Greater Male Variability in Creativity Outside the WEIRD World

Abstract

Recent studies in creativity literature have demonstrated higher variability of creative ability between males and females, despite the lack of systematic sex differences in average scores on creativity tests. However, little is known about the causes of this variability and its generalizability beyond industrialized societies. This study presents the first evidence of the greater male variability in a sample of nonindustrialized, traditional Meru people residing in Kenya, Africa. The effect size of this difference was even greater than that reported in the majority of studies conducted on industrialized populations. Implications of these findings are discussed.