Introducing a Personal-Originality Approach for Scoring Children’s Divergent Thinking

• In Event: Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Topic - Methods, History, Theory

Abstract

Promoting children’s creative thinking abilities has become a priority among educators, scholars, policy makers, and government officials in the United States and abroad. Divergent thinking (DT), which can be described as the ability to conceive of and express a variety of novel solutions to open-ended problems (Gibson, Folley, & Park, 2009), is one of the most commonly studied constructs related to creative thinking (Runco & Acar, 2012). There is considerable evidence that DT is predictive of later creative behavior and achievement (Benedek, Borovnjak, Neubauer, & Kruse-Weber, 2014; Cramond, Matthews-Morgan, Bandalos, & Zuo, 2005; Kim, 2008). However, current methods for studying DT rely extensively on cross-sectional comparisons of young children, which may diminish the ability to detect key indicators of DT, such as child-level originality. The current study introduces a personal-originality (PO) approach to scoring children’s performance in common DT tasks. While originality is often assessed through statistical rarity (i.e., objective scoring) or subjective ratings, our scoring system captures DT at the child level using incubation periods. That is, children demonstrate PO by producing new ideas after time away from the task. Our study will explore the effects of both short (i.e., 2 minutes) and long (i.e., several days) incubation periods on three- to six-year-old children’s DT performance.

In line with previous DT measurement validity research (Benedek et al., 2013; Clapham, 2004), convergent and discriminant validity of scoring methods will be compared using standard correlational analyses. Two competing hypotheses will be tested. First, it is possible that PO scoring will provide a more valid estimate of children’s creative potential compared to subjective and objective scoring methods. PO scores demonstrating significantly better measures of convergent validity compared to traditional scoring methods will provide support for this hypothesis. Second, it is possible personal, objective, and subjective ratings of originality all represent meaningful, yet distinct constructs related to children’s overall creative potential. Said differently, children who produce ideas that are (a) original at a personal level, (b) unique among the sample, and (c) creative to outsiders will demonstrate the highest degree of creative potential. If upheld, the three measures will yield comparable estimates of convergent validity with other correlates of creative potential (e.g., parent ratings of child creativity, child personality), but will show discriminant validity between the three originality outcomes.

Currently, we have 45 parent-child dyads enrolled in our study. Our goal is to reach a sample of approximately 75 parent-child dyads by the end of November. Parents will complete a two-part survey. Part one gathers information about the family, the home environment, and child behavioral and personality traits. Part two is designed to gather follow up information after children have completed a series of DT tasks virtually via zoom. Data have already been collected from 21 parent-child dyads and preliminary findings are promising. By and large, children are demonstrating personal originality by producing new ideas after short and long incubation periods. We are confident in our ability to complete data analysis and prepare our presentation before the SRCD 2021 Biennial Meeting.

Authors

• James A. Larsen, University of Tennessee - Knoxville
  Presenting Author

• Louis Manfra, University of Missouri - Columbia
  Non-Presenting Author

• Danielle Turley, California State University - Stanislaus
  Non-Presenting Author