on the development of women's creativity and the classification of this research into major themes. Internal and external blocks to creativity in women are discussed, as is current research on these blocks, and an explanation is suggested for different types of creative productivity exhibited by women. A theory is proposed regarding the diversion of women's creativity into multiple areas in their lives, including relationships, work related to both family and home, personal interests, and aesthetic sensitivities. This diversion of creative efforts may result in different levels of creativity applied to work, as well as the existence of very different patterns of creative productivity in creative women.     

颜色偏好的性别差异研究进展

颜色偏好是人在心理上所喜爱或偏好的颜色,性别是影响颜色偏好的重要因素之一。本文区分一般人群和特殊人群,结合不同的心理发展阶段,评述对抽象颜色和具体物色的偏好的性别差异研究进展,具体比较了打猎者-采摘者理论、视锥-对立对比成分理论、性别图式理论以及生态效价理论等,并且讨论分析了以往研究者在内容和理论解释等方面存在的不足。未来研究者应采用多元化的方法,深入探索颜色偏好性别差异的机制,期望整合得到解释力更强的理论观点。     

Invention and Inventivity as a Special Kind of Creativity,with Implications for General Creativity

Much of the study of creativity uses broad definitions of creative outputs, often including together the creative acts of artists, children, scientists, etc. Perhaps because of these broad definitions, it has been difficult to derive useful predictions of creativity. This paper examines a narrow slice of creativity, the invention and the inventor who makes the invention. Furthermore, a new parameter measuring inventors is defined — Inventivity is the rate of production of patents by an individual inventor. Examination of a large number of inventors shows that Inventivity is a parameter that can be measured and used to distinguish among inventors. The results are shown to be consistent with other studies and are used to support several theories of creativity.     

Intimate partner violence: A narrative review of the biological and psychological explanations for its causation

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major social and public health problem that affects men and women across the globe regardless of their culture, religion and other demographic characteristics. During the last 100 years many different theories have been proposed to explain the phenomenon of IPV. Much research is been conducted using these theories as a guiding or underlying framework. However, it is difficult to find a single account that provides a succinct and up-to-date overview of these theories. As a result considerable effort is required to identify and retrieve relevant papers to understand the various theories which attempt to explain IPV. This article attempts to provide a succinct and up-to-date integrative review of the biological and psychological explanations of IPV. Both perspectives have been critically evaluated in the light of the available literature and an attempt has been made to discuss the strengths and limitations of each perspective in shedding light on the causation of IPV.     

Gender in Suicide Attempt Rates and Childhood Sexual Abuse Rates: Is There an Interaction?

Two competing explanations for higher rates of attempted suicide in women than men were compared. Because childhood sexual abuse is more prevalent in girls than boys, one explanation of higher rates of suicide attempts in women is that it is a direct result of the higher incidence of sexual abuse in girls. Alternatively, higher rates of suicide attempts might result from gender differences in the impact of childhood sexual abuse on suicidal behavior. To compare these theories, data from 1,889 abstinent, substance-dependent patients who completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and who were interviewed about suicide attempts was examined. Scores on each scale of the CTQ were examined as a function of gender and attempter status. Results showed higher rates of suicide attempts in women than in men, higher CTQ scores in women than men, and a higher CTQ score in attempters than nonattempters. However, logistic regression indicated that gender and abuse did not interact to determine attempter status. Thus, the data support the first hypothesis that the greater frequency of suicide attempts in women may be partly attributed to the higher prevalence of childhood sexual abuse in girls. The generalizability of these results to the general population and to other diagnostic groups requires further study.     

Revisiting Mednick's Model on Creativity‐Related Differences in Associative Hierarchies. Evidence for a Common Path to Uncommon Thought

Fifty years ago, Mednick [Psychological Review, 69 (1962) 220] proposed an elaborate model that aimed to explain how creative ideas are generated and why creative people are more likely to have creative ideas. The model assumes that creative people have flatter associative hierarchies and as a consequence can more fluently retrieve remote associative elements, which can be combined to form creative ideas. This study aimed at revisiting Mednick's model and providing an extensive test of its hypotheses. A continuous free association task was employed and association performance was compared between groups high and low in creativity, as defined by divergent thinking ability and self‐report measures. We found that associative hierarchies do not differ between low and high creative people, but creative people showed higher associative fluency and more uncommon responses. This suggests that creativity may not be related to a special organization of associative memory, but rather to a more effective way of accessing its contents. The findings add to the evidence associating creativity with highly adaptive executive functioning.     

Powerlessness and the Use of Indirect Aggression in Friendships

Aggression in girls, especially indirect aggression perpetrated by girls toward other girls, has received increasing attention in the popular press. Various explanations have been offered to explain why girls might use indirect methods more so than boys, including both biological and social explanations. We tested a social contextual explanation; that is, that powerlessness is associated with the use of indirect aggression strategies. Power was conceptualized as both an individual difference variable and as an interpersonal variable. In two studies, we found that for both men and women, lack of power in same gender friendships (defined as anxiety about one’s status in friendships) was associated with greater use of indirect aggression strategies. Further, individual differences in deferent personality characteristics and lack of relational control in a friendship were unrelated to the use of indirect aggression. Study 1 was based, in part, on the second author’s undergraduate Honors Thesis, which was supported by a grant from Smith College’s Tomlinson Fund. Study 2 was supported by a grant from Smith College to the first author.     

Gender differences in children's divergent thinking

Block's theory (1984) of gender differences was examined to determine if it could explain inconsistencies in the reports of gender differences and the personality correlates of creativity in children. Additionally, an investigation of 244 gifted children in grades 4 to 8 is described. Two divergent thinking tests, each with a familiar and an unfamiliar item, were used to test cognitive style. The Dependency Proneness Test was used to measure independence, and the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation‐Behavior Children was used to measure social orientation. No gender differences were found on the measures of personality and cognitive style, and no significant association was found between cognitive style and personality. The results were discussed in light of the moderating influence of sex‐role flexibility and the relative freedom boys and girls experience in peer groups and play.     

The Creative Medical Student: A Descriptive Study

Biographical study distinguished high from low creative medical students by broken homelife, greater preference for movies, modern music, serious books, bridge playing and creative hobbies. High creatives seek challenge, academic or research careers, verbal and imaginative expression. Low creatives have higher motivation, better academic grades, more economic and family interests, are often oldest children and head for general practice. Independent, original explorations characterize high creativity while traditional, authoritative explanations satisfy the less creative. Fricke's Opinion, Attitude and Interest Survey made the creativity identification. Factor analysis related OAIS Scores, Omnibus Personality Inventory and Medical College Admission Test scores to cross check with biography data. A motivational Index is suggested as a predictor of supportive value to the creativity score.     

Creativity and Confucianism Among American and Korean Educators

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in creative styles and Confucian ideas between Koreans and Americans and to examine the relationship between creativity and Confucianism. A total number of 579 educators (227 American and 352 Korean) participated in this study. Eastern-Western Perspective Scale was used to measure participants’ level of Confucianism and the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking-Figural was used to measure participants’ level of creative potential. The results indicate that Koreans have strikingly more Confucian ideals than Americans, whereas Americans have more creative strengths and are more adaptively creative than Koreans. The results also indicate higher levels of Confucianism relate to lower levels of creativity. The Confucian elements that show negative relationships with creativity are suppression of expression, gender inequality, gender role expectations, and filial piety.