Socioemotional Correlates of Creative Potential in Preschool Age Children: Thinking Beyond Student Academic Assessments

Abstract

This study examines the correlates of creative potential in preschool children, with a focus on children’s social behavior. Ninety-four preschool-aged children, their mothers, and teachers participated in the study. Mothers completed a questionnaire measure of children’s shyness, and teachers reported on children’s levels of shyness, prosocial behavior, and aggression. Children completed Torrance’s Thinking Creatively in Action and Movement. Results indicated that imagination was predicted by lower levels of shyness and greater prosocial behavior, whereas divergent thinking was predicted by older child age and teacher ratings of aggression. Implications for promoting young children’s creative potential in the classroom are discussed.