Individual difference predictors of creativity in Art and Science students

Two studies are reported that used multiple measures of creativity to investigate creativity differences and correlates in arts and science students. The first study examined Divergent Thinking fluency, Self-Rated Creativity and Creative Achievement in matched groups of Art and Science students. Arts students scored higher than Science students on two of the three measures. Regression analysis indicated that the educational domain demographic variable was the most consistent predictor of all three measures of creativity. The second study compared natural science, social science and arts students on two performance and two preference measures of creativity, whilst controlling for the effects of general intelligence. Results indicated only Self-Rated Creativity displayed significant group differences, with the regression analysis suggesting a stronger role of personality variables. The differences between the groups and implications for the measurement of creativity are considered.     

Conflict, Social Competence, and Gender: Maternal and Peer Contexts

The current study was designed to address two major purposes. The first goal was to investigate the joint influence of children's sociometric status and sex on their conflict behavior, and the second goal was to explore the similarities and differences in children's conflict behavior across two contexts, specifically conflicts arising during interactions with mothers and with peers. Forty-two first-graders were videotaped playing with their mothers and then with an unfamiliar peer partner. Conflict behavior occurring in the mother-child context was quite different from that occurring between children, reflecting the contrast between the vertical and horizontal nature of these relationships. Most striking were the large number of sociometric status and sex differences in conflict behavior found across both contexts. Further, it appears that effective conflict behavior may differ for boys and girls. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Cosmopolitian-local: A multidimensional construct

Cosmopolitian-local, an attitudinal construct, has been used to predict and explain the variation in the manifest professional behavior of professionals in complex organizations. Recent research on university faculty members' attitudes has demonstrated the validity of a five-dimensional model of the construct. Factor analytic studies indicate that the five-dimensional model can serve as a standardized measure of professional orientation more plausibly than either the unidimensional or the two-dimensional models. The five dimensions of the more complex model are: professional commitment, commitment to organizational goals, organizational immobility, concern for advancement, and reference group orientation. These dimensions are significantly correlated to selected biographical, behavioral, and organizational variables.