Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-dnltx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T09:34:23.528Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

6 - Development of Creativity in School-Age Children

from Part II - The Development of Creativity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2021

By
Alexis W. Lee  and
Sandra W. Russ
Edited by
Sandra W. Russ ,
Jessica D. Hoffmann  and
James C. Kaufman
Sandra W. Russ
Affiliation:
Case Western Reserve University, Ohio
Jessica D. Hoffmann
Affiliation:
Yale University, Connecticut
James C. Kaufman
Affiliation:
University of Connecticut
Get access

Summary

The school-age years are an important period for the development of creativity. Children 6–12 years of age must learn to balance creative thinking with the conventional demands of parents, schools, and society. The development of components of creative thinking should be focused on in research. Divergent thinking is one component that is a valid indicator of creative potential. Much of the research on the developmental trajectory of divergent thinking has found contradictory results. Moderators such as type of task and culture are factors to take into account. Pretend play is also a common form of creative activity during these years that includes many of the components of creativity. Implications of research findings are discussed.

Keywords

divergent thinkingconventional thinkingpretend playdomains
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Lifespan Development of Creativity , pp. 126 - 138
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baer, J. (2016). Creativity doesn’t develop in a vacuum. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 151, 9–20. doi:10.1002/cad.20151Google Scholar
Barbot, B. (2019). Measuring creativity change and development. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 13(2), 203–210. doi:10.1037/aca0000232Google Scholar
Barbot, B., Lubart, T. I., & Besançon, M. (2016). “Peaks, slumps, and bumps”: Individual differences in the development of creativity in children and adolescents. In Barbot, B. (Ed.), Perspectives on creativity development: New directions for child and adolescent development, 151, 33–45. doi:10.1002/cadGoogle Scholar
Beaty, R. E., Benedek, M., Silvia, P., & Schacter, D. (2016). Creative cognition and brain network dynamics. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 20, 87–95. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2015.10.004Google Scholar
Beghetto, R. A., & Dilley, A. E. (2016). Creative aspirations or pipe dreams? Toward understanding creative mortification in children and adolescents. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2016(151), 85–95. doi:10.1002/cad.20150Google Scholar
Charles, R. E., & Runco, M. A. (2001). Developmental trends in the evaluative and divergent thinking of children. Creativity Research Journal, 13(3 & 4), 417–437. doi:10.1207/s15326934crj1334_19Google Scholar
Chessa, D., Lis, A., di Riso, D., Delvecchio, E., Russ, S., & Dillon, J. (2013) A cross-cultural comparison of pretend play in US and Italian children. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 44 , 640–656. doi:10.1177/0022022112461853CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Claxton, A. F., Pannells, T. C., & Rhoads, P. A. (2005). Developmental trends in the creativity of school-age children. Creativity Research Journal, 17(4), 327–335. doi:10.1207/s15326934crj1704_4Google Scholar
Dietrich, A., & Kanso, R. (2010). A review of EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging studies of creativity and insight. Psychological Bulletin, 136(5), 822–848. doi:10.1037/a0019749CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gaskins, S., Haight, W., & Lancy, D. (2007). The cultural construction of play. In Göncü, A. & Gaskins, S., (Eds.), Play and development (pp. 179–202). New York: Taylor & Francis.Google Scholar
Guilford, J. P. (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist, 5, 444–454. doi:10.1037/h0063487Google Scholar
Guilford, J. P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Guilford, J. P. (1968). Intelligence, creativity, and their educational implications. San Diego, CA: Robert R. Knapp.Google Scholar
Hoffmann, J., & Russ, S. (2016). Fostering pretend play skills and creativity in elementary school girls: A group play intervention. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 10(1), 114–125. doi:10.1037/aca0000039Google Scholar
Jastrzebska, D., & Limont, W. (2017). Not only jumps, slumps, but also mini plateau. Creative potential assessed by the Test for Creative Thinking–Drawing Production. A cross-sectional study of Polish students aged from 7 to 18. Creativity Research Journal, 29(3), 337–342. doi:10.1080/10400419.2017.1360060Google Scholar
Kim, K. H. (2011). The creativity crisis: The decrease in creative thinking scores on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Creativity Research Journal, 23(4), 285–295. doi:10.1080/10400419.2011.627805Google Scholar
Kohlberg, L. (1987). The development of moral judgment and moral action. In Kohlberg, L. (Ed.), Child psychology and childhood education: A cognitive developmental view. New York: Longman.Google Scholar
Koster, M., Yovsi, R., & Kartner, J. (2020). Cross-cultural differences in the generation of novel ideas in middle childhood. Frontiers in Psychology, 11. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01829Google Scholar
Lau, S., & Cheung, P. C. (2010). Developmental trends of creativity: What twists of turn do boys and girls take at different grades? Creativity Research Journal, 22(3), 329–336. doi:10.1080/10400419.2010.503543Google Scholar
Lee, A., & Russ, S. (2018) Pretend play, divergent thinking, and self-perceptions of creativity: A longitudinal study. International Journal of Creativity and Problem Solving, 28(1), 73–88.Google Scholar
McCrae, R. R., Arenberg, D., & Costa, P. T. (1987). Declines in divergent thinking with age: Cross-sectional, longitudinal, and cross-sequential analyses. Psychology and Aging, 2(2), 130–137. doi:10.1037/0882-7974.2.2.130Google Scholar
McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1987). Validation of the five-factor model across instruments and observers. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52 , 81–90. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.1.81Google Scholar
Mednick, S. (1962). The associative basis of the creative process. Psychological Review, 69, 220–232. doi:10.1037/h0048850Google Scholar
Moore, M., & Russ, S. (2008). Follow-up of a pretend play intervention: Effects on play, creativity, and emotional processes in children. Creativity Research Journal, 20, 427–436. doi:10.1080/10400410802391892CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piaget, J. (1962). Play, dreams, and imitation in childhood. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
Plucker, J. (1999). Is the proof really in the pudding? Reanalysis of Torrance’s longitudinal data. Creativity Research Journal, 12, 103–114. doi:10.1207/s15326934crj1202_3Google Scholar
Runco, M. A. (1999). A longitudinal study of exceptional giftedness and creativity. Creativity Research Journal, 12(2), 161–164. doi:10.1207/s15326934crj1202_8Google Scholar
Runco, M. A. (2007). Creativity. San Diego, CA: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Runco, M. A. (2016). Commentary: Overview of developmental perspectives on creativity and the realization of potential. In Barbot, B. (Ed.), Perspectives on creativity development: New directions for child and adolescent development, 151, 97–109. doi:10.1002/cad.20145Google Scholar
Runco, M. A., Millar, G., Acar, S., & Cramond, B. (2011). Torrance tests of creative thinking as predictors of personal and public achievement: A fifty-year follow-up. Creativity Research Journal, 22, 361–368. doi:10.1080/10400419.2010.523393Google Scholar
Russ, S. W. (1993). Affect and creativity: The role of affect and play in the creative process. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Russ, S. W. (2014). Pretend play in childhood: Foundation of adult creativity. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.Google Scholar
Russ, S. W., & Fiorelli, J. (2010) Developmental approaches to creativity. In Kaufman, J. C. & Sternberg, R. J. (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of creativity (pp. 233–249). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Russ, S. W., Robins, A., & Christiano, B. (1999). Pretend play: Longitudinal prediction of creativity and affect in fantasy in children. Creativity Research Journal, 12 , 129–139. doi:10.1207/s15326934crj1202_5Google Scholar
Saggar, M., Xie, H., Beaty, R. E., Stankov, A. D., Schreier, M., & Reiss, A. L. (2019). Creativity slumps and bumps: Examining the neurobehavioral basis of creativity development during middle childhood. NeuroImage, 196, 94–101. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.03.080Google Scholar
Said-Metwaly, S., Fernandez-Castilli, B., Kyndt, E., Noortgate, E., & Barbot, B. (2020). Does the fourth grade slump in creative achievement actually exist? A meta-analysis of the development of divergent thinking in school-age children and adolescents. Educational Psychology Review. doi:10.1007/s10648–020-09547-9Google Scholar
Sawyer, P. K. (1997). Pretend play as improvisation. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Sayed, E. M., & Mohamed, A. H. H. (2013). Gender differences in divergent thinking: Use of the Test of Creative Thinking–Drawing Production on an Egyptian sample. Creativity Research Journal, 25(2), 222–227. doi:10.1080/10400419.2013.783760Google Scholar
Silvia, P. J., Christensen, A. P., & Cotter, K. N. (2016). Commentary: The development of creativity – Ability, motivation, and potential. Perspectives on creativity development: New directions for child and adolescent development, 151, 111–119. doi:10.1002/cadGoogle Scholar
Simonton, D. (1988). Scientific genius: A psychology of science. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Singer, D. G., & Singer, J. L. (1990). The house of make-believe: Children’s play and the developing imagination. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Smith, G., & Carlsson, I. (1985). Creativity in middle and late school years. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 8, 329–343. doi:10.1177/016502548500800307CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, G. J. W., & Carlsson, I. (1983). Creativity in early and middle school years. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 6, 167–195. doi:10.1177/016502548300600204Google Scholar
Sternberg, R. J., Kaufman, J. C., & Pretz, J. E. (2002). The creativity conundrum. New York: Psychology Press.Google Scholar
Torrance, E. P. (1967). Understanding the fourth grade slump in creative thinking (Report No. BR-5-0508; CRP-994). Washington, DC: US Office of Education.Google Scholar
Torrance, E. P. (1968, Winter). A longitudinal examination of the fourth grade slump in creativity. The Gifted Child Quarterly, 195–199. doi:10.1177/001698626801200401Google Scholar
Urban, K. K., & Jellen, H. G. (1996). Test for Creative Thinking–Drawing Production (TCT-DP) manual. Frankfurt: Swets Test Services.Google Scholar
Vartanian, O. (2019). Neuroscience of creativity. In Kaufman, J. C. and Sternberg, R. J. (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of creativity (2nd ed., pp. 148–172). New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallace, C., & Russ, S. (2015) Pretend play, divergent thinking, and math achievement in girls: A longitudinal study. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 9, 296–305. doi:10.1037/a0039006Google Scholar
Wallach, M. (1970). Creativity. In Mussen, P. (Ed.), Carmichael’s manual of child psychology (vol. 1, pp. 1211–1272). New York: WileyGoogle Scholar
Wallach, M., & Kogan, N. (1965). Modes of thinking in young children: A study of the creativity-intelligence distinction. New York: Holt, Reinhart and Winston.Google Scholar
Williams, F. E. (1993). Creativity assessment packet examiner’s manual. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×