scholarly journals Gender Differences in the Distribution of Creativity Scores: Domain-Specific Patterns in Divergent Thinking and Creative Problem Solving

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wu-jing He ◽  
Wan-chi Wong

The present study examined gender differences in the distribution of creative abilities through the lens of the greater male variability hypothesis, which postulated that men showed greater interindividual variability than women in both physical and psychological attributes (Ellis, 1894/1934). Two hundred and six (51.9% female) undergraduate students in Hong Kong completed two creativity measures that evaluated different aspects of creativity, including: (a) a divergent thinking test that aimed to assess idea generation and (b) a creative problem-solving test that aimed to assess restructuring ability. The present findings extended the research of greater male variability in creativity by showing that men generally exhibited greater variance than women in the overall distribution of the creativity scores in both divergent thinking and creative problem solving, despite trivial gender differences in mean scores. The findings further enriched the discourse of the greater male variability hypothesis by showing interesting domain-specific gendered patterns: (1) greater male variability was more likely to occur in figural forms of creativity, with larger effect sizes, when compared to the variability in verbal forms of creativity; and (2) mixed gendered patterns were found in the upper tails of the creativity score distribution with respect to the verbal domain but not the figural one, despite greater male representation being consistently observed in the lower tail of the distribution. Possible underlying mechanisms and implications were discussed.

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-175
Author(s):  
Fuad Fachruddin

Setiap insan dianugrahi Yang Maha Penyayang daya kreatif (creative power), yang mengandung beberapa dimensi yaitu berfikir kreatif (creative thinking atau divergent thinking),  perilaku kreatif  (creative behavior) atau perilaku konstruktif  (constructive behavior) dan tindakan atau amaliah kreatif.  Sayang tidak semua orang dapat mengembangkan daya tersebut secara optimal. Pola dan pendekatan mendidik di keluarga, sekolah dan masyarakat acap kali tidak mendukung  pengembangan daya kreatif. Tulisan ini membahas beberapa hal seperti tersebut di muka dan pengembangan daya kreatif melalui dunia sekolah. Dalam mengembangkan daya kreatif peserta didik diperlukan hal atau syarat yang mendukung yaitu guru kreatif yang mencakup pembelajaran kreatif (creative teaching), kepala sekolah yang kreatif (creative leadership) dan lingkungan yang kreatif. Pengembangan daya kreatif dalam kontek bangsa untuk  menyiapkan warga bangsa dalam mengadapi kehidupan yang sangat kompetitif (global). Dalam kontek dunia sekolah, pengembangan daya kreatif dimaksudkan sebagai sebagai salah satu upaya peningkatan mutu pendidikan, karena pengembangan daya akan melahirkan superior learning. Pengembangan daya kreatif peserta didik dapat dilakukan melalui pendekatan atau metoda seperti memecahkan masalah secara kreatif (creative  problem solving),  pembelajaran berbasis masalah,  konsep dan  pendekatan  “limit to reach unlimited (dalam keadaan  terbatas dapat melahirkan karya luar biasa).


2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 159-176
Author(s):  
Kun Huo

ABSTRACT Creativity theory suggests that effective solutions to creative problems depend on both divergent and convergent thinking (Cropley 2006). Using an experiment in which participants solve insight problems, I investigate the effect of incentive schemes on creative problem-solving performance. I find that both piece-rate pay and a flat wage plus public recognition generate higher performance with divergent thinking training than without. Consistent with the idea that incentives may promote more convergent thinking than divergent thinking, piece-rate pay generates lower creative problem-solving performance than the flat wage in the absence of divergent thinking training (flat wage plus recognition has a neutral effect). The study suggests that when employee performance depends on creative problem solving, firms should implement incentive schemes and/or control systems that promote both divergent and convergent thinking.


2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 674-684 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nils Myszkowski ◽  
Martin Storme ◽  
Andrés Davila ◽  
Todd Lubart

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide new elements to understand, measure and predict managerial creativity. More specifically, based on new approaches to creative potential (Lubart et al., 2011), this study proposes to distinguish two aspects of managerial creative problem solving: divergent-exploratory thinking, in which managers try to generate several new solutions to a problem; and convergent-integrative thinking, in which managers select and elaborate one creative solution. Design/methodology/approach – In this study, personality is examined as a predictor of managerial creative problem solving: On one hand, based on previous research on general divergent thinking (e.g. Ma, 2009), it is hypothesized that managerial divergent thinking is predicted by high openness to experience and low agreeableness. On the other hand, because efficient people management involves generating satisfying and trustful social interactions, it is hypothesized that convergent-integrative thinking ability is predicted by high agreeableness. In all, 137 adult participants completed two divergent-exploratory thinking managerial tasks and two convergent-integrative thinking managerial task and the Big Five Inventory (John and Srivastava, 1999). Findings – As expected, divergent-exploratory thinking was predicted by openness to experience (r=0.21; p<0.05) and agreeableness (r=−0.22; p<0.05) and the convergent-integrative thinking part of managerial creative problem solving was predicted by agreeableness (r=0.28; p<0.001). Originality/value – Contrary to most research on managerial creativity (e.g. Scratchley and Hakstian, 2001), the study focuses (and provides measure guidelines) on both divergent and convergent thinking dimensions of creative potential. This study replicates and extends previous results regarding the link between personality (especially agreeableness) and managerial creativity.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chia-Yi Lin

This study aimed to help determine what the typology of math creative problem-solving is. Different from studies that have discussed the threshold effect between creativity and intelligence, this research investigated the threshold effect between creativity and other attributes. The typology of the math creative problem-solving abilities of 409 fifth- and sixth-grade Taiwanese students was identified and compared in this study. A Creative Problem-Solving Attribute Instrument was devised for this study, with the aim of measuring students’ perceptions on their motivation, knowledge, and skills, both in general and in specific domains. Divergent and convergent thinking were also measured. Cluster analyses yielded three creative problem-solving typologies: High, Medium, and Low. The High Attribute group scored significantly higher in the Math Creative Problem-Solving Ability Test than did the Medium Attribute and Low Attribute groups. The results suggest a threshold effect from several attributes—divergent thinking, convergent thinking, motivation, general knowledge and skills, domain-specific knowledge and skills, and environment—on students’ creative problem-solving abilities. Balanced development of attributes may be an important consideration in nurturing creativity in children.


Author(s):  
Senni Kirjavainen ◽  
Katja Hölttä-Otto

Abstract Idea generation is an integral part of creative problem solving that happens in all businesses developing products — whether they were services or physical products. Idea generation methods have been studied against one another to create an understanding on how to produce most novel and innovative ideas or how to use certain mechanisms such as incubation or analogies in order to promote idea generation. This paper presents a study comparing two idea generation mechanisms used as interventions during an alternate uses test. A group of 61 participants either classified or combined their ideas from the first round of ideation to come up with more ideas on a second round of idea generation. An outcome-based approach was used to evaluate the data and two metrics, quantity and novelty were used to evaluate the resulting ideas per group and round and unique ideas produced after the intervention. The results suggest that at least when ideating alone, it is useful to stop and use some time to either classify or stop, observe and start combining the ideas already produced. Both have a positive effect on idea novelty, but classifying ideas results in significantly higher novelty scores over combining ideas. There was no difference in the novelty of unique ideas between the two groups, but both had a positive effect on novelty of unique ideas. Classifying ideas into categories produced significantly more unique ideas than combining ideas.


Author(s):  
Michael D. Mumford ◽  
Robert Martin ◽  
Samantha N. Elliott

Creative thinking is the basis for innovation in firms. And the need for strategy-relevant innovations has generated a new concern with how people go about solving the kinds of problems that call for creative thought. Although many variables influence people’s ability to provide creative problem solutions, it is assumed the ways in which people work with or process knowledge provides the basis for successful creative problem-solving efforts. Additionally, there has been evidence bearing on the processing activities that contribute to creative problem solving. It is noted that at least eight distinct processing activities are involved in most incidents of creative problem solving: (1) problem definition, (2) information gathering, (3) concept selection, (4) conceptual combination, (5) idea generation, (6) idea evaluation, (7) implementation planning, and (8) adaptive monitoring. There are strategies people employ in effective execution of each of these processes, along with contextual variables that contribute to, or inhibit, effective process execution. Subsequently, there are key variables that operate in the workplace that contribute to, or inhibit, effective execution of these processing operations. These observations, of course, lead to implications for management of innovative efforts in firms.


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