Cultural Dependence of Creativity: Myth or Reality?
Subject Areas : Creativity and innovation from psychological, epistemological, educational and pedagogical
Saeed Akbari-Zardkhaneh
1
*
,
AmirHossein Daneshmand Kafteroudi
2
,
جلیل فتح آبادی
3
1 - 1. Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Psychology, psychology and Educational Science Faculty, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
2 - 2. MA student, Educational Psychology, psychology and Educational Science Faculty, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
3 - دانشگاه شهید بهشتی
Keywords: Creativity, Cross-Cultural Assessment, Cultural Influence, Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT),
Abstract :
Objective: This study aimed to develop a culturally adapted "Zero Originality List" (ZOL) for the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking-Figural (TTCT-Figural) and to examine its consistency with the 2017 standardized ZOL in an Iranian employee sample. It also investigated the cultural impact on originality scores and the appropriateness of standardized lists for cross-cultural assessments.
Method: The research was fundamental in purpose, descriptive-survey in data collection, and exploratory mixed-method in design. The sample consisted of 241 industrial employees (14% women) selected using simple random sampling. The responses from TTCT-Figural (Forms A and B) were coded and categorized through thematic analysis.
Results: A total of 111 unique response categories were identified. Comparisons revealed that originality scores derived from the culturally adapted ZOL were significantly higher for total originality (Form A: d = 0.24; Form B: d = 0.12) and Activity 3 (Form A: d = 0.55; Form B: d = 0.55). Conversely, the standardized ZOL produced higher scores for Activity 2 (Form A: d = -0.24; Form B: d = -0.82). Activity 1 exhibited inconsistencies between the two lists, with correlations showing low alignment (Form A: r = -0.32; Form B: r = 0.13). Overall, the standardized ZOL tended to underestimate originality scores.
Conclusion: The findings suggest that standardized ZOLs may not be fully applicable for evaluating creativity in Iranian samples and could lead to artificially lower originality scores. Developing culturally specific ZOLs that consider local cultural and social contexts is essential for ensuring fair and accurate assessment of creativity.
بازرگان هرندی، عباس (1400). مقدمهای بر روشهای تحقیق کیفی و آمیخته؛ رویکردهای متداول در علوم رفتاری. ویرایش پنجم. تهران: کتاب دیدآور، 163.
توانا، زهرا و اکبری زردخانه، سعید (1401). سنجش خلاقیت نوجوانان: انطباق نمرهگذاری نسخه فارسی آزمون تفکر خلاق تورنس. پایاننامه کارشناسی ارشد روانشناسی تربیتی. دانشگاه شهید بهشتی.
دانشمند کفترودی، امیرحسین؛ اکبری زردخانه، سعید و فتح¬آبادی، جلیل (1403). استانداردسازی اولیه آزمون تصويري تفکر خلاق تورنس برای جوانان ایرانی. پایاننامه کارشناسی ارشد روانشناسی تربیتی. دانشگاه شهید بهشتی.
سرمد، زهره؛ بازرگان، عباس و حجازی، الهه (1386). روشهای تحقیق در علوم رفتاری. تهران: نشر آگه.
سعیدی علی، شکیبا ابوالقاسم. (1400). بازنگری در نمرهگذاری آزمون تصویری فرمA خلاقیت تورنس در ایران. رویش روانشناسی. ۱۰ (۱): ۱۲۰-۱۰۹.
صمدی، نرگس و اکبری زردخانه، سعید (1402). سنجش خلاقیت نوجوانان: انطباق نمرهگذاری نسخه فارسی آزمون تفکر خلاق تورنس. پایاننامه کارشناسی ارشد روانشناسی تربیتی. دانشگاه شهید بهشتی.
Acar, S., Branch, M. J., Burnett, C., & Cabra, J. F. (2021). Assessing the Universality of the Zero Originality Lists of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT)-Figural: An Examination With African American College Students. Gifted Child Quarterly, 65(4), 354-369.
Amabile, T. M. (1982). Social psychology of creativity: A consensual assessment technique. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 43(5), 997–1013.
Autor, D., Mindell, D. A., & Reynolds, E. B. (2022). The work of the future. In The MIT Press eBooks.
Baer, J. (1997). Creative teachers, creative students. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Baer, J., & McKool, S. S. (2009). Assessing creativity using the Consensual Assessment Technique. In C. S. Schreiner (Ed.), Handbook of research on assessment technologies, methods, and applications in higher education (pp. 65-77). Hershey, PA: IGI Global.
Batey, M., Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Furnham, A. (2010). Individual differences in ideational behavior: Can the big five and psychometric intelligence predict creativity scores? Creativity Research Journal, 22, 90-97.
Bazargan Herandi, A. (2021). An Introduction to Qualitative and Mixed Methods: Common Approaches in Behavioral Sciences. 5th Edition. Tehran: Didavar Publishing, 163. [In Persian]
Burlew, A. K., Peteet, B. J., McCuistian, C., & Miller-Roenigk, B. D. (2019). Best practices for researching diverse groups. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 89(3), 354–368.
Clapham, M. M. (1998). Structure of Figural Forms A and B of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 58(2), 275-283.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.). Routledge.
Daneshmand Kafteroudi, A., Akbari Zardkhaneh, S., & Fath Abadi, J. (2024). Preliminary Standardization of the Figural Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking for Iranian Youth. Master’s Thesis, Educational Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University. [In Persian]
Domino, G. (1970). Identification of potentially creative persons from the Adjective Check List. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 35(1, Pt.1), 48–51.
Eid, M., Gollwitzer, M., & Schmitt, M. (2011). Statistik und for schungs methoden: Lehrbuch [Statistics and research methods: A textbook]. Beltz.
Forthmann, B., Szardenings, C., & Holling, H. (2020). Understanding the confounding effect of fluency in divergent thinking scores: Revisiting average scores to quantify artifactual correlation. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 14(1), 94–112.
Frey, C. B., & Osborne, M. A. (2017). The future of employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation? Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 114, 254–280.
Gilhooly, K. J., Fioratou, E., Anthony, S. H., & Wynn, V. (2007). Divergent thinking: strategies and executive involvement in generating novel uses for familiar objects. British journal of psychology (London, England: 1953), 98(Pt 4), 611–625.
Guilford, J. P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence. McGraw-Hill.
Hebert, T. P., Cramond, B., Spiers Neumeister, K. L., Millar, G., & Silvian, A. F. (2002). E. Paul Torrance: His Life, Accomplishments, and Legacy. National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented.
Hocevar, D. (1979). The Development of the Creative Behavior Inventory (CBI).
Humble, S., Dixon, P., & Mpofu, E. (2018). Factor structure of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking Figural Form A in Kiswahili speaking children: Multidimensionality and influences on creative behavior. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 27, 33–44.
Ip, G. W.-M., Chen, J., & Chiu, C.-Y. (2006). The relationship of promotion focus, need for cognitive closure, and categorical accessibility in American and Hong Kong Chinese university students. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 40(3), 201–215.
Kaltsounis, B. (1974). Race, socioeconomic status and creativity. Psychological Reports, 35(1), 164-166.
Kanlı, E. (2020). Assessment of Creativity: Theories and methods. In IntechOpen eBooks. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93971
Kaufman, J. C., Baer, J., Cole, J. C., & Sexton, J. D. (2008). A comparison of expert and nonexpert raters using the Consensual Assessment Technique. Creativity Research Journal, 20, 171-178.
Kharkhurin, A. V., & Motalleebi, S. N. S. (2008). The impact of culture on the creative potential of American, Russian, and Iranian college students. Creativity Research Journal, 20(4), 404–411.
Kim (2006a) Can We Trust Creativity Tests? A Review of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), Creativity Research Journal, 18:1, 3-14.
Kim, K. H. (2006b). Is creativity unidimensional or multidimensional? Analyses of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Creativity Research Journal, 18, 251–260.
Kim, K. H. (2011). The Creativity Crisis: The Decrease in Creative Thinking Scores on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Creativity Research Journal, 23(4), 285–295.
Kim, K.H. (2017). The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking - Figural or Verbal: Which One Should We Use? Creativity. Theories – Research - Applications, 4, 302 - 321.
Kirton, M. (1976). Adaptors and innovators: A description and measure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 61(5), 622–629.
Kline, R. B. (2016). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). Guilford Press.
Krumm, G., Arán Filipppetti, V., Lemos, V., Koval, J., & Balabanian, C. (2016). Construct validity and factorial invariance across sex of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking—Figural Form A in Spanish-speaking children. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 22, 180–189.
Krumm, G., Lemos, V., & Arán Filippetti, V. (2014). Factor structure of the Torrance tests of creative thinking figural form B in Spanish-speaking children: Measurement invariance across gender. Creativity Research Journal, 26(1), 72–81.
Lee, L. E., Rinn, A. N., & Rambo-Hernandez, K. E. (2024). What happens after nomination? Evaluating the probability of gifted identification with the Torrance test of creative thinking. Gifted Child Quarterly, 68(2), 119–136.
Lenhard, W., & Lenhard, A. (2014). Hypothesis tests for comparing correlations. https://www.psychometrica.de/correlation.html.
McNemar, Q. (1947). Note on the sampling error of the difference between correlated proportions or percentages. Psychometrika, 12(2), 153–157.
Millar, G. W. (1995). E. Paul Torrance: The creativity man. Ablex.
Mouchiroud, C., & Lubart, T. (2001). Children’s Original Thinking: an empirical examination of alternative measures derived from divergent thinking tasks. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 162(4), 382–401.
Pearson, K. (1895). Note on regression and inheritance in the case of two parents. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, 58(347–352), 240–242.
Price-Williams, D. R., & Ramirez, M., III. (1977). Divergent thinking, cultural differences, and bilingualism. Journal of Social Psychology, 103(1), 3-11.
R Core Team. (2023). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. https://www.r-project.org/
Runco, M. A., & Acar, S. (2010). Do tests of divergent thinking have an experiential bias? Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 4(3), 144–148.
Saeedi, A., & Shakiba, A. (2021). Revisiting the Scoring of the Figural Form A of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking in Iran. Ravesh Psychology, 10(1), 109–120. [In Persian]
Samadi, N., & Akbari Zardkhaneh, S. (2023). Assessing Creativity in Adolescents: Adapting the Scoring of the Persian Version of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Master’s Thesis, Educational Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University. [In Persian]
Sarmad, Z., Bazargan, A., & Hejazi, E. (2007). Research Methods in Behavioral Sciences. Tehran: Agah Publishing. [In Persian]
Sawyer, R. K. (2019). The creative classroom: Innovative teaching for 21st-century learners. Teachers College Press.
Shao, Y., Zhang, C., Zhou, J., Gu, T., & Yuan, Y. (2019). How does culture shape creativity? A mini-review. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 1219. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01219
Silvia, P. J., Nusbaum, E. C., & Beaty, R. E. (2017). Old or new? Evaluating the old/new scoring method for divergent thinking tasks. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 51(3), 216–224.
Snyder, H. T., Hammond, J. A., Grohman, M. G., & Katz-Buonincontro, J. (2019). Creativity measurement in undergraduate students from 1984–2013: A systematic review. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 13(2), 133–143.
Sternberg, R. J. (2019). Evaluation of creativity is always local. The Palgrave handbook of social creativity research, 393-405.
Student (1908). The probable error of a mean. Biometrika, 6(1), 1–25.
Tavana, Z., & Akbari Zardkhaneh, S. (2022). Assessing Creativity in Adolescents: Adapting the Scoring of the Persian Version of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Master’s Thesis, Educational Psychology, Shahid Beheshti University. [In Persian]
Torchiano, M. (2020). Effsize: Efficient Effect Size Computation. R package version 0.8.1. https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/effsize/index.html
Torrance, E. P. (1966). The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking-Norms-Technical Manual Research Edition-Verbal Tests, Forms A and B-Figural Tests, Forms A and B. Princeton, NJ: Personnel Press.
Torrance, E. P. (1974). Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking Norms: Technical manual. Personal Press/Ginn and Company.
Torrance, E. P. (1981). Predicting the creativity of elementary school children (1958-80) —and the teacher who Made a difference. Gifted Child Quarterly, 25(2), 55–62.
Torrance, E. P. (2017). Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking: Streamlined scoring guide for Figural Forms A and B. Scholastic Testing Services, Inc.
Torrance, E. P., & Haensly, P. A. (2003). Assessment of creativity in children and adolescents. In C. R. Reynoolds & R. W. Kamphaus (Eds.), Handbook of psychological and educational assessment of children: Intelligence, aptitude and achievement (2nd ed., pp. 584–607). New York, NY: The Guildford Press.
World Economic Forum. (2023). The future of jobs report 2023. https://www.weforum.org/reports/ the-future-of-jobs-report-2023
Yoon, C.-H. (2017). A validation study of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking with a sample of Korean elementary school students. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 26, 38–50.
Yule, G. U. (1912). On the methods of measuring association between two attributes. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 75(6), 579–652.