The Structure of Creativity in Primary Education: An Empirical Confirmation of the Amusement Park Theory

In this study, we explored the structure of pupils’ creativity in primary education following the Amusement Park Theory, by investigating undiscovered linkages between the domains of writing, mathematics, and drawing. More specifically, we examined: (a) whether some domains and general thematic areas are more closely related to each other than to others, (b) whether literacy and mathematical ability are specific underlying traits of creativity in writing and mathematics, respectively, and (c) whether intelligence and divergent thinking are related to creativity in all domains. The sample consisted of 331 Dutch 4th grade pupils. For each research question, a model was analyzed using structural equation modeling. We found creativity in mathematics and creativity in writing to be most similar, followed by creativity in mathematics and creativity in drawing, with creativity in writing and creativity in drawing being least similar. Additionally, we found evidence for several underlying traits (i.e., literacy ability and mathematical ability) and initial requirements of creativity (i.e., intelligence and divergent thinking), none of which were important for creativity in only one domain, and of which only intelligence was important for creativity in all domains. Herewith, our study provides insights regarding the complexity of the structure of creativity in primary education.     

统一思想 深化认识 为构建和谐社会服务——任法融会长谈学习十六届五中全会精神

金秋十月,中国共产党第十六届五中全会在北京胜利落下帷幕。全会集中讨论了未来5年中国的发展规划及“构建和谐社会”理念。这两个焦点合而为一,就是如何在未来五年的中国经济与社会建设日程上,实实在在地以具体措施体现“社会和谐”的构想。从这个角度说,本次会议具有十分重要     

中国情境下的关系自我和群体自我区分研究

通过两个研究探索中国情境下关系自我和群体自我的区分。研究一通过问卷调查发现在外显层面被试的关系自我和群体自我是独立的结构;女性被试的关系自我水平要高于群体自我。研究二通过单靶内隐联想测验(Single Target Implicit Association Test,ST-IAT)发现在内隐层面,相对于群体自我,中国情境下的被试具更倾向从人际关系角度定义自我。同时,研究二也发现外显关系自我和内隐关系自我二者是独立的结构;外显群体自我和内隐群体自我二者是独立的结构。最后,文章讨论了研究对自我建构领域的贡献。     

The Effects of Success and Failure on Children's Use of Defense Mechanisms

ABSTRACT The effects of moderate stress on the use of defense mechanisms by 64 second- and sixth-graders were determined The use of denial, projection, and identification was assessed from stones told to the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) prior to, and subsequent to, an experimentally controlled experience of success or failure Subjects who experienced failure were more likely to use the lower level defenses of denial and projection, while the experience of success was followed by greater use of identification The results also were consistent with previous studies in demonstrating age and sex differences in the use of defense mechanisms     

Processing resources and age differences in working memory

This study investigated the performance of young and old subjects on a modified version of the working memory task developed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974). Subjects were required to verify a set of sentences of varying complexity while they repeated aloud zero, two, or four words. The older subjects took longer to verify the sentences, especially when the sentences were grammatically complex, but the effect of concurrent memory load on verification latency was the same in both groups. These results cast doubt on the notion that there is an age-related decline in one general pool of processing resources. They also suggest that older people have greater difficulty with the active processing aspects, rather than with the passive holding aspects, of working memory tasks.     

海南岛黎汉中小学生智能发展差异性及其根源的跨文化研究

本研究的目的是探讨海南岛黎汉中小学生智能发展的差异性及其根源。研究对象是120名海南岛保亭县纯黎族的山区和黎汉杂居的通什市区小学五年级和初中二年级学生。研究方法包括智能测查、文化背景调查和个性特征的问卷调查。研究结果表明海南岛保亭、通什两地黎汉学生的智能发展存在显著差异,这种差异与两地文化背景差异和某些个性特征有关,而与民族性无关。