Gender Differences on Measures of Creative Performance and Attitudes Towards Creativity
Advisor Information
Dr. Roni Reiter-Palmon
Location
Dr. CC and Mabel L. Criss Library
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
2-3-2018 9:00 AM
End Date
2-3-2018 10:15 AM
Abstract
Previous research examining differences between men and women’s creative ability have revealed mixed results. Specifically, examining measures of divergent thinking ability, conflicting research has reported both that no gender differences exist in divergent thinking scores (Runco, Okuda, & Thurston, 1987; Runco & Okuda, 1988), and that women may outperform men on divergent thinking tasks (Rejskind, Rapagna, & Gold, 1992). Other researchers have examined participant assessments of their own creative abilities and have similarly found mixed results. Goldsmith and Matherly (1988) found no difference between men’s and women’s self-report of creative ability. Using a predominately-female (82%) sample, Reiter-Palmon and Kaufman (2015) examined self-perception of creative ability between men and women in both general domains and specific domains of school, work, and hobbies. The researchers also asked participants to generate solutions to an ill-defined problem narrative. Results revealed that on both general domains of creativity and measures of creative self-efficacy men tended to rate themselves more positively than women. However, gender differences tended to disappear when examining specific domains of creativity. Despite the gender difference in general self-reports of creativity, evaluations of creative performance revealed no gender differences. However, one limitation of the many of the previous studies was the limited sample size of males. To address this issue we recruited a sample consisting of 90 men and 50 women from Amazon’s MTurk to test if gender differences emerge. We asked participants to self-report perceptions of their creative ability across creative domains using Kaufman’s Domains of Creativity (KDOCs) scales, and respond to items indicating their perceptions of their own creative self-efficacy. In addition to these scales used in previous research, we included the Karwowski Creative Mindset Questionnaire, which asks participants the extent to which they view trait creativity as a construct that can be trained or learned (a Growth mindset) versus a construct that is innate (a Fixed mindset). We then asked participants to engage in a divergent thinking Consequences Task), and generate solutions to an ill-defined problem. Using trained raters, we evaluated participants’ creative performance on the task using Amabile’s (1983) Consensual Assessment Technique. Contrary to previous findings, we did not find any significant differences between men and women in self-reports of creative self-efficacy, and found that women tended to outperform men during the divergent thinking task. Interestingly, we found a gender difference in the Fixed subscale of Creative Mindsets such that men tended to endorse items reflecting a Fixed mindset more than women, but we did not find any differences between men’s and women’s responses in the Growth subscale. Additionally, we found a gender difference in the mechanical domain of creativity, such that men self-reported increased creativity compared to women, but self-reports of creativity in the other domains showed no gender differences. Examining creative performance, we found that women tended to slightly outperform men on ratings of solution quality, but no differences were found in judges’ ratings of solution originality. These findings provide a more nuanced examination of gender differences in creativity in a unique sample.
Gender Differences on Measures of Creative Performance and Attitudes Towards Creativity
Dr. CC and Mabel L. Criss Library
Previous research examining differences between men and women’s creative ability have revealed mixed results. Specifically, examining measures of divergent thinking ability, conflicting research has reported both that no gender differences exist in divergent thinking scores (Runco, Okuda, & Thurston, 1987; Runco & Okuda, 1988), and that women may outperform men on divergent thinking tasks (Rejskind, Rapagna, & Gold, 1992). Other researchers have examined participant assessments of their own creative abilities and have similarly found mixed results. Goldsmith and Matherly (1988) found no difference between men’s and women’s self-report of creative ability. Using a predominately-female (82%) sample, Reiter-Palmon and Kaufman (2015) examined self-perception of creative ability between men and women in both general domains and specific domains of school, work, and hobbies. The researchers also asked participants to generate solutions to an ill-defined problem narrative. Results revealed that on both general domains of creativity and measures of creative self-efficacy men tended to rate themselves more positively than women. However, gender differences tended to disappear when examining specific domains of creativity. Despite the gender difference in general self-reports of creativity, evaluations of creative performance revealed no gender differences. However, one limitation of the many of the previous studies was the limited sample size of males. To address this issue we recruited a sample consisting of 90 men and 50 women from Amazon’s MTurk to test if gender differences emerge. We asked participants to self-report perceptions of their creative ability across creative domains using Kaufman’s Domains of Creativity (KDOCs) scales, and respond to items indicating their perceptions of their own creative self-efficacy. In addition to these scales used in previous research, we included the Karwowski Creative Mindset Questionnaire, which asks participants the extent to which they view trait creativity as a construct that can be trained or learned (a Growth mindset) versus a construct that is innate (a Fixed mindset). We then asked participants to engage in a divergent thinking Consequences Task), and generate solutions to an ill-defined problem. Using trained raters, we evaluated participants’ creative performance on the task using Amabile’s (1983) Consensual Assessment Technique. Contrary to previous findings, we did not find any significant differences between men and women in self-reports of creative self-efficacy, and found that women tended to outperform men during the divergent thinking task. Interestingly, we found a gender difference in the Fixed subscale of Creative Mindsets such that men tended to endorse items reflecting a Fixed mindset more than women, but we did not find any differences between men’s and women’s responses in the Growth subscale. Additionally, we found a gender difference in the mechanical domain of creativity, such that men self-reported increased creativity compared to women, but self-reports of creativity in the other domains showed no gender differences. Examining creative performance, we found that women tended to slightly outperform men on ratings of solution quality, but no differences were found in judges’ ratings of solution originality. These findings provide a more nuanced examination of gender differences in creativity in a unique sample.