This study investigated the development of divergent thinking (DT) in early childhood. We followed 107 4-year-olds for 1.5 years. Children's DT was assessed with the Alternative Uses Task (AUT) every 6 months, four times in total. Within the AUT, children were asked to generate unusual uses of common objects while explaining how they came up with…

Previous research showed that in primary school, children's intelligence develops continually, but creativity develops more irregularly. In this study, the development of intelligence, measured traditionally, i.e., operating within well-defined problem spaces (Standard Progressive Matrices) was compared with the development of intelligence…

Two complementary concepts of creative thinking are discussed, regression and progression, both of which are in the service of the ego. Interactions between the field dependence-independence and fixity-mobility styles are discussed, as are psychoanalytic, trait, physiological, and developmental perspectives of style. (Author/DB)