Abstract
Gender differences in creative thinking remain an unresolved research question. Researchers have increasingly recognized that both mean and variability analyses should be conducted to uncover a complete picture of gender differences. Moreover, it has been suggested that gender differences in intellectual abilities are dynamic across age, and gender differences need to be analyzed developmentally. This study aimed to reframe the study of gender differences in creative thinking by (1) using both mean and variability analyses and (2) employing a developmental perspective. Creativity was assessed with the Test for Creative Thinking–Drawing Production (TCT–DP) which was developed based on the componential model of creativity. The TCT–DP scores of six age groups (N = 2,224), which included participants of ages 3–4 years, 5–7 years, 10–12 years, 13–15 years, 18–19 years, and 20–22 years, were analyzed. Results showed that while mean analyses generally revealed trivial gender differences, variability analyses tend to support great gender differences. Furthermore, developmental data demonstrated that the magnitude and the direction of gender differences change across age. While greater female variability (favoring girls) was observed in young children, a reverse pattern that was found in adolescents and young adults. The findings shed lights on the different developmental trajectories of boys and girls in creativity.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Arden, R., & Plomin, R. (2006). Sex differences in variance of intelligence across childhood. Personality and Individual Differences, 41, 39–48.
Baer, J., & Kaufman, J. C. (2008). Gender differences in creativity. Journal of Creative Behavior, 42, 75–105.
Bandura, A. (1969). Social-learning theory of identificatory processes. In D. A. Goslin (Ed.), Handbook of socialization theory and research (pp. 213–262). Chicago: Rand McNally.
Chae, S. (2003). Adaptation of a picture-type creativity test for pre-school children. Language Testing, 20, 178–188.
Cheung, P. C., & Lau, S. (2010). Gender differences in the creativity of Hong Kong school children: Comparison by using the new electronic Wallach-Kogan creativity tests. Creativity Research Journal, 22, 194–199.
Colom, R., & Lynn, R. (2004). Testing the developmental theory of sex differences in intelligence on 12–18 year olds. Personality and Individual Differences, 36, 75–82.
Dollinger, S. J., Urban, K. K., & James, T. A. (2004). Creativity and openness: Further validation of two creative product measures. Creativity Research Journal, 16, 35–47.
Ellis, H. (1894/1934). Man and woman: A study of human sexual characters. London: Heinemann.
Eriksson, M., Marschik, P. B., Tulviste, T., Almgren, M., Pereira, M. P., & Wehberg, S. et al. (2012). Differences between girls and boys in emerging language skills: Evidence from 10 language communities. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 30, 326–343.
Feingold, A. (1992). Sex differences in variability in intellectual abilities: A new look at an old controversy. Review of Educational Research, 62, 61–84.
Halpern, D. F. (1997). Sex differences in intelligence: Implications for education. American Psychologist, 52, 1091–1102.
Halpern, D. F. (2000). Sex differences in cognitive abilities (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Halpern, D. F., Benbow, C. P., Geary, D. C., Gur, R. C., Hyde, J. S., & Gernsbacher, M. A. (2007). The science of sex differences in science and mathematics. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 8, 1–51.
He, W. J., & Wong, W. C. (2011). Gender differences in creative thinking revisited: Findings from analysis of variability. Personality and Individual Differences, 51, 807–811.
He, W. J., & Wong, W. C. (2014). Greater male variability in overexcitabilities: Domain-specific patterns. Personality and Individual Differences, 66, 27–32.
He, W. J., Wong, W. C., Li, Y., & Xu, H. (2013). A study of the greater male variability hypothesis in creative thinking in Mainland China: Male superiority exists. Personality and Individual Differences, 55, 882–886.
Hedges, L. V., & Nowell, A. (1995). Sex differences in mental test scores, variability, and numbers of high-scoring individuals. Science, 269, 41–45.
Hyde, J. S. (2005). The gender similarities hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60, 581–592.
Jellen, H., & Urban, K. K. (1986). The TCT–DP (Test for Creative Thinking–Drawing Production): An instrument that can be applied to most age and ability groups. Creative Child and Adult Quarterly, 11, 138–155.
Johnson, W., Carothers, A., & Deary, I. J. (2008). Sex differences in variability in general intelligence: A new look at the old question. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3, 518–531.
Kogan, N. (1974). Creativity and sex differences. Journal of Creative Behavior, 8, 1–14.
Liben, L. S., & Bigler, R. S. (2002). The developmental course of gender differentiation: Conceptualizing, measuring, and evaluating constructs and pathways. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 67, 105–112.
Lubart, T., Pacteau, C., Jacquet, A. Y., & Caroff, X. (2010). Children’s creative potential: An empirical study of measurement issues. Learning and Individual Differences, 20, 388–392.
Lynn, R. (1999). Sex differences in intelligence and brain size: A developmental theory. Intelligence, 27, 1–12.
Lynn, R., Allik, J., & Must, O. (2000). Sex differences in brain size, stature and intelligence in children and adolescents: some evidence from Estonia. Personality and Individual Differences, 29, 555–560.
Martens, R., Hurks, P. P. M., Meijs, C., Wassenberg, R., & Jolles, J. (2011). Sex differences in arithmetical performance scores: Central tendency and variability. Learning and Individual Differences, 21, 549–554.
Matud, M. P., Rodríguez, C., & Grande, J. (2007). Gender differences in creative thinking. Personality and Individual Differences, 43, 1137–1147.
Noddings, N. (1992). Variability—A pernicious hypothesis. Review of Educational Research, 62, 85–88.
Rudowicz, E. (2004). Applicability of the test of Creative Thinking-Drawing Production for assessing creative potential of Hong Kong adolescents. The Gifted Child Quarterly, 48, 202–218.
Strand, S., Deary, I. J., & Smith, P. (2006). Sex differences in cognitive abilities test scores: A UK national picture. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 463–480.
Urban, K. K. (2004). Assessing creativity: The Test for Creative Thinking-Drawing Production (TCT–DP). The concept, application, evaluation, and international studies. Psychology Science, 46, 387–397.
Urban, K. K., & Jellen, H. G. (1995/2010). Test for Creative Thinking–Drawing Production (TCT–DP). Manual. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Pearson Assessment & Information GmbH.
Vista, A., & Care, E. (2011). Gender differences in variance and means on the Naglieri Non-verbal Ability Tests: Data from the Philippines. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 292–308.
Acknowledgment
The work described in this paper was partly supported by the Internal Research Grant of The Hong Kong Institute of Education (No. RG73/2011–2012).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
He, M.WJ., Wong, WC., Hui, A.NN. (2015). Gender Differences in Means and Variability on Creative Thinking: Patterns in Childhood, Adolescence, and Emerging Adulthood. In: Tan, AG., Perleth, C. (eds) Creativity, Culture, and Development. Creativity in the Twenty First Century. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-636-2_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-636-2_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-287-635-5
Online ISBN: 978-981-287-636-2
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)