Does Studying the Arts Engender Creative Thinking? Evidence for Near but Not Far Transfer

A Synthetic Analysis of the Effectiveness of Single Components and Packages in Creativity Training Programs

“…He also obtained a nonsignificant correlation (r = .06) between the length of treatment and the magnitude of effect size. Miga, Burger, Hetland, and Winner (2000) quantitatively synthesized eight studies to determine the strength of association between studying the arts and creative thinking. Their first meta-analysis based on correlation studies demonstrated a modest correlation (mean effect size: r = .27, p < .05).…”

Integrating Art and Science in Undergraduate Education

“…At present, support for the educational benefits of art-science partnerships is anecdotal. There have been surprisingly few attempts to test the widely held assumption that studying the arts makes one more creative in general [12]. And while the visual arts can develop students' creativity, objectivity, perseverance, spatial reasoning, and observational acuity—all key skills in science—it is not clear whether skills developed through artistic pursuits can transfer to other fields [12]–[14].…”

“…There have been surprisingly few attempts to test the widely held assumption that studying the arts makes one more creative in general [12]. And while the visual arts can develop students' creativity, objectivity, perseverance, spatial reasoning, and observational acuity—all key skills in science—it is not clear whether skills developed through artistic pursuits can transfer to other fields [12]–[14]. Nevertheless, there are compelling reports of collaborations at the K–12 and professional levels that have enriched not just audiences but also the scientists and artists at the center of the work [15],[16].…”

The role of arts-related information and communication technology use in problem solving and achievement: Findings from the programme for international student assessment.

“…More recently. Moga, Burger, Hetland, and Winner (2000) similarly argued that, rather than developing problem-solving skill, arts activities may chieñy foster problem-finding skill. Taken together, these findings show the relevance of arts activities to problem-solving capacity.…”