Todd Lubart

Children's Original Thinking: An Empirical Examination of Alternative Measures Derived From Divergent Thinking Tasks

Abstract Childrens creative potential is often assessed using cognitive tests that require divergent thinking, such as the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT; E. P. Torrance, 1974, 1976, 1990). In this study the authors investigated the effect of various scoring systems on the originality index, evaluating the high intercorrelation of fluency and originality measures found in the TTCT scoring system and the applicability of TTCT scoring norms over time and across age groups. In 3 studies, the originality of elementary school children was measured using TTCT norms and various sample-specific scoring methods with the TTCT Unusual Uses of a Box test as well as social-problem-solving tasks. Results revealed an effect of scoring technique on creativity indices as well as on the reliability of originality scores and the relationship between originality and other ability measures. The usefulness of the various measures for understanding childrens original thinking are discussed.

Social creativity: A cross-sectional study of 6- to 11-year-old children:

We assessed children’s social creativity through interviews during which participants imagined original solutions to interpersonal problems. In addition, we compared performances in the social domain with those obtained in object-oriented problem-solving tasks such as the Unusual Uses of a Box creativity test designed by Torrance (1974) and the Similarities subtest of the WISC (1996). A total of 88 French children participated in this study. First, we observed links between social creativity tasks as well as consistent developmental trends showing that social creativity can be considered as a unitary construct. Second, with regard to the integration or differentiation of creative abilities in children’s development, results showed a distinct creative ability in the social domain for younger children and the emergence of a more general creative ability in older children. Third, the relationship between fluency and originality indices was stable across age groups and task domains, supporting Simonton’s constant-probability-of-success model (1990) for children. Implications for the study of creative abilities in the social domain and for understanding how children interact with others in various social settings are discussed.

The International Handbook of Creativity: Past, Present, and Future Perspectives on Creativity in France and French-Speaking Switzerland

A summary of past and present research on creativity in France and Romande (French-speaking) Switzerland is proposed in this chapter. This task is difficult, however, because of the cultural diversity of France and Romande Switzerland. Historically, this region has long been a European crossroad for ideas and scientific knowledge. In the field of psychology, only a quick glance at its development reveals the depth and breadth of other cultures’ influence, such as the nineteenth-century British empiricist and German experimental approaches, as well as positions of major psychologists such as Freud or James on the nature of the mind. We thus seek to isolate the specific contributions of researchers in France and Romande Switzerland in the understanding of creativity. We primarily organize our review in a chronological fashion. In the first part, we discuss the writings of early thinkers and researchers, followed by theories exposed at the turn of the nineteenth-century, together with an examination of early empirical contributions. Then, between the two world wars, it seems that studying creativity became less of an issue for psychologists in France and Romande Switzerland, as the field concentrated on more graspable constructs. In the meantime, however, local experiments in the field of education led to the development of various tools and teaching methods that promoted creativity in children. After the Second World War, interest in creativity gained some momentum in France and Romande Switzerland as in many other geographical areas. This was partially due to the diffusion of a series of empirical studies, creativity techniques, and therapies using creativity as medium, many of them inspired by U.S.-based contributions. This second fruitful period

Traits émotionnels, intelligence émotionnelle : intérêt de ces concepts et étude de leurs interrelations

RésuméLes travaux de la décennte passée sur des traits de personnalité indiquent qu’il existe une série de traits émotionnels sur lesquels les individus diffèrent. Par ailleurs, d’autres recherches ont montré l’existence d’aptitudes spécifiques au traitement des émotions et de l’information émotionnelle, regroupés sous le concept d’intelligence émotionnelle. Cent adultes agés de 20 à 50 ans ont fait la passation des adaptations françaises des mesures de traits émotionnels et d’intelligence émotionnelle. Notre étude montre la fiabilité et le pouvoir discriminant de l’adaptation de ces mesures ainsi que l’existence d’interrelations entre ces caractéristiques émotionnelles stables. Une analyse factorielle en composante principale avec rotation varimax met en valeur l’existence de cinq facteurs que nous identifions comme les dimensions Clairvoyance. Richesse émotionnelle. Identification, Compréhension et Maîtrise des émotions. Les profils émotionnels moyens construits à partir de ces cinq facteurs diffèrent en fonction du sexe et de l’âge. Nous observons notamment une plus grande richesse émotionnelle chez les femmes et chez les personnes les plus âgés de notre échantillon L’étude de ces facteurs permettra de mieux comprendre les relations entre ces aspects émotionnels et les performances cognitives ainsi que leurs implications dans des syndromes cliniques.AbstractStudies on personality traits conducted during the past decade indicate that there is a set of emotion-related traits on which individuals differ. Moreover, other studies showed that there are some abilities related to the processing of both emotions and emotional information, referred to as the concept of emotional intelligence. The authors of the article evaluated one hundred adults (ranging in age from 20–50) using the French version of a series of scales to measure stable emotionrelated traits and emotional intelligence. The results showed that these instruments provide accurate internal consistency and reliability, and that there are significant relationships between the individual emotional characteristics observed. A factorial analysis conducted with varimax rotation underlined five primary factors identified as: Clear-sightedness of emotions, Emotional richness, Identification, Understanding and Emotional control. The average emotional profiles based on these five primary factors depend on gender and age. In particular, the female and the oldest participants showed a greater emotional richness. The examination of these five factors should lead to a better understanding of the relationships which exist between these emotional characteristics and cognitive performances, and their involvement in clinical syndromes.

Why does self-experimentation lead to creative ideas?

According to a multivariate approach on creativity, self-experimentation may well provide many of the conditions that allow for new ideas to occur. This research method is valuable in particular because the researchers high level of participation in the search for a solution fosters the involvement of the necessary cognitive skills and conative traits.

Courtship behavior: "The Out-of-my-league effect"

When taking into account the chances of success, strategic mating motivations do imply a bias not toward the most attractive individuals, but toward average or mildly attractive individuals, undermining the explanation of Maestripieri et al. at a fundamental level. This leaves open the possibility of alternative explanations and calls for a full-fledged explicit model of courtship behavior.