Assesses an effort by E.P. Torrance and co-workers to introduce a test they claim is based on a model of cognitive style that relates creative processes to hemispheric dominance. Challenges Torrance's theories and research methods and asserts that a model relating left and right brain dominance to creativity has little value. (GC)

This article discusses the numerous benefits of employing contrast-and-compare lessons in music education settings. Such activities focus on the elements of music through the higher-order thinking processes of analyzing, comparing, organizing, and evaluating. They also integrate with the teaching goals and practices of many general educators in…

This project studied pupil creativity in terms of the interdependence of the affective and cognitive domains. The relationships of the two facets were studied over the period of a full school year with 945 fifth grade pupils from a small urban district. Over the period of the study, growth was apparent in both domains. Parallel testings of the two…

Dream reports of highly creative male high school students were rated by clinical psychologists as exhibiting greater primary process thinking than the dream reports of matched controls; their dream protocols also included a significantly greater proportion of symbolism, condensations, and unusual combinations but a smaller proportion of…

Play is a complex phenomenon that occurs naturally for most children; they move through the various stages of play development and are able to add complexity, imagination, and creativity to their thought processes and actions. However, for many children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), the various stages of play never truly develop, or occur…

This paper surveys some major trends from research on visual and spatial thinking coming from cognitive science, developmental psychology, science literacy, and science studies. It explores the role of visualisation in creativity, in building mental models, and in the communication of scientific ideas, in order to place these findings in the…

What are creative people like? There is evidence that four personality traits appear to differentiate more creative from less creative people: devotion to work, independence, drive for originality, and flexibility. Creative people do not have higher intelligence quotients (IQs) or get better school grades than others--in fact, no cognitive…

THE OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY WERE (1) TO TAKE BIBLIOGRAPHIC INVENTORY OF RESEARCH CONCEPTS AND METHODS IN CREATIVITY AND THE ARTS, (2) TO TEST A NUMBER OF THE CONCEPTS AND METHODS IN AN EXPLORATORY EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE THOUGHT PROCESSES AND PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF ART STUDENTS, AND (3) TO FORMULATE A NUMBER OF ISSUES, CONCEPTS,…

The study relates performance on a cognitive-style measure of perceptual sensitivity and grade point averages to several indices of creativity as affected by a checklist procedure and verbal pretraining. Subjects were 76 students, half of which received verbal pretraining requiring them to list adjectives under five categories. The pretrained…

Two studies related to creativity are reported and discussed. The first examined possible relationships between problem solving, divergent thinking, and field dependence-independence in second-grade students (N=83). The second study determined that the analytical skills of 71 undergraduate students (measured by the Hidden Figures Test) may be…

Discusses the numbing of creativity our society encourages and suggests elements of a creative behavior program that aims to increase the creative behavior of adults. (TO)

Second article of a two-part series focuses on how results of research into learning, creativity, and thinking abilities can be applied to help the individual become more creative. (SL)

This paper outlines cognitive processes underpinning creative ability, considers their development, and discusses the creative potential of the individual at various life stages. Creativity is viewed as an outcome of self-directed transformational activity. The roles of fantasy and imagination are discussed, as is the contrast between public and…