Commentary on creativity and curiosity.

The target article covers a large amount of ground and offers a provocative perspective. This commentary focuses on (a) assumptions, namely that there are discrete stages in the creative process and that novelty and usefulness are inextricable, (b) hidden variables in the creativity-curiosity relationship, and (c) the difference between an explanation of creativity versus a description of influence on it.

Creative activity and accomplishment as indicators of polymathy among gifted and nongifted students.

This study examined domain specificity among 306 high-school students using the Creative Activity and Accomplishment Checklist (CAAC). The CAAC provides both the quantity of activity and quality of accomplishment scores, allowing an empirical test of possible polymathy among students, some of whom were gifted. Polymathy occurs when an individual performs creatively in more than one domain. This investigation's two objectives were to replicate domain specificity studies with the newest version of the CAAC, which included new domains (i.e., technological and everyday creativity) and quality and quantity scores, and to use it to test for polymathy among students. Previous work with adults suggested that polymaths are creative in multiple domains. They often invest in creative avocations that support their professional creativity. Some evidence of polymathy was uncovered; however, it was not common in this sample. Support for domain specificity was reasonably clear in the present results, yet it was not all-or-nothing but rather a matter of degree. Domains overlapped to varying amount. The amount of overlap varied with the level of talent and from domain to domain. The clearest support for polymathy came from regression analyses which revealed a significant relationship between the quantity of activity in some domains and the quality of creative accomplishment in others. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Clustering and switching in divergent thinking: Neurophysiological correlates underlying flexibility during idea generation.

EEG alpha synchronization, especially in posterior parietal cortical regions of the right hemisphere, is indicative of high internal processing demands that are typically involved in divergent thinking (DT). During the course of DT, as ideation proceeds, ideas tend to become more creative, being more likely to be drawn from new conceptual categories through the use of the cognitive mechanism of flexibility. The present study investigated whether EEG alpha synchronization can be modulated by flexibility in DT by comparing cortical activation patterns during the switch of category (switching) and the stay in the same category (clustering). Twenty participants were required to generate alternative uses of everyday objects during EEG recording. Differential results were specifically found in the lower alpha band (8-10 Hz): whereas clustering showed synchronization typically lateralized in the right posterior parietal areas, switching induced posterior parietal synchronization over both right and left hemispheres. These findings indicate that the two distinct cognitive mechanisms subsuming flexibility (switching and clustering) are associated with a different hemispheric modulation of lower alpha activity, as switching, in comparison to clustering, is related to higher power in the lower alpha band over the left hemisphere. Switching in comparison to clustering may thus require a larger investment of cognitive resources due to the exploratory process of moving from one semantic conceptual category to another in the course of creative ideation.

Approach motivational orientation enhances malevolent creativity.

Three studies were conducted to investigate the relationship between motivation and malevolent creativity (MC). In Study 1, participants completed motivation scales and a measure of MC in online formats. Results showed that approach motivation accurately predicted MC, whereas avoidance motivation was negatively related to MC. In Study 2, participants solved MC problems in either approach or avoidance motivation conditions. Analyses revealed higher MC in the approach than in the avoidance motivation condition. In Study 3, participants were further asked to solve MC problems in one of the following conditions: approach-success/approach-failure/avoidance-success/avoidance-failure. The beneficial effects of approach motivation over avoidance motivation were again observed. Moreover, the experience of 'no closure' (failure in doing something) enhanced individual MC performance and counteracted the negative impact of avoidance motivation on MC. These findings indicate that individual MC performance might be enhanced by approach motivation and the experience of 'no closure'.

Break the "wall" and become creative: Enacting embodied metaphors in virtual reality.

This study investigated whether the experience of "breaking the walls", the embodiment of the metaphor "breaking the rules", could enhance creative performance. The virtual reality technology was used to simulate the scenario where participants could "break the walls" while walking in a corridor. Participants were asked to solve the creativity-demanding problems (ie., alternative uses tasks, AUT) in either the "break" condition in which they had to break the walls to move forward in VR, or the "no-break" condition where no barrier walls would appear. Results showed higher AUT originality and AUT fluency in the "break" condition than in the "no-break" condition. Moreover, the effects of "breaking the walls" on AUT originality were fully mediated by cognitive flexibility and persistence. These findings may indicate that enacting metaphors such as "breaking the rules" contribute to creative performance. The enhanced cognitive flexibility and persistence may account for the benefits.

Enhancing creativity: Proper body posture meets proper emotion.

This study tested whether compatibility or incompatibility between body posture and emotion was beneficial for creativity. In Study 1, participants were asked to solve the Alternative Uses Task (AUT) problems when performing open or closed body posture in positive or negative emotional state respectively. The results showed that originality of AUT performance was higher in the compatible conditions (i.e., open-positive and closed-negative) than in the incompatible conditions (i.e., closed-positive and open-negative). In Study 2, the compatibility effect was replicated in both the AUT and the Realistic Presented Problem test (i.e., RPP). Moreover, it was revealed that participants exhibited the highest associative flexibility in the open-positive condition, and the highest persistence in the closed-negative condition. These findings indicate that compatibility between body posture and emotion is beneficial for creativity. This may be because when the implicit emotions elicited by body posture match explicit emotions, the effects of emotions on creativity are enhanced, therefore promoting creativity through the flexibility or the persistence pathway respectively.

General and Domain-Specific Contributions to Creative Ideation and Creative Performance.

The general objective of this study was to reexamine two views of creativity, one positing that there is a general creative capacity or talent and the other that creativity is domain-specific. These two views were compared by (a) testing correlations among measures of domain-general and domain-specific creativity and (b) examining how the general and the specific measures was each related to indices of knowledge, motivation, and personality. Participants were 147 college students enrolled in a foreign language course. Data were collected on participants' domain knowledge, motivation, and creative personality, as well as four measures representing "General or Domain-Specific Creative Ideation" or "Creative Performance and Activity". Results indicated that the four measures of creativity were correlated with one another, except for "General Performance and Activity" and "Domain-Specific Ideation." A canonical correlation indicated that knowledge, motivation, and personality were significantly correlated with the four creativity measures (Rc = .49, p < .01). Multiple regressions uncovered particular relationships consistent with the view that creativity has both general and domain-specific contributions. Limitations, such as the focus on one domain, and future directions are discussed.

Scoring Divergent Thinking Tests by Computer With a Semantics-Based Algorithm.

Divergent thinking (DT) tests are useful for the assessment of creative potentials. This article reports the semantics-based algorithmic (SBA) method for assessing DT. This algorithm is fully automated: Examinees receive DT questions on a computer or mobile device and their ideas are immediately compared with norms and semantic networks. This investigation compared the scores generated by the SBA method with the traditional methods of scoring DT (i.e., fluency, originality, and flexibility). Data were collected from 250 examinees using the "Many Uses Test" of DT. The most important finding involved the flexibility scores from both scoring methods. This was critical because semantic networks are based on conceptual structures, and thus a high SBA score should be highly correlated with the traditional flexibility score from DT tests. Results confirmed this correlation (r = .74). This supports the use of algorithmic scoring of DT. The nearly-immediate computation time required by SBA method may make it the method of choice, especially when it comes to moderate- and large-scale DT assessment investigations. Correlations between SBA scores and GPA were insignificant, providing evidence of the discriminant and construct validity of SBA scores. Limitations of the present study and directions for future research are offered.

A New Tool to Measure Malevolent Creativity: The Malevolent Creativity Behavior Scale.

The present study developed the malevolent creativity behavior scale (MCBS), which contains 13 items and was designed to measure individuals' malevolent creativity through the behavior of daily lives. A total of 958 participants from different regions of China completed the MCBS in an online fashion. Cronbach's α coefficient, using the 908 MCBSs with entirely complete data, indicated that the MCBS had satisfactory reliability. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed that the MCBS had 3 dimensions: hurting people, lying, and playing tricks. MCBS scores were positively correlated with individuals' aggression, openness, extraversion, and scores on the Runco Ideational Behavior Scale (RIBS). MCBS scores also predicted individuals' malevolent creativity performances when solving realistic, open-ended problems. The MCBS has a simple response medium and scoring procedure. This, along with the adequate psychometric properties uncovered here, indicates that it is a useful tool for research on malevolent creativity. Given that the MCBS contains a relatively small number of categories and items, further research could expand the categories of items and develop and test more items. Moreover, it would be useful to test MCBS's reliability and validity with other criteria. Perhaps future research could obtain actual MC data from criminal or other unambiguously malevolent samples.

Commentary: Overview of Developmental Perspectives on Creativity and the Realization of Potential.

The articles in this issue of New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development nicely summarize recent findings about creativity and development. This commentary underscores some of the key ideas and puts them into a larger context (i.e., the corpus of creativity research). It pinpoints areas of agreement (e.g., the need to take both generative and convergent processes into account when examining developmental changes in creative behavior) but balances this with a discussion of concerns. These include (a) problems with the concept of Big C creativity, as it may confound the realization of creative potential, (b) lack of attention given to cultural relativity, and (c) inappropriate testing of divergent thinking. Still, the progress in the research is clear and the fulfillment of creative potentials increasingly likely.

Interaction effect of response medium and working memory capacity on creative idea generation.

This study aimed to examine the interaction effect of response medium (i.e., write down ideas and orally report ideas) and working memory capacity (WMC) on creative idea generation. Participants (N = 90) with higher or lower WMC were asked to solve Alternative Uses Task (AUT) problems in the condition of writing down or speaking out ideas. The results showed that fluency of AUT performance was higher in the writing than in the speaking condition. Additionally, participants with higher WMC performed better on AUT fluency than those with lower WMC in the writing condition, while they showed no difference in the speaking condition. Moreover, level of cognitive demand fully mediated the effect of response medium on AUT fluency. Theoretically, these findings indicated the importance of WMC in creative idea generation, which supported the controlled-attention theory of creativity. Practical implications and future directions were discussed.

More mind wandering, fewer original ideas: be not distracted during creative idea generation.

Several studies suggest that mind wandering (MW) benefits creativity when the MW occurs in the incubation period of creative problem solving. The aim of present study was to examine the effects of MW that occurs in the course of creative idea generation. Participants received an Alternative Uses Task (AUT) and were asked to generate ideas for 20min. Their MW frequencies as time passed were measured by means of probe-caught MW. Comparisons of the AUT performances of high and low MW groups revealed that greater MW was associated with lower fluency and originality scores on the AUT. Furthermore, the high MW group showed greater MW as time passed, while the low MW group's MW was steady during the course of idea generation. Accordingly, the originality of idea generation decreased with time passing for the high MW group but was steady for the low MW group. The findings suggest that the MW during the course of creative idea generation is negatively related to creativity, perhaps because the control processes involved in idea generation are impaired by the mind wandering.

Simplifying Theories of Creativity and Revisiting the Criterion Problem: A Comment on Simonton's (2009) Hierarchical Model of Domain-Specific Disposition, Development, and Achievement.

Simonton's (2009, this issue) hierarchical model represents a useful contribution to studies of creativity and eminence. Simonton breaks all kinds of new ground by extrapolating the hierarchy to the arts and humanities, interpolating it within disciplines, and relating it to family background and disposition. This commentary poses a few questions about the hierarchical model and proposes an alternative. I also introduce a candidate for a simple theory of creativity that focuses on a universally shared capacity. This simple theory complements Simonton's hierarchical view, though his applies best to actual performance and the simple theory of creativity applies to creative potential.

Creativity.

Creativity has clear benefits for individuals and society as a whole. Not surprisingly, a great deal of research has focused on creativity, especially in the past 20 years. This chapter reviews the creativity research, first looking to the relevant traits, capacities, influences, and products, and then within disciplinary perspectives on creativity (e.g., biological, cognitive, developmental, organizational). Great headway is being made in creativity research, but more dialogue between perspectives is suggested. New and important areas of research are highlighted, and the various costs and benefits of creativity are discussed.