Are There Sex Differences in Creativity across the Adult Life Span?

Alpaugh, Patricia K.; Birren, James E.

doi:10.1159/000271506

Cited by 14 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Our general finding of equivalence in originality for younger and older adults differs from previous cognitive studies of creativity, which typically found agerelated declines in creativity (Alpaugh & Birren, 1977;Alpaugh, Parham, Cole, & Birren, 1982;Guilford, 1967;Jaquish & Ripple, 1981;McCrae, Arenberg, & Costa, 1987;Ruth & Birren, 1985; for a review, see Denney, 1990). We believe that the differences stem from two sources.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 98%

Age‐related Changes in Creative Thinking

Roskos–Ewoldsen¹,

Black²,

Mccown³

2008

Journal of Creative Behavior

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Age-related differences in cognitive processes were used to understand agerelated declines in creativity. According to the Geneplore model (Finke, Ward, & Smith, 1992), there are two phases of creativity -generating an idea and exploring the implications of the idea -each with different underlying cognitive processes. These two phases are measured in the Creative Invention Task (CIT; Finke, 1990). Younger adults (n = 41) and older adults (n = 41) completed the CIT, the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), and a measure of working memory capacity (Paper Folding test). In addition, the CIT was scored by both younger and older adults. There were age-related declines on both phases of the CIT, but not on the TTCT. These declines were noted by both the younger and older raters. After adjusting for working memory capacity, however, age-related differences on the CIT were nonsignificant.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 98%

Age‐related Changes in Creative Thinking

Roskos–Ewoldsen¹,

Black²,

Mccown³

2008

Journal of Creative Behavior

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“…Evidence for sex differences in creativity is, however, more allusive, but that may be a methodological artifact. Research on sex differences in creativity often operationalizes creativity in terms of mental flexibility, fluency, and originality (Ai, 1999; Alpaugh & Birren, 1975; Baer & Kaufman, 2008; Kogan, 1974; Matud, Rodríguez, & Grande, 2007). In contrast, measures of creative achievement (something closer to what we have measured in this study) appear to reveal some sex differences (Abra & Valentine-French, 1991).…”

Section: Individual Differences In Creativitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-reported creative ability and the Dark Triad traits: An exploratory study.

Jonason¹,

Richardson²,

Potter³

2015

Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts

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Attention has recently been drawn to the dark side of creativity. We provided an exploratory study (N ϭ 226) of how the Dark Triad traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) correlated with two measures of creativity (i.e., Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale and Creative Achievement Questionnaire). Those high in narcissism reported being more creative than most people, an association that may reflect narcissistic self-delusions of popularity and charm. We found self-reported success in humor was correlated with narcissism and psychopathy scores. Those high in psychopathy also reported better mechanical and lower scholarly skills than most, which may relate to their vocational interest in practical/realistic work. Machiavellianism accounted for little variance in creativity. Individual differences in the Dark Triad traits mediated sex differences in various aspects of creativity, suggesting sex differences in some aspects of creativity may be partially confounded by sex differences in the Dark Triad traits.

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“…Originality and creativity are all too rare, and I know of no evidence that these traits are more frequent in one sex [13]. As we busily compare candidates, adding up their papers and calculating impact factors, do we remember to look for these qualities?…”

Section: Job Searches In Academiamentioning

confidence: 99%