Assessing everyday creativity: Characteristics of the Lifetime Creativity Scales and validation with three large samples.

Abstract

A new research tool, the Lifetime Creativity Scales (LCS), is presented, along with validation evidence based on three personally interviewed, independent samples totalling 541 subjects. The LCS provide broad-based assessment of original activity at work and leisure, without the requirement that activities be socially recognized or limited to particular fields of endeavor. The LCS therefore allow study of everyday creativity in unselected populations, and they open up new research possibilities. The scales show high intcrraler reliability and multiple indications of construct validity. Findings with the validation samples raise interesting questions, including the relationship between vocational and avocational creativity.The Lifetime Creativity Scales (LCS) go beyond previous measures of creativity to assess creative accomplishment in diverse or unselected groups of people. A focus on real-life activity avoids the pitfalls of artificial measurement situations designed to elicit "creative" behaviors (e.g., Hocevar, 1981). Creativity is identified by two widely employed criteria (after Barren. 1969): (a) originality-new or unusual elements must be involved, and (b) adaptation to reality-outcomes must be meaningful to others rather than random or idiosyncratic. Creativity so defined may be identified in virtually any field of activity. Assessment need not be restricted-as it often is-to traditionally creative areas of endeavor (e.g., the arts and sciences) or to accomplishments that are socially recognized.The LCS involve two types of variables pertaining, respectively, to quality and quantity of creativity: measures of "peak creativity" and "extent of involvement in creative activity."A preliminary report on the Lifetime Creativity Scales was presented at the 138th annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association,

Creativity is linked to ambition across the bipolar spectrum

“…Biographical studies suggest that bipolar disorder (BD) is over-represented among artistic populations (Andreasen, 1987;Jamison, 1993), and quantitative studies (Richards et al, 1988) and epidemiological studies (Kyaga et al, 2011;Tremblay et al, 2010) support the idea that those with BD and their family members are over-represented among artistic populations. We have argued that evidence linking BD with creativity has potential to decrease the stigma that is currently so destructive for those living with the condition (Johnson et al, 2012).…”

Measuring and Training Creativity Competencies: Validation of a New Test

“…Many creativity-related tests have been developed over the years, including personality tests that contain various sorts of creativeness scales (e.g., Costa & McCrae, 1980;Khatena & Torrance, 1976;Myers & McCaulley, 1985;Taylor & Fish, 1979), tests that measure the different styles with which people express creativity (e.g., Basadur, Wakabayashi, & Graen, 1990;Kirton, 1976;Kumar, Kemmler, & Holman, 1997), tests that measure divergent thinking, (e.g., Auzmendi, Villa, & Abedi, 1996;Guilford, 1968;Meeker & Meeker, 2000;Runco, 1994;Torrance, 1998), tests that measure how suitable various environments are for creative expression (e.g., Amabile & Gryskiewicz, 1989;Walberg & Anderson, 1968), tests that measure creative achievement (e.g., Ludwig, 1992;Richards, Kinney, Benet, & Merzel, 1988), and so on.…”

The road to creative achievement: A latent variable model of ability and personality predictors

“…'drew picture/cartoon' or 'designed costume/textile') and assess the number of activities performed within a given period. Everyday creativity, assessed by means of biographical measures, was found to be normally distributed just like creative potential (Richards et al, 1988). Thus, an important implication of this concept is that everyone can be involved in creative activities to a varying extent, or a varying degree of absorption.…”