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Creativity Testing

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Encyclopedia of Creativity, Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Synonyms

Computerized testing; Computerized testing of creative potential; Creativity measurement; Divergent thinking; Measurement error; Psychometrics; Reliability; Standard definition of creativity; Validity

There are a number of reliable tests that provide reliable estimates of the potential for creativity. There is, however, no such thing as a test of creativity. That is because tests are by definition samples of behavior. Good tests sample a representative amount of behavior and thus can be useful to estimate subsequent behavior in the same domain. Creativity is, however, not an easy thing to sample. This is in part because it is often spontaneous and may depend on intrinsic interests, and it is always original. Originality is a prerequisite for creativity, and by definition, original things are difficult to predict. They are often surprising, unexpected, and not connected to what came before in any linear fashion. This all makes it very difficult to obtain a representative sample...

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Suggested Readings

  • Barron F. No rootless flower. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press. Runco, M. A. (in press). Creativity: Theories and themes: Research, development, and practice (rev. ed.). San Diego, CA: Academic Press; 1995.

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  • Hocevar D, Bachelor P (1989). A taxonomy and critique of measurements used in the study of creativity. In Glover, J. A. & Ronning, R. R. & Reynolds, C. R. (Eds). Handbook of creativity. Perspectives on individual differences. (pp. 53–75). New York, NY, US: Plenum Press.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Creativity Research & Programming, Southern Oregon University, Ashland, OR, USA

    Mark A. Runco

Authors
  1. Mark A. Runco
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Correspondence to Mark A. Runco .

Section Editor information

  1. The Faculty of Economics, Novosibirsk State University (NSU), Novosibirsk, Russia

    Igor N. Dubina

  2. The International Institute of Economics, Management, and Information Systems, Altai State University (ASU), Barnaul, Russia

    Igor N. Dubina

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Runco, M.A. (2019). Creativity Testing. In: Encyclopedia of Creativity, Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6616-1_200057-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6616-1_200057-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6616-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6616-1

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