This meta-analysis examined the association of birth order and divergent thinking (DT). The main purpose was to examine how ordinal position (only, first, middle, or last-born) is related to creativity. The results from 27 studies (k= 222; N = 4,690) were analyzed using a multilevel approach. Because some previous studies compared first- vs.…

This article investigated the impact of a robotic-based enrichment program on problem finding (PF) and active-openminded thinking skills (AOT) in 60 gifted female students (eighth and ninth graders) from the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia. The participants were randomly selected from several cohorts of gifted students who participated in an…

Investigations of differences between gifted and nongifted students have examined cognitive abilities, including intelligence quotient (IQ) differences, higher order thinking skills, and divergent thinking (DT). However, little is known about differences in problem finding (PF). Moreover, previous works on gifted students have never explored…

The articles in this issue of "New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development" nicely summarize recent findings about creativity and development. This commentary underscores some of the key ideas and puts them into a larger context (i.e., the corpus of creativity research). It pinpoints areas of agreement (e.g., the need to take…

The criterion problem was one of the focal points of early studies of creativity, but several useful criteria have been developed in the last few decades. The investigation reported here represents additional progress. This report (a) describes a new quality of creative achievement index for each domain of the Creative Activity and Accomplishment…

This chapter explores the various relationships that exist between contradictions and creativity. The focus is education, with implications for both teachers and students. Contradictions are defined and contrasted with problems, disequilibria, and dilemmae. Product, place, personality, and process perspectives on creativity as also compared. The…

The concept of meta-creativity is defined and explored, with examples drawn from the long and productive career of Arthur Cropley. "Meta-creativity" may sound like jargon, but then again, given how meta is used in the sciences (e.g., "meta-analysis," "meta-cognition"), it is a perfectly apt term. It is the best label…

This article describes the themes found in the past 25 years of creativity research. Computational methods and network analysis were used to map keyword theme development across ~1,400 documents and ~5,000 unique keywords from 1990 (the first year keywords are available in Web of Science) to 2015. Data were retrieved from Web of Science using the…

This article describes an empirical refinement of the "Runco Ideational Behavior Scale" (RIBS). The RIBS seems to be associated with divergent thinking, and the potential for creative thinking, but it was possible that its validity could be improved. With this in mind, three new scales were developed and the unique benefit (or…

The criterion-related validity of divergent thinking (DT) tests has been questioned because of relatively low correlations between DT test scores and creative performance. A possible inhibiting factor in previous correlations--heterogeneity of the sample--has been ignored. If groups with different DT profiles are involved in this line of research,…

This article presents the structure and the composition of a newly developed multifaceted test battery for the measurement of creativity within scientific and artistic domains. By integrating existing procedures for the evaluation of creativity, the new battery promises to become a comprehensive assessment of creativity, encompassing both…

Tests of divergent thinking represent the most commonly used assessment of creative potential. Typically they are scored for total ideational output (fluency), ideational originality, and, sometimes, ideational flexibility. That scoring system provides little information about the underlying process and about the associations among ideas. It also…

Divergent thinking (DT) tests are very often used in creativity studies. Certainly DT does not guarantee actual creative achievement, but tests of DT are reliable and reasonably valid predictors of certain performance criteria. The validity of DT is described as reasonable because validity is not an all-or-nothing attribute, but is, instead, a…

Ghassib (2010) presents a provocative view of science as industry. He ties science specifically to a "productivist" industrial model and to knowledge production. If judged based on what is explicit in this article, his theory is useful and logical. There are, however, several concerns as well. Some of these are implied by the title of his article,…

Background: A concern for scientific rigor has directed most recent research on creativity towards the study of unambiguous expressions of talent. This is problematic for educators and anyone else who is interested in children's creative potential. Focus of discussion: Creative potential should be the primary concern for educators. Theories of and…