A Life-Span Developmental Cross-Cultural Study of Divergent Thinking Abilities

Abstract

Developmental aspects of ideational fluency, flexibility, and originality were assessed across five age groups (children, adolescents, young adults, adults, middle-aged adults) comparatively in two cultures (Chinese and American). A total of 316 Chinese participants ranging in age from nine to sixty years responded in writing (Cantonese) to presentation of four groups of acoustical stimuli. Responses were scored for fluency, flexibility, and originality of thought. Comparative American data were collected in a previous study. Significant age associated differences in fluency and flexibility were obtained for Chinese respondents. A cross-cultural MANOVA yielded significant main effects for culture; American scores were uniformly higher than Chinese. Developmental trends across age groups demonstrated cross-cultural similarity in the expression of originality.

Between Individualism and Collectivism: Perception and Profiles of Creativity in Poland and Japan

“…In turn, the higher level of independence, which is characteristic of individualist groups (Nemeth, 1985) may enhance the level of creativity of their members (Goncalo & Staw, 2006). Younger representatives of Western countries, perform better at creativity tests than their peers from Eastern societies (Jaquish & Ripple, 1984;Jellen & Urban, 1989), unless only figural tests are used. In this case, the collectivist participants (Chinese) obtain better results than individualistic participants (Americans).…”

Deductive Reasoning and Creativity: A Cross-Cultural Study

“…However, research on cultural comparison of creativity seems to present conflicting results (for a review, see Niu & Sternberg, 2002). While some do show an underdevelopment in creativity among Asian participants compared with their American counterparts (e.g., Jaquish & Ripple, 1985;Jellen & Klaus, 1989;Niu & Sternberg, 2001;Chen, Kasof, Himsel, Greenberger, Dong, & Xue, 2002), others show the opposite results (e.g., Pornrungroj, 1992;Rudowicz, et al, 1995).…”

Chinese students’ perceptions of their creativity and their perceptions of Western students’ creativity

“…Cross-cultural study of creativity helps achieve awareness of the characteristics of the cultures studied (Hall, 1981). Some studies have discovered relevant differences and similarities between cultures (Jaquish & Ripple, 1985;Niu & Sternberg, 2003;Yue et al, 2011). Jaquish and Ripple (1985) conducted a comparative study between Americans and Chinese to assess developmental aspects of ideational fluency, flexibility, and originality.…”