Donald J. Treffinger

Role of memory in divergent thinking.

Tests involving word span, memory for verbal details, memory for visual details, and the Minnesota Tests of Creative Thinking (MTCT) were administered to 63 Ss in grades 4, 5, and 6. IQs were obtained from school records. Only 1 of 8 correlations between IQ and divergent thinking (DT) scores was significant, but 11 of 48 correlations between memory and DT were significant. In stepwise multiple correlation of the memory scores on each DT score, 17 of 19 predictor variables in reduced sets were memory scores. Canonical correlation of the memory and the DT scores yielded an R of .61. Results were interpreted to support the hypothesis that certain memory abilities may play important roles in DT.

Evaluation of Components of the Purdue Creative Thinking Program: A Longitudinal study.

This study investigated whether effects of the Purdue Creative Thinking Program (PCTP) were persistent over time. Students were pretested and then instructed for 14 wk. with one of the three PCTP components or a combination. Seven months later, divergent thinking measures were administered to 456 fourth, fifth and sixth grade pupils. For most treatments, no group was significantly better than controls across the outcome variables on the longitudinal tests. However, in the fourth grade, two instructional components were still effective. Thus short-term training (14 wk.) may not produce long-term changes in divergent thinking abilities.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACADEMIC GRADES AND DIVERGENT THINKING SCORES DERIVED FROM FOUR DIFFERENT METHODS OF TESTING

This research was concerned with the question: How do the simple, multiple, and canonical correlations between creativity scores and school achievement differ among four methods of creativity testing? Pupils (N= 356) in grades 5, 8, and 11 took the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). IQ and standardized achievement test scores were secured from school files. The four methods of testing included 1. the standard directions, 2. testing four days after incubation was induced, 3. take-home testing, and 4. testing under game-like conditions. Substantial correlations between creativity and achievement and differences among the four methods of testing were found.