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Recognizing creative potential: An evaluation of the usefulness of creativity tests

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Arthur J. Cropley
Arthur J. Cropley*
Affiliation:
La Trobe University, Bendigo
*
School of Arts, La Trobe University, Bendigo, PO Box 199, Bendigo, Victoria 3550
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Abstract

The single almost universally recognized aspect of creativity is novelty, often understood as novelty of products. However, determining which novel products are “truly” creative is difficult, because of the influence of practical and aesthetic/professional criteria. From a psychological point of view, it is more productive to study personal properties associated with creativity on the one hand and psychological processes which lead to the production of novelty on the other, especially with school children, since few of them produce widely acclaimed creative products. For this reason, creativity tests are most useful as indicators of potential. The tests can be divided into two groups: those concentrating on biographical and personal properties (creative person) and those which aim to measure creative thinking (creative process). Although a variety of tests of both kinds exists, their ability to measure real life creativity in a reliable way is open to doubt. This may well be because creativity involves a combination of psychological elements, with the result that its measurement requires new procedures that cross conventional test boundaries.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , November 1993 , pp. 1 - 15
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 1993

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