Teachers’ Perceptions of Creativity in the Classroom

Teachers’ implicit understandings of creativity may not align with current research-based understanding of creativity and characteristics associated with creative students. Even teachers who say they value creativity may actually find creative characteristics undesirable. Participating teachers (n = 371) rated student characteristics on a scale of very undesirable to very desirable. Participants also completed a brief self-assessment of personal creativity and rank-ordered a set of educational objectives based on what they perceived as most important. Results indicated that teachers found student characteristics associated with creativity less desirable than those characteristics contraindicative to creativity (d = 2.70). No effects were found based on the grade level (d = 0.07) and small effects were found for subjects taught (η² = 0.023). Similarly, no effects were found for the teachers’ level of experience (η² = 0.004) or age (η² = 0.002). Teachers’ level of personal creativity was related (r = .248) to how desirable they rated student characteristics associated with creativity, but the importance with which teachers ranked creative thinking had small effects (η² = 0.04) on how desirable they found characteristics associated with creativity. These results generally confirm previous studies and suggest that teachers’ grade level, subject, experience, and age have no effect on their perception of creative characteristics. However, some evidence suggests that teachers who are more creative find student characteristics associated with creativity more desirable in class.     

Brief report: Neurocognitive functioning in adolescents following childhood maltreatment and evidence for underlying planning & organizational deficits

Children and adolescents with a history of childhood maltreatment are at risk for a host of psychiatric conditions, although the underlying neurocognitive functioning of these individuals remains largely understudied. This study examined the neurocognitive functioning of childhood maltreatment victims in an adolescent psychiatric inpatient setting. The sample consisted of adolescent inpatients (ages 13–19) that completed intellectual testing as part of a neuropsychological/psychological assessment during hospitalization (n = 39). The sample was grouped based on childhood maltreatment history with one group categorized by maltreatment history (n = 15) and the other group characterized by no maltreatment history (n = 24). Analyses revealed statistically significant differences (p < .01) between maltreatment groups on the majority of assessed domains. When controlling for intelligence, only performance differences on the RCFT remained. RCFT differences remained after controlling for the influence of visual-motor and visual-perceptual/visual-spatial functioning, highlighting the influence of organizational and planning difficulties in those individuals with maltreatment history. Group differences in the frequency of impaired performance for neuropsychological tasks were largest (p < .001) for FSIQ and RCFT. Compromised neurocognitive functioning may negatively contribute to the clinical presentation of this population, highlighting the importance of the child neuropsychologist in the effective treatment of children and adolescents with a history of childhood maltreatment.     

Prospective memory and frontal lobe function

The study sought to examine the role of frontal lobe functioning in focal prospective memory (PM) performance and its relation to PM deficit in older adults. PM and working memory (WM) differences were studied in younger aged (n = 21), older aged (n = 20), and frontal injury (n = 14) groups. An event-based focal PM task was employed and three measures of WM were administered. The younger aged group differed from the other two groups in showing significantly higher scores on PM and on one of the WM measures, but there were no differences at a statistically significant level between the older aged group and the frontal injury groups on any of the memory measures. There were, however, some differences in correlations with a WM measure between groups. It is concluded that there are similarities and differences in the deficits in PM between older adults and patients with frontal lobe injury on focal as well as nonfocal PM tasks.     

Acute Aerobic Exercise Enhances Students’ Creativity

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an aerobics games class on creativity in children during the school day. Participants were 96 students (age = 9.84 ± 1.12 years), 48 girls and 48 boys. The students were randomly assigned to the experimental group (EG, n = 48) or the control group (CG, n = 48). The Prueba de Imaginación Creativa-Niños (PIC-N) test was employed to assess narrative and graphic creativity. The EG took part in an aerobic games session lasting 45 min; the CG did not take part in a physical education class on that school day. As for group × time interaction, the EG experienced significant improvements in all creativity variables except in graphic originality, graphic titles, and graphic details. The CG did not improve any creativity variables. The findings suggest that acute aerobic exercise can enhance students’ creativity, which could be important for academic achievement.     

“Dear Employer,Let Me Introduce Myself” – Flow,Satisfaction with Work–Life Balance and Millennials’ Creativity

With creativity being recognised as a key driver of organizational success, organizations emphasize the need for their employees to be creative and to work long hours. This article takes a step toward understanding the factors contributing to the creativity of millennials, a generation pursuing meaningful work and cherishing a work–life balance. In Study 1 (n = 238), the relationships between creativity, flow, satisfaction with work–life balance and job crafting were explored; in Study 2 (n = 120) the focus was on examining flow as the mediator in the relationship between satisfaction with work–life balance and creativity. In experimental Study 3 (n = 90), the findings from Study 2 were replicated. Overall, the results of the three studies established flow as the mediating variable and demonstrated the beneficial role of satisfaction with the work–life balance and job crafting in the process leading to creativity.     

Metacognition as a Moderator of Creative Ideation and Creative Production

Recent theoretical work has called for exploration of the moderating effects of cognitive factors on the relationship between creative ideation and creative production. The Cognitive-Creative Sifting model suggests skills in processing and transforming information influence the association. This study used the Runco Ideational Behavior Scale, Metacognitive Awareness Inventory, and Creative Behavior Inventory to test the moderating effect. Medium to large moderator effects (f² = .015 to f² = .041) were observed across previous theoretically proposed aspects of metacognition. A large, statistically significant moderator effect was observed for overall metacognition (f² = .031). Observed differences across subcomponents of metacognition paralleled theoretical connections between metacognition and creativity. Further studies are suggested using more diverse creativity measures, as well as tests for other cognitive sifters. Implications for educational practice, particularly regarding the creatively gifted, are offered.     

Physical Attractiveness and Altruism in Two Modified Dictator Games

Several studies find that male individuals are more altruistic toward attractive women, suggesting altruism may serve as a courtship display. Many studies exploring this phenomenon have used vignettes and facial images. We tested the sexual selection hypothesis as an explanation for altruistic behavior, where players played the dictator game with “live” participants. Two studies were conducted (Study 1, n = 212; Study 2, n = 188) where we manipulated stakes and anonymity between participants to explore the relationship between the dictator’s allocations and their perceived attractiveness of the recipient. We found no relationship between attractiveness and altruism. Dictators were consistently fair when allocating stakes, irrespective of the recipients’ attractiveness.     

Effects of Association Instruction on Fourth Graders' Poetic Creativity in Taiwan

In this study, we used a quasi-experimental pretest–posttest mixed design to assess the effect of association instruction on students' poetic creativity. Creativity was judged using the consensual assessment technique. A total of 64 fourth-grade students from two intact classes participated in the study. One class was assigned to the experimental group (n = 34) and the other to the control group (n = 30). Weekly for 5 weeks, the experimental group received 30 minutes of instruction in forming associations, and then each student composed a Chinese free verse based on a given association theme. The control group received traditional writing lectures prior to composing Chinese free verses. Three groups of judges assessed the completed poems (a total of 320 poems), evaluating their creativity on 14 dimensions. The judges included three expert teachers with at least 10 years of teaching experience in Chinese, three teachers who had won awards in nationwide Chinese writing contests, and three professors of children's literature; the overall inter-rater reliability was .85. The experimental group showed greater creativity compared to the control group in number association (d = 1.09), picture association (d = 0.62), and free association (d = 1.07). This article also discusses how to select judges, assessment criteria for children's poetic creativity, and techniques for association instruction to enhance children's poetic creativity.     

Naming speed as a predictive diagnostic measure in reading and attentional problems

This study aimed to describe and compare naming speed abilities in children diagnosed with either Reading Learning Difficulties (RLD) or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), or comorbidity for both (ADHD+RLD). To examine the explanatory power of naming speed and ADHD symptomatology in predicting group associations (while controlling for gender and age), the “Rapid Automatized Naming and Rapid Alternating Stimulus Tests” (RAN/RAS) were utilized. A sample of 101 children (age range = 5–16 years) was divided into four groups: RLD (n = 14), ADHD (n = 28), comorbid (n = 19), and control (n = 40). There were statistically significant differences in RAN/RAS results among the diagnostic groups. Moreover, discriminant analysis revealed that naming speed tasks significantly predicted reading and attentional problems, especially at earlier ages. These results demonstrate the potential usefulness of RAN/RAS in the diagnosis of reading and attentional problems, particularly if the children are aged from 5 to 9.     

Effects of soundtrack music on the video game experience

ABSTRACT

Aesthetic elements such as soundtrack music have been neglected in game entertainment research. Based on previous work in games research and the psychology of film soundtracks (Cohen, 2001), we test the hypotheses that soundtrack music contributes to players‘ enjoyment via intensification of emotions (affective route) and via amplification of the sense of spatial presence and identification with the game character (cognitive routes). Study 1 tested these assumptions with N = 68 young male players of an episode of Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag^®, either with the original soundtrack music present or absent, and reported game enjoyment, as well as scores of the assumed mediator variables afterward. In Study 2, N = 59 young males played an episode of Alien: Isolation^® with soundtrack music present or absent and reported their horror experience, as well as the experiential facets as in study 1. Findings clearly show an indirect effect of soundtrack music on enjoyment through positive emotions (study 1) and an impact of (shocking) music on players’ horror experience (study 2). However, a mediation of the effect of soundtrack music on game enjoyment via spatial presence or identification was not established. We discuss implications for future research in game entertainment.     

Problem Space Matters: The Development of Creativity and Intelligence in Primary School Children

Previous research showed that in primary school, children’s intelligence develops continually, but creativity develops more irregularly. In this study, the development of intelligence, measured traditionally, i.e., operating within well-defined problem spaces (Standard Progressive Matrices) was compared with the development of intelligence operating in ill-defined problem spaces (Creative Reasoning Task) and the development of creativity (Test of Creative Thinking-Drawing Production), in primary school children (N = 175) across four grade levels. Results showed that problem space matters: Traditional intelligence test scores increased regularly with grade level, whereas creativity, as well as intelligence operating in an ill-defined problem space, developed irregularly but similarly. This suggests that when creativity is fostered, intelligence’s ability to operate in ill-defined problem space may be fostered, likewise.     

Test of visuospatial construction: Validity evidence in extremely low birth weight and late preterm children at early school age

The Test of Visuospatial Construction (TVSC), a measure of visuoconstruction that does not rely on upper extremity motor response or written production, was administered to extremely low birth weight (ELBW), late preterm (LPT), and term participants at preschool (n = 355) and kindergarten (n = 265) ages. TVSC showed statistically significant weak-to-moderate positive correlations (age 3: r = .118–.303; age 6: r = .138–.348) with Developmental VMI, Differential Ability Scales-II Copying, Matrices, and Pattern Construction subtests, Baron-Hopkins Board Test, and the Purdue Pegboard. One-way ANOVA indicated ELBW performed worse than Term (p = .044) on visuospatial construction at age 3 with a small-to-medium effect size (d = ?0.43). No other statistically significant differences were found at age 3 on the TVSC (ELBW/LPT: p = .608, d = ?0.17; LPT/Term: p = .116, d = ?0.31). At age 6, ELBW participants performed worse than LPT participants (p = .027) and Term participants (p = .012); LPT participants did not differ from Term participants. Small effect sizes at age 3 (ELBW < LPT, d = ?0.17; ELBW < Term, d = ?0.43) were notably larger at age 6 (ELBW < LPT, d = ?0.42; ELBW < Term, d = ?0.53). Important practical differences showing LPT participants performed below Term participants (d = ?0.31) at age 3 were no longer evident at age 6 (d = ?0.097). These findings provide preliminary evidence of TVSC validity supporting its use to detect neuropsychological impairment and to recommend appropriate interventions in young preterm children.     

Creativity Under Attack: How People’s Role in Competitive Conflict Shapes Their Creative Idea Generation

Although creativity is helpful if not needed to deal with conflicts, research on the effects of conflict on creativity shows inconsistent findings. In this study, the possibility that effects may depend on people’s role in conflict was considered. Whether, when, and why assuming the role of attacker or defender in conflict affects creative idea generation was therefore investigated. The prediction was tested if attackers are more creative than defenders. In addition, control over the situation as a moderating variable and anxiety as a mediator were considered. Participants (n = 115, M_age = 22.06, SD_age = 2.75, 83 women) were recruited in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and were randomly assigned to an attacker, defender, or role control condition. Controllability over the situation was manipulated within-subjects and anxiety and creativity were measured during 2 rounds of idea generation. Results revealed no differences in creative performance and anxiety between defenders and attackers and that defenders generated a greater number of ideas than people in the role control condition. Exploratory analyses further revealed that attackers and defenders generated a greater number of aggressive ideas. Finally, attackers and defenders experienced more anxiety, but increased anxiety did not account for observed differences in the number of (aggressive) ideas. The effect of controllability could not be investigated due to a failed manipulation. Limitations and implications are discussed.     

Threshold Theory Tested in an Organizational Setting: The Relation Between Perceived Innovativeness and Intelligence in a Large Sample of Leaders

A large sample of leaders (N = 4257) was used to test the link between leader innovativeness and intelligence. The threshold theory of the link between creativity and intelligence assumes that below a certain IQ level (approximately IQ 120), there is some correlation between IQ and creative potential, but above this cutoff point, there is no correlation. Support for the threshold theory of creativity was found, in that the correlation between IQ and innovativeness was positive and significant below a cutoff point of IQ 120. Above the cutoff, no significant relation was identified, and the two correlations differed significantly. The finding was stable across distinct parts of the sample, providing support for the theory, although the correlations in all subsamples were small. The findings lend support to the existence of threshold effects using perceptual measures of behavior in real-world organizational settings, and thus beyond creative potential measures applied in the psychological laboratory where it has previously been documented.     

Asthma in children of Caribbean descent living in the inner-city: comparing Puerto Rican and Afro-Caribbean children

Ethnic minority children bear a disproportionate amount of the US asthma burden. We compared asthma morbidity and pulmonary function (%FEV₁) in two Caribbean groups living in the Bronx, NY: Puerto Rican and Afro-Caribbean children. Caregiver-child dyads (Puerto Rican: n = 113, M age = 9.89 ± 2.05; Afro-Caribbean: n = 47, Mage = 10.35 ± 2.08) responded to sociodemographic and asthma-related questions, and children’s %FEV₁ was measured. Puerto Rican children had significantly greater (past year) asthma morbidity, yet there were no significant differences in %FEV₁. This discrepancy between objective pulmonary function and asthma morbidity suggests the importance of considering sociocultural factors in pediatric asthma care.     

Exploring Relationship Between Spiritual Intelligence,Religiosity and Life Satisfaction Among Elderly Pakistani Muslims

This study is an effort to explore the relationship between spiritual intelligence, religiosity and life satisfaction in elderly Pakistani Muslims. A non-probability purposive sampling technique is utilized in order to recruit a sample of 100 elderly people (n = 50 men; n = 50 = women). Standardized questionnaires were used for collecting data. Data analysis was carried out using Pearson product–moment correlation analysis and independent sample t test. Findings revealed a significant correlation between spiritual intelligence, religiosity and life satisfaction among Pakistani elderly Muslim people. Gender differences were considered while conducting the study, and findings are valid for both male and female elderly Pakistani Muslims. Some findings of this study endorse findings of some previous studies, and it adds latest insights to the existing body of knowledge on the subject.     

Factors associated with school nurses’ HPV vaccine attitudes for school-aged youth

School nurses are at the intersection of the healthcare and school communities, thus, they can be considered opinion leaders in providing health advice – including information about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine – to parents and students. This study examined school nurses’ attitudes toward the HPV vaccine based on age, years as a school nurse, geographic location, urban vs. rural work setting, HPV and vaccine knowledge, perception of role as opinion leaders, and school district support in providing health education. Participants (n = 413) were systematically sampled from the National Association of School Nurses’ membership and completed a web-based survey. Multiple regression was used to predict positive HPV vaccine attitudes. The model was statistically significant accounting for 50.8% of the variance (F [9, 400] = 45.96, p < .001). Positive attitudes regarding the HPV vaccine were predicted by higher HPV and vaccine knowledge (β = .096, p < .001) and stronger perceptions of role as opinion leaders for the vaccine (β = .665, p < .001). No other variables were found to be statistically significant. These results suggest knowledge is essential in predicting positive attitudes, but not the strongest predictor as perceptions of role as opinion leaders was more crucial in terms of predicting school nurses’ positive attitudes towards HPV vaccine. Despite school nurses being seen as champions for adolescent vaccines, they need additional professional development to increase their HPV vaccine knowledge and attitudes to encourage parents and adolescents to consider the uptake of HPV vaccination. To engage school nurses’ in promoting HPV vaccine uptake, interventions need to focus on increasing school nurses’ perception of their role as opinion leaders for HPV vaccine and knowledge to increase positive attitudes towards HPV vaccination for youth.     

Intelligence and Creativity: Over the Threshold Together?

Threshold theory predicts a positive correlation between IQ and creativity scores up to an IQ level of 120 and no correlation above this threshold. Primary school children were tested at beginning (N = 98) and ending (N = 70) of the school year. Participants performed the standard progressive matrices (SPM) and the Test of Creative Thinking—Drawing Production (TCT-DP). Each child with IQ ≥ 120 was grade-and-gender matched to a child with IQ < 120. Results in accordance with the threshold theory were found only for female children in the highest grade level (Grade 4). Longitudinal analysis implies that a subgroup of children goes down in IQ and creativity simultaneously, possibly due to motivational issues. Their correlated scores may be a source of evidence for the threshold theory. The relationship between intelligence and creativity is not straightforward and depends on a combination of factors including grade level and gender.