Developmental Trends of Creativity: What Twists of Turn Do Boys and Girls Take at Different Grades?

Abstract

A sample of 2,476 Grade 4 to 9 Chinese school children was tested with the new electronic Wallach–Kogan Creativity Tests. Among primary students, creativity scores rose from Grade 4 to 5 and then dropped from 5 to 6; and among secondary students, creativity scores rose from Grade 7 to 9. A drop from Grade 6 to 7 was also observed. Apart from these overall trends, different patterns of gender differences were found in primary and secondary grades. In Grade 4 to 6, boys scored higher than girls marginally on most creativity indexes. In Grade 7 and 8, girls excelled boys significantly on figural fluency, flexibility, uniqueness, and unusualness. In Grade 8, girls also scored higher on verbal flexibility. The gender differences were narrowed down again marginally in Grade 9.

This research was supported by a Quality Education Fund (QEF) grant to Sing Lau and Ping Chung Cheung. Grateful acknowledgment is due to Michael Wallach and Nathan Kogan for their kind permission in the Chinese translation and electronic development of their Wallach–Kogan Creativity Tests.