The present article is concerned with certain conceptual issues embodied in the description and understanding of creative behavior. Initially, we argue that although creativity has been defined in many way, the ultimate concern in studies of creativity is the production of novel, socially valued products. Subsequently, we review the literature pertaining to the development of innovative occupational achievement. We suggest that the integration and reorganization of cognitive structures is likely to underlie major creative contributions and that the application of existing cognitive structures is likely to underlie minor contributions. We then extend this interpretation to the processes traditionally held to underlie individual differences in creativity and note that both the major and minor forms of creativity will require a number of different knowledges, skills, and abilities. Further, we suggest that the effective translation of ideas into action will depend on a variety of individual and situational attributes. On the basis of these observations, we concluded that enhanced understanding and prediction will require a more sophisticated multivariate approach.

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The present study addresses the question of whether it is possible to use a self-report measure of psychopathic traits on non-referred youth samples to identify a subgroup of problematic youths who are particularly problematic and different from other problem youths. A large sample of eighth-grade, non-referred adolescents, and their parents were assessed. Results showed that the adolescents exhibiting a low-socialized psychopathylike personality constellation had a more frequent, violent, and versatile conduct-problem profile than other low-socialized and well socialized adolescents. The psychopathy-like adolescents also differed from other poorly socialized adolescents in ways that suggested that their etiological background was different from adolescents with non-psychopathylike conduct problems. We conclude that self-report measures can indeed be useful for research purposes in subtyping youths with conduct problems.

These studies investigate a personality and behavior pattern called aberrant selfpromotion, conceptualized as a subclinical form ofpsychopathy. Aberrant self-promoters (ASPs) are theoretically defined as individuals characterized by a narcissistic personality configuration in combination with antisocial behavior. The first study verifies the existence of persons who manifest the A S P pattern. The second study validates the pattern, using as criteria the Revised Psychopathy Checklist (PCL-R) interview and record of antisocial behavior. In the first study a 179-item questionnaire, composed offive personality instruments, was administered to two separate samples of normal subjects (N=214 and 367). ASPs were targeted by three methoh: cluster analysis, item factor analysis, andperson factor analysis. In Sample 1 the three method demonstrated a convergence of 92 per cent in identifying the same individuals as ASPs; in Sample 2 the convergence rate was 94 per cent. In the second study 32 ASPs targeted in Study I were compared to 30 non-ASPS. The ASPs had significantly higher scores on the PCL-R and had committed significantly more antisocial acts than the non-ASPS. The general discussion focuses on the practical, theoretical, and measurement implications of considering aberrant self-promotion a distinct psychological motif.

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