Showing papers in "Creativity Research Journal in 2003"
TL;DR: The dedicated work of numerous scholars has, over the last 10 years, led to some radical advances in our understanding of the nature and implications of creativity as discussed by the authors, which has been summarized in two recent handbooks-Mark Runco's Creativity Research Handbook and Robert Sternberg's Handbook of Creativity.
Abstract: The dedicated work of numerous scholars has, over the last 10 years, led to some radical advances in our understanding of the nature and implications of creativity. This work has been summarized in 2 recent handbooks-Mark Runco's Creativity Research Handbook and Robert Sternberg's Handbook of Creativity. In this article I use these handbooks as a starting point to take stock in both what has been accomplished and what still needs to be done in our attempts to understand creativity. I begin by noting that both handbooks clearly describe the major approaches being used in studies of creativity and the findings resulting from each approach. A careful review of the chapters presented in these handbooks, however, brings to the fore a number of issues. For example, we need critical comparative tests contrasting the merits of different methods and theories, elaboration and extension of our traditional samples and our traditional measures, and more attempts to develop integrative models. However, some topics, suc...
653 citations
TL;DR: For example, this article found that rewards for novel performance increase intrinsic motivation and creativity, whereas rewards for conventional performance decrease intrinsic moti- vation and creativity and that creative motivational orienta- tion, enhanced by rewards, strongly affects innovative performance.
Abstract: Three decades of research have failed to produce general agreement concerning the effects of reward on creativity. We believe that the problem stems not from any great complexity of research findings, but primarily from the clash between romantic and behav- iorist worldviews concerning basic human nature. Iso- lation of these research camps has produced narrow perspectives and failures to correct persisting method- ological flaws. Research correcting these flaws sug- gests that rewards for novel performance increase intrinsic motivation and creativity, whereas rewards for conventional performance decrease intrinsic moti- vation and creativity. Creative motivational orienta- tion, enhanced by rewards, strongly affects innovative performance.
224 citations
TL;DR: Three experiments provided initial support for the attentional priming hypothesis, suggesting that situationally induced vari- ations in the scope of perceptual attention may corre- spondingly expand or constrict the focus of conceptual attention within the semantic network, thereby improv- ing or diminishing creativity.
Abstract: The authors tested the hypothesis that a broad or narrow scope of perceptual attention engen- ders an analogously broad or narrow focus of concep- tual attention, which in turn bolsters or undermines creative generation. In the first two experiments, par- ticipants completed visual tasks that forced them to fo- cus perceptual attention on a comparatively broad or narrow visual area. As predicted, broad, compared to narrow initial focusing of perceptual attention subse- quently led to generation of more original uses for a brick (Experiment 1) and generation of more unusual category exemplars (Experiment 2). In Experiment 3, participants were merely asked to contract their frontalis versus corrugator muscles, producing rudi- mentary peripheral feedback associated with broad versus narrow perceptual focus. As predicted, frontalis contraction, relative to corrugator contraction, led to the production of more original uses for a pair of scis- sors. Together, these three experiments provided con- verging initial support for our attentional priming hypothesis, suggesting that situationally induced vari- ations in the scope of perceptual attention (and simple cues associated with such variations) may corre- spondingly expand or constrict the focus of conceptual attention within the semantic network, thereby improv- ing or diminishing creativity.
198 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, Ng's "Why Asians are less creative than Westerners" is discussed. But the authors focus on the negative effect of race stereotypes on Asians' ability to be creative.
Abstract: (2003). On Ng's Why Asians Are Less Creative Than Westerners. Creativity Research Journal: Vol. 15, No. 2-3, pp. 301-302.
145 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compare responses on two different types of measures of intuition in determining intuition from interests, personality, and experiences, and find that the two measures were not related, suggesting that they may measure different dimensions of intuition or even different constructs.
Abstract: In recent times, there are many areas of daily functioning when intuition is thought to serve a useful function, especially in regard to decision making and business. However, scientific research on the construct is sparse. This study aims to advance our understanding of the concept and measurement of intuition and to compare responses on 2 different types of measures of intuition in determining intuition from interests, personality, and experiences. Fifty-three first year psychology students completed the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI) and the Accumulated Clues Task (ACT) to estimate their intuitive traits and ability. Participants also completed an intuitive interests measure and an intuitive experiences questionnaire. The 2 intuition measures were not related, suggesting that they may measure different dimensions of intuition or even different constructs. In general, intuitive interests, personality, and experiences predicted scores on MBTI Intuition but not ACT Intuition. Scores on the MBTI Intuit...
116 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the main stream argument that positive mood unconditionally and reliably facilitates creativity is characterized as a case of premature closure, and evidence is reviewed that calls this general thesis into serious question.
Abstract: This article picks up on the suggestion made by Mumford that the relationship of affect to creativity is an important, new trend in the field. Fuel is added to this argument by pointing to evidence indicating that tasks of creative thinking may be particularly mood sensitive. The main stream argument that positive mood unconditionally and reliably facilitates creativity is characterized as a case of premature closure. Evidence is reviewed that calls this general thesis into serious question. It is concluded that creativity is a multifaceted construct, and that different moods are differentially related to different components of creative thinking.
107 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the relationship between cognitive control and generative as well as evaluative aspects of creativity were studied, and the results indicated that participants scoring high on Urban and Jellen's Test for Creative Thinking-Drawing Production showed better indexes of cognitive control than participants with lower scores.
Abstract: Two experiments are reported in which relationships between cognitive control and generative as well as evaluative aspects of creativity were studied. Cognitive control was assessed through the interference effects of the Navon and Stroop tasks. Generative and evaluative aspects of creativity were studied with a procedure, called Generation and Evaluation (GenEva). Each participant first generated a number of solutions to a set of divergent problems, and then he or she evaluated solutions provided by another participant, chosen at random. The data suggest that participants scoring high on Urban and Jellen's Test for Creative Thinking-Drawing Production showed better indexes of cognitive control than participants with lower scores. A similar relationship has been found concerning the originality of participants' productions (GenEva procedure) but not their fluency and flexibility. These findings are interpreted in terms of basic cognitive processes, which are probably responsible for idea production. It al...
91 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, Vygotsky argued that by dragging a child into a topsy-turvy world, we help his intellect work and his perception of reality, and this brings to the fore the issue of the link between reality and imagination.
Abstract: In Educational Psychology (1997/1926), Vygotsky pleaded for a realistic approach to children's literature. He is, among other things, critical of Chukovsky's story "Crocodile" and maintains that this story deals with nonsense and gibberish, without social relevance. This approach Vygotsky would leave soon, and, in Psychology of Art (1971/1925), in which he develops his theory of art, he talks about connections between nursery rhymes and children's play, exactly as the story of Chukovsky had done with the following argument: By dragging a child into a topsy-turvy world, we help his intellect work and his perception of reality. In his book Imagination and Creativity in Childhood (1995/1930), Vygotsky goes further and develops his theory of creativity. The book describes how Vygotsky regards the creative process of the human consciousness, the link between emotion and thought, and the role of the imagination. To Vygotsky, this brings to the fore the issue of the link between reality and imagination, and he d...
81 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the history of two notable 20th century social innovations, including the development of scientific management and the use of standardized tests for college admission, and examined the implications of these books with respect to three key topics: the generation of creative ideas about social interactions, the factors influencing development of these ideas, and the social settings that lead to acceptance and diffusion of them.
Abstract: Social innovations, new ideas about people's interactions, have begun to receive more attention in studies of creativity. This article considers the conclusions emerging from two recent books examining the history of two notable 20th century social innovations--the development of scientific management and the use of standardized tests for college admissions. We examine the implications of these books with respect to three key topics, (a) the generation of creative ideas about social interactions, (b) the factors influencing development of these ideas, and (c) the social settings that lead to acceptance and diffusion of these ideas. The implications of these observations for understanding social innovation are discussed.
74 citations
TL;DR: The authors investigated the relationship between psychological type and cognitive style as measured by the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI) and found a statistically significant relationship between the MBTI and KAI.
Abstract: This study investigated the relationship between psychological type, as measured by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI; Myers & McCaulley, 1985), and cognitive style as measured by the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI; Kirton, 1999b). These 2 measures are widely used by creativity researchers and practitioners, yet little is known about the conceptual relationship between the theories and measures. The study built upon 8 previously published studies that correlated the 2 measures as a base for comparison with a sample of 1483 individuals from both education and business settings. The results of correlations between the measures showed a statistically significant relationship between the MBTI and KAI. Stronger relationships were found between the MBTI function scales of Sensing-Intuitive and Judging-Perceiving, which respectfully accounted for 30 and 19 percent of the variance with the KAI total score. The relationship was further explored through an analysis of previous studies and a conceptua...
65 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the cultural influences on creative and conforming behavior and found that there was a negative association between conforming behaviour and creative behavior, and that cultural individualism-collectivism had a positive impact on independent self-construal and a negative impact on interdependent self construal.
Abstract: This study investigated the cultural influences on creative and conforming behavior. Three sets of hypotheses were developed. First, it was predicted that there was a negative association between creative and conforming behavior (Hypothesis 1). Second, it was predicted that cultural individualism-collectivism had a positive impact on independent self-construal (Hypothesis 2A) and a negative impact on interdependent self-construal (Hypothesis 2B). Third, it was predicted that independent self-construal had a positive impact on creative behavior (Hypothesis 3A) and a negative impact on conforming behavior (Hypothesis 3B) and that interdependent self-construal had a negative impact on creative behavior (Hypothesis 3C) and a positive impact on conforming behavior (Hypothesis 3D). These hypotheses were embedded in a theoretical model of behavior with cultural individualism/collectivism as the antecedent variable, independent and interdependent self-construals as the mediating variables, and creative and confor...
TL;DR: This article found a strong causal link between KAI innovator style and creative self-perceptions, and the KAI instrument appeared to be an effective predictor of scores on a creative selfperception measure.
Abstract: Sixty-two student teachers enrolled in an initial teacher education program in a medium-sized, metropolitan university completed the Kirton (1976) Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI), the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI; Briggs & Myers, 1976), and Khatena and Torrance's (1976) What-Kind-of-Person-Are-You checklist. Path analyses revealed a strong causal link between KAI innovator style and creative self-perceptions. Of the MBTI introversion, intuitive, thinking, and perceiver types, only intuitiveness exhibited a total causal link to creative self-perception that came close to the KAI. Creativity, personality, and cognitive style literatures are diverse and more research is suggested, although the KAI instrument appeared to be an effective predictor of scores on a creative self-perception measure.
TL;DR: The authors reviewed and integrated the recent work on moral creativity and found that writing is the more useful domain for the resolution of creative dilemmas, that art for art's s....
Abstract: Specific domains of talent have been increasingly recognized by educators. Howard Gruber has done a great deal to direct attention to what may be the most critical domain, namely, moral creativity. The intent of this article is to honor Gruber's genius in our own humble fashion, by reviewing and integrating the recent work on moral creativity. Special attention is directed to points of agreement found in the literature to implications for studies of creativity and education. This is not merely a review, however; we make every effort to compare and contrast the various theories and highlight the controversies in this area. One of the more surprising controversies involves the concept of adaptation, which is often associated with creativity and would seem to have great potential for addressing creativity in the moral domain and the resolution of moral dilemmas. We also explore the arguable theories that writing is the more useful domain for the resolution of creative dilemmas, that art for art's s...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the ways that IT might influence creativity in organizations and suggest that knowledge and information are among the most important ingredients for creativity and are the very things that IT exist to manage.
Abstract: Creativity is vital to organizational success Information technologies (IT) have increasingly become a major influence on organizational efficiency and effectiveness However, there has been a paucity of research aimed at specifying the relationship between these two areas of scholarship This article will begin to fill this gap by exploring the ways that IT might influence creativity in organizations This is important for organizational studies, given that knowledge and information are among the most important ingredients for creativity and are the very things that IT exist to manage In this article, the creativity literature and much of the management oriented IT literature will be explored to suggest that IT plays an integral role in the creative process within organizations Specifically, the main benefits that IT affords organizations will be considered and then applied to the requirements for creative production, the stages of the individual creative process, the process of organizational learnin
TL;DR: In an experimental study of designing by adaptation, professional and student knitwear designers were videotaped designing sweaters based on a Persian rug or a 19th century tapestry as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In an experimental study of designing by adaptation, professional and student knitwear designers were videotaped designing sweaters based on a Persian rug or a 19th century tapestry. The designers used a range of source-triggered and goal-directed adaptation strategies to create adaptations ranging from the closest possible translations into the medium to radical transformations of abstract characteristics. While each strategy sometimes led to each type of adaptation, the source-triggered strategies were predominant for the easy-to-adapt source (the rug) and typically led to close adaptations; while the goal-directed strategies were more common for the more difficult source (the tapestry), and more often led to more radical transformations of the source. The professional designers made more use of goal-directed strategies than the student designers. The study supports the view that creative behavior can usefully be described in terms of consistent patterns resulting from both task demands and from cogniti...
TL;DR: In "Where Have We Been, Where are We Going To? Taking Stock in Creativity Research," the author attempted to use two recent handbook publications as a basis for drawing some general conclusions about the current state of affairs in creativity research as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In "Where Have We Been, Where Are We Going To? Taking Stock in Creativity Research," the author attempted to use 2 recent handbook publications as a basis for drawing some general conclusions about the current state of affairs in creativity research. The commentaries provided by Eisenberger, Kaufmann, Runco, and Russ with regard to this review not only aptly illustrate some key points made in this feature article, but also provide some thought-provoking extensions of this review. In this reply, the author considers these commentaries with respect to both points of agreement and disagreement. With regard to points of disagreement, he stressed in his initial review, and would continue to stress, the practical, social aspects of creative work, as well as the need to reference creativity against products as opposed to potential. In agreement with the commentators, however, he would argue that creativity research has now progressed beyond the provisional hypotheses generation stage. Thus, the challenge confron...
TL;DR: The authors empirically examined the effectiveness of a solution elicitation technique based on the presentation of problem objectives and also examined whether the technique was effective across individual differences in need for cognition (NC).
Abstract: Numerous techniques have been proposed to assist problem solvers in the solution generation process. We empirically examined the effectiveness of a solution elicitation technique based on the presentation of problem objectives and also examined whether the technique was effective across individual differences in need for cognition (NC). We found that when two conflicting objectives were presented successively, more solutions, more categories of solutions, and more effective solutions were generated than when the same two objectives were presented simultaneously or not at all. However, the results indicated that effective solutions may be more efficiently generated by considering objectives simultaneously. Need for cognition was positively related to measures of divergent thinking, and the presentation of objectives was particularly effective as a solution elicitation aid for individuals with low NC. Implications for creative problem-solving research and practice are discussed.
TL;DR: In the Communitarianism school of political thought as discussed by the authors, the authors argue that creative activity emerges from a shared sense of community whose lingua franca is social capital, not merely human capital, and any creative product, therefore, emerges from the unique coincidence of individual intellective abilities; the social and cultural organization of a scientific, artistic, or entrepreneurial domain; the...
Abstract: Historical, political, and social influences greatly constrict creative activity and creative self-expression in the arts, sciences, and entrepreneurship. Moreover, the differential distribution of power and resources among individuals and groups in society, as well as the impact of the norm of self-interest in Western capitalist cultures, deeply constrain creative self-expression. This includes political and religious censorship, corporate control and influence, copyright restrictions, as well as cultural and economic constraints. Communitarianism--the school of political thought that holds that individual self-expression is best nurtured within communities of association--proposes that creative activity emerges from a shared sense of community whose lingua franca is social capital, not merely human capital. Any creative product, therefore, emerges from a unique coincidence of individual intellective abilities; the social and cultural organization of a scientific, artistic, or entrepreneurial domain; the...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compared the creative performance of middle school students who had been attending Core Knowledge schools to that of students at a matched non-Core Knowledge school and found that only 1 of the 3 comparisons yielded a statistically signifi- cant difference and that difference favored Core Knowledge students.
Abstract: The Core Knowledge Sequence, which has been proposed as a voluntary national curriculum and has been adopted in many school districts across the United States, is unusually specific about the con- tent students are expected to learn at each grade level. This has led to suggestions that it may promote rote learning and result in a decline in creativity. This pos- sibility was investigated by comparing the creative performance of middle school students who had been attending Core Knowledge schools to that of students at a matched non-Core Knowledge school. There were 3 comparisons: poems written by seventh-grade stu- dents, short stories written by seventh-grade students, and short stories written by eighth-grade students. Experts evaluated the creativity of these stories and poems using a consensual assessment technique. Only 1 of the 3 comparisons yielded a statistically signifi- cant difference, and that difference favored Core Knowledge students. These results suggest that the Core Knowledge Curriculum and its detailed and spe- cific requirements of content to be studied at each grade level do not negatively impact students' creativ- ity and may even have a positive impact on creative performance in some areas.
Journal Article•
TL;DR: In this article, a qualitative study explored the origins of interest in textile arts among a group of women living with long-term health problems and found that women's preexisting resilient personality, as well as extensive support structures may have encouraged a reflective attitude and a problem-solving approach to living with illness.
Abstract: This qualitative study explored the origins of interest in textile arts among a group of women living with long-term health problems. The part that illness played in motivating engagement in creative arts was of particular concern. Twenty-four women, between 29-72 years old, were interviewed. Most were hobbyists, but the sample included some publicly acclaimed textile artists. A minority had engaged in art continuously since their earlier years. Most of the women had discovered (or rediscovered) textile arts in middle and later life. Several factors facilitated this. The narratives indicated that the women's preexisting resilient personality, as well as extensive support structures, may have encouraged a reflective attitude and a problem-solving approach to living with illness. The experience of biographical disruption, stemming from the crisis of illness, dissatisfaction with unproductive time, and a growing need for self-fulfillment, appeared to create a search for a meaningful occupation. The discovery...
TL;DR: In this paper, the Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT) was used to assess the perceived complexity, creativity, and technical goodness of improvised music, and the intrinsic motivation of improvisers was found to correlate with overall evaluations.
Abstract: We examined some of the factors that influence evaluations of improvised music. Using the Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT), 10 expert judges evaluated 16 pieces of music, improvised on an electronic keyboard. Overall evaluations of improvisations were associated with their perceived complexity, creativity, and technical goodness. These predictors accounted for 76% of the variance in preference judgments. The intrinsic motivation of improvisers was also assessed, and was correlated with overall evaluations. No support was found for a nonlinear relation between the perceived complexity of the music and its aesthetic appeal, as suggested by Berlyne's optimal-complexity model. We outline a model linking characteristics of improvisers and their improvisations to judges' overall liking for the music. The benefits of using the CAT to assess music are also discussed.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors determined whether Ritalin (methylphenidate, MPH) affects cognitive flexibility and creativity in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Abstract: The objective of this study was to determine whether Ritalin (methylphenidate, MPH) affects cognitive flexibility and creativity in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Me...
TL;DR: The persistence of the two most important contributors to the present global pre-crisis is examined in this article, where it is argued that no single person (or even persons) can be expected to find a creative solution for this complex problem.
Abstract: This article examines the persistence of the two most important contributors to the present global pre-crisis. Our planetary problems are complex, the knowledge basis very broad, and expertise necessarily specialized. Given these conditions, it is argued that no single person (or even persons) can be expected to find a creative solution for this complex problem. Therefore, it is proposed that a global collective creativity with psychology's leadership be used to develop a new multidisciplinary paradigm.
TL;DR: Mumford et al. as discussed by the authors pointed out that if a field does not conduct or value empirical work, it is not very scientific, and that scientific fields progress through self-examination, as well as through the collection of new data.
Abstract: The sciences are typically defined by empirical work.If a field does not conduct or value empirical work, itis “not very scientific.” Gould (2001) put it this way:“The task of science is twofold: to determine, as bestwe can, the empirical character of the natural world;and to ascertain why our world operates as it does,rather than in some other conceivable, but unrealized,way—in other words, to specify facts and validatetheories” (p. ix). In contemporary creative studies,many empirical papers are published each year,testing new and old hypotheses, and covering anincreasingly diverse range of topics. The field ofcreative studies has become very scientific in its useof rigorous empirical work, and this empirical workhas advanced the field, especially in the last 2decades. Yet scientific fields progress through self-examination, as well as through the collection of newdata. Such self-examination can be found in publishedreviews, especially if integrative. These can containsummaries of primary research and extensions (or re-jections) of a particular theory. Such self-examinationsare especially important as a field gains momentum,as has been the case in creative studies as of late.Mumford’s (2003) featured article in this issue ofthe
TL;DR: In this paper, the author describes why the author abandoned nomothetic methods in favor of the more idiographic focus of contextual biography, where the psychological and existential dimension plays the role of an internal environment that interacts with other contexts in which the subject evolves.
Abstract: This article describes why the author abandoned nomothetic methods in favor of the more idiographic focus of biography. The author outlines the advantages of contextual biography. In contextual biography, the psychological and existential dimension plays the role of an internal environment that interacts with the other contexts in which the subject evolves. The network of enterprises, a concept proposed by Howard Gruber, is a key aspect of that internal environment. Contextual biography conceptualizes the individual's life in terms of socialization and individuation, in terms of the subject's integration into particular contexts, and in terms of his or her construction of an original position within them. The study of socialization and individuation aims at a perception of the subject's uniqueness that takes into account the decisive role of context, the multiple relations among the intellectual projects that are the focus of scientific biography, the subject's other existential goals, and his o...
TL;DR: The authors examined aspects of the early career of the English novelist Virginia Woolf, drawing primarily on Howard Gruber's approach to the understanding of creativity that views the individual as a unique "evolving system" engaged in a series of goal-directed activities.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to examine aspects of the early career of the English novelist Virginia Woolf, drawing primarily on Howard Gruber's (1974, 1989b, 1989c) approach to the understanding of creativity that views the individual as a unique "evolving system" engaged in a series of goal-directed activities. The various enterprises Woolf engaged in preceding the publication of her first experimental novel, Jacob's Room, in 1922 are detailed-including her early literary influences and activities, family background, "organization of affect" (Gruber, 1995, p. 400), development of expertise, and network of writing enterprises. The method utilized here was a blending of the idiographic account of Woolf's resolution of the problem she set for herself of re-forming the English novel (in a departure from the realism of, for example, Hardy, Austen, and Dickens) to capture the stream of human consciousness. This idiographic account and nomothetic findings of germane psychological research (e.g., ex...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe the evolving systems approach of Howard E. Gruber, including emphasis on the principles of constructive repetition and network of enterprises, and compare it to the approaches of others.
Abstract: This article explores the following ideas: (a) a description of the evolving systems approach of Howard E. Gruber, including emphasis on the principles of constructive repetition and network of enterprises; (b) a comparison of Gruber's approach to the approaches of others; and (c) an application of the evolving systems approach to a psychohistorical case study of Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), in which the emphasis is to demonstrate how a film approach gives us a different profile of the great Dutch artist from a snapshot approach.
TL;DR: In Mumford's (2003) review of two major creativity handbooks, he outlines how the field has advanced as discussed by the authors and how new methodologies and research paradigms have enabled a wider variety of variables and questions to be investigated.
Abstract: In Mumford's (2003) review of 2 major creativity handbooks, he outlines how the field has advanced. New methodologies and research paradigms have enabled a wider variety of variables and questions to be investigated. These advances enable specific processes important to creativity to be studied. Cognitive and affective processes important in creativity are better understood and differentiated. As a result, we can learn about different profiles of creative individuals in different domains. Currently, there is no comprehensive theory of creativity. For theoretical advancement to occur, we need an interdisciplinary approach.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the process of construction of a questionnaire to evaluate painters' identification with different implicit theories on artistic creativity, taking the most typical statements from each theory, eliminated items through statistical analysis and carried out exploratory studies on the factorial structure of those remaining.
Abstract: This work used as a starting point a previous historiographic study that identified 6 implicit theories on artistic creativity, and a second study that led to the formulation, in propositional terms, of the statements configuring its content as knowledge schemas. What we present here is the process of construction of a questionnaire to evaluate painters' identification with the different implicit theories on artistic creativity. Taking the most typical statements from each theory, we eliminated items through statistical analysis and carried out exploratory studies on the factorial structure of those remaining. This process resulted in the design of a questionnaire with 5 factors: impulsiveness, experimentation, search for oneself, communication, and psychological disorder. These dimensions, obtained on the basis of the analyses carried out with samples of painters, show substantial differences with respect to the theories previously defined in the general population, which suggests that there is less than...