Prediction of artistic performance from biographical data.

Abstract

A biographical inventory was constructed and administered to 312 nonart students and 501 art students in the areas of music, dance, theater, and the visual arts. The biographical inventory had significant average cross-validities against an art versus nonart criterion (.67, p < .01) and multiple art criteria (art sample only) both within and across artistic areas. A tentative conclusion was that prediction of art versus nonart potential and prediction of actual performance in the arts require different scoring procedures for the biographical inventory.Relatively little research has been conducted on the prediction of different criteria of performance in the arts (Anastasi, 1961). For those studies that have been conducted, however, results have been promising (Anastasi & Schaefer, 1969;Burkhart, 1962). Schaefer and Anastasi (1968), for example, demonstrated that biographical information could predict a "creative artistic" versus a "control artistic" dichotomous criterion for adolescent boys. No studies were found on the prediction of several different criteria common to different art areas.The present study examines the concurrent cross-validities of a biographical inventory developed to predict an art versus nonart dichotomous criterion as well as several different performance criteria for art students in four art areas (music, dance, theater, and the visual arts). It was assumed that two different biographical inventory scoring procedures would be required, one for differentiating between art and nonart potential and one for predicting actual performance in the arts. This assumption was tested by comparing the cross-validities against art performance criteria for both of the above scoring procedures. METHOD SamplesThe biographical inventory was administered to 335 art students and 363 nonart students. Return

Creativity, Intelligence, and Personality

“…These and similar inventories have been used in studies of artistic, scientifi c, and entrepreneurial creative achievement. Groups have included elementary school children (Ellison et al 1976); high school students (Schaefer & Anastasi 1968;Anastasi & Schaefer 1969;Schaefer 1969a;Walberg 1969a;Schaefer 1972b;Torrance, Bruch & Morse 1973;James et al 1974;Payne & Halpin 1974;Ellison et al 1976); professionals in engineering and scientifi c creativity (Buel 1965;McDermid 1965;Buel, Albright & Glennon 1966;Taylor & Ellison 1967;Tucker, Cline & Schmitt 1967;Owens 1969;Ellison, James & Carron 1970;Albaum 1976); and business managers (Barron 1969). Cross-validated cor relations have typically ranged fr om the .30s to the high .50s with empiri cally keyed creativity scales developed from these inventories.…”