Socio‐Economic Status and Creativity: A Meta‐Analysis

Abstract

In the present study, we examined the relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and creativity through a meta-analysis of 885 effect sizes from 151 samples in 117 studies. Analyses of a multivariate model with a robust variance estimator showed a small positive correlation between creativity and SES (r = .120, 95% CI [0.086, 0.154]). Further analyses with four groups of moderators (i.e., creativity measure, SES indicator, sample characteristics, and study characteristics) indicated that the mean effect size is significantly higher when the creativity index is flexibility rather than fluency or when SES is measured by parental or one's own level of education and parental occupation rather than the location of residency. In addition, the relationship between creativity and SES dissipated as the students progressed from elementary school through college. The potential role of schooling in the creativity-SES link is discussed.

Creativity in Older Adults: Elucidating the Interactions between Cognitive Functions Underlying Creativity and the Role of Demographic Variables

“…Higher levels of both education and SES corresponded with better task performance. These findings corroborate consistent reports of a positive association between creative performance and both levels of education and SES in younger participants (Acar et al., 2022; Castillo‐Vergara et al., 2018; Dai et al., 2012; Niu, 2007; W. Zhang & Niu, 2013). Education and higher SES provide exposure to information, knowledge and general experiences, thereby increasing learning and cognitive flexibility and providing a better context for problem‐solving and reasoning (Hackman et al., 2010).…”

“…Higher levels of both education and SES corresponded with better task performance. These findings corroborate consistent reports of a positive association between creative performance and both levels of education and SES in younger participants (Acar et al, 2022;Castillo-Vergara et al, 2018;Dai et al, 2012;Niu, 2007;W. Zhang & Niu, 2013).…”

“…Correspondingly, recent meta‐analytic findings reported a significant positive correlation between creativity and SES and identified several moderators of this relationship. Specifically, the mean effect size was significantly higher when SES was assessed in terms of one's own level of educational and parental occupation or when flexibility was the index of creativity rather than fluency (Acar, Tadik, Uysal, Myers, & Inetas, 2022). A candidate mechanism for these effects is cognitive stimulation and enrichment offered by particular environments (Hackman, Farah, & Meaney, 2010).…”

Measuring original thinking in elementary school: Development and validation of a computational psychometric approach.

“…To sum up, technology can both enhance scoring efficiency and create a conducive testing environment for creative expression by improving the testing experience. Development of creative and original thinking is rather dynamic and influenced by maturation and individual and contextual factors (Acar, Berthiaume, et al, 2023;Acar, Tadik, et al, 2023;Kupers et al, 2019). Creativity of a third grader should not be compared with that of a fifth grader as cognitive development, vocabulary size, and amount of socialization impact performance on these tests (Reese et al, 2001;Said-Metwaly et al, 2021).…”

“…Importantly, automated originality scoring methods have not yet been applicable to various kinds of cognitive performance (e.g., DT) tasks. Until recently, automated scoring methods primarily focused on alternate uses tests (Beaty & Johnson, 2021; Dumas et al, 2021), with limited success in extending them to other tasks like instances (Hass, 2017a), or partial success in some cases (Acar, Berthiaume, et al, 2023; Acar, Tadik, et al, 2023). Restricting creativity assessment to a single task for easier scoring would limit the assessment’s scope and compromise validity.…”