Can We Trust Creativity Tests? A Review of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT)

“Por ejemplo, los citados TTCT dan buenos resulados tanto en la consistencia interevaluadores, con rangos de .66 .99 (Chase, 1985) como en la fiabilidad test-retest (Kim, 2006; reffinger, 1985).”

“Although the predictive validity of any measure of creativity or divergent thinking is typically low due to the wide array of domains, the TTCT has one of the largest norming samples and has demonstrated valuable longitudinal data and high predictive validity (Kim, 2006).”

“Creative behavior Revised NEO-PI-R Subscale: Openness to experience (behavior) (Costa & McCrae, 1995, German version: Ostendorf & Angleitner, 2004), additional items from Kim and Hull (2012) 7 Protected by copyright “In learning situations, task and problems should be solved according to previously acquired approaches…”

“Since the use of the total score of the TTCT is controversial and reporting of all four subscales is encouraged [52], we first assessed the reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) for each subscale in the current sample and then examined the relationships among subscales.”

“For example, the interrater reliability was above .90, and the three subscales (fluency, flexibility, and originality) were showed significant correlation with creative achievements, and the coefficients ranged from r¼ .39 to .48 (Kim, 2006; Torrance, 1990).”

“Five creativity dimensions, that is, Originality, Fluency, Elaboration, Title-Originality and Flexibility were extracted in accordance with the original scoring procedure (Torrance, 1966; see also Kim, 2006).”

“Their argument would have been far more convincing had they compared their methods with the TTCT, the most widely used and studied, divergent thinking test (Kim, 2006a).”

“This article takes the first step to drawing attention to this topic via two contributions: The Impact of GenAI on Creativity in Sw. Dev.”

“The TTCT (Torrance 2007) is the most used paper-pencil test for creativity and has been translated into more than 35 languages (Kim 2006).”

“To score the items in this study, the same freeware system was used as in Study 1 (Organisciak and Dumas, 2020; https:// openscoring.du.edu/about).”

“In a recent review paper, Kim ( 2006 ) argued that TTCT–Figural test is fair for people with different language backgrounds because it is not based on participant's ability to use the English language.”

“Creativity can be considered as a multidimensional concept (Kim, 2006; Han et al., 2013) consisting of different components.”

“Creative originality and elaboration are typically independent (Kim, 2006b).”

“However in a world which requires flexible thinking to push forward new innovations, humans must also understand the value of atypical acts – those which may appear to be wrong compared to the norm (e.g., Hoicka & Gattis, 2008; Kim, 2006; McAdam & McClelland, 2002; Mesoudi, Whiten, & Laland, 2004).”

“Accordingly, Torrance has developed a test for creativity and it is widely used to measure the “capacity of creativity” of an individual (Kim, 2006).”

“As recommended by Kim (2011), care should be taken to avoid decreased psychological safety and freedom in the home and school environments, overscheduling of structured activities and academic-focused programs, increased interaction with electronic entertainment devices rather than human beings, and increased emphasis…”

“Moreover, the reliability and validity of the TTCT have been well established (Kim, 2006; Runco, Dow & Smith, 2006).”

“…discriminate the myth from the fact studies in empirical settings on insight problem-solving and creativity have been employed (Maier, 1931; Duncker, 1945) and creativity tests developed (Kim (2006) offers a review of one of the most used such tests - TTCT - the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking).”

“In turn, Form A of TTCT (i.e. Thinking Creatively with Pictures (TCP)) assesses figurative (i.e. non-verbal) divergent thinking ability in such classical dimensions as fluency, flexibility, originality and elaborateness (Kim, 2006; Torrance, 1974).”

“Creativity researchers have also provided additional features on creative thinking such as openness, tolerance of ambiguity, focusing and task commitment (Urban 1990 ), motivation (Collins and Amabile 1999), originality and freshness of perceptions (Csikszentmihalyi 1999 ), problem recognition and knowledge gaps, situ…”

“As such, creativity can be considered as a multidimensional concept (Kim, 2006a), existing of different components.”

“While TTCT is under criticism for measuring aspects of intelligence rather than creativity (Kim, 2006), it remains the most widely used creativity assessment methodology (Sternberg, 2006).”

“Although the construct validity of the measure has been questioned (see Kim, 2006), there is a substantial body of supporting evidence which indicates long-term longitudinal stability of test-takers performance (Cramond, 1993; Cramond et al., 2005; Kogan, 1983; Rudowicz et al., 1995).”

“Various creativity tests are available: the Alternative Uses Test (Guilford, 1967), the Remote Associates Test (Mednick & Mednick, 1971), the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (Kim, 2006), the Wallach–Kogan tests (Wallach & Kogan, 1965), riddles (used by Whitt & Prentice, 1977; Qiu et al.”

“The TTCT third edition encompasses the fluency, elaboration, originality, abstractness of titles (titles) resistance to premature closure (closure) components, and thirteen creative strengths (Kim, 2006, 2011).”

“Ample studies have confirmed the good psychometrics of the test—high validity and reliability [7,18,25].”

“It is commonly used to assess divergent thinking and has an extensive application in the test of creativity (Torrance 1966; Kim 2006).”

“The TTCT is the most widely used and psychometrically sound measurement of creative thinking and has been validated by numerous studies.(30) This instrument essentially measures divergent-thinking ability, which is the type of cognition required for original ideas.”

“…2008), new methods of data analysis (Nakano & Primi, 2014; Primi, 2014; Silvia, 2007, 2011), predictive validity of creativity assessment tools (Kim, 2006; Plucker & Runco, 1998; Runco, Millar, Acar, & Cramond, 2011; Zeng, Proctor, & Salvendy, 2011), the structure and independence of evaluated…”

“As Kim, an apprentice of Torrance, described in her study of TTCT the goals of the tests (Kim, 2006):”

“Some of these are the following: 1) the Remote Associates Test (RAT) [5]; 2) the Alternative Uses Test [6]; 3) the Torrance Creativity Tests (reviewed by Kim [7]); 4) the Wallach–Kogan tests [8]; 5) insight tests (like the ones described by [9] and [10]).”

“Introduction Human creativity [1, 2] is a complex set of cognitive processes, assessed in a multitude of ways, with different creativity tests measuring its various and sometimes overlapping aspects [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9].”

“…in consonance with the advocates of the multidimensional assessment of creativity (Almeida et al., 2008; Bechtereva et al., 2007; Cropley, 2000; Kim, 2006; Plucker & Runco, 1998; Wechsler, 1998), this research suggests that, if there are sufficient resources, the test batteries are, in fact,…”

“The instrument has been highly recommended in the educational field and has even been used in the corporate world (Kim, 2006a).”

“…1990s, the TTCT has been translated into more than 35 languages internationally and received substantial attention in validation research (e.g., Acar, Lee, & Hodges, 2023; Cramond et al., 2005; Kim, 2006; Kim et al., 2006; Plucker, 1999; Runco et al., 2010; Said-Metwaly et al., 2018; Yoon, 2017).”

“Kim (2006) posited a question on the usage of creativity tests and suggested that the creativity value can be adjusted for particular contexts.”

“Divergent thinking is the ability to generate a variety of possible answers or different solutions to a problem and is marked by fluency, flexibility, and originality (Kim, 2006; Kharkhurin, 2017).”

“The Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (Torrance, 1966) is used to assess an individual’s creative thinking abilities (Kim, 2006).”

“(Quoted in Kim 2006, 3) Creativity theorists, influenced by the psychologist Joy Paul Guilford, describe creativity as the ability to move between convergent and divergent thinking.”

“Creativity data obtained from the results of student answers to the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) instrument which includes three indicators of creativity, namely: elaboration, originality, and fluency [17-19].”

“Originality can be influenced by culture, which leads to variations in the popularity of responses by ethnic, racial, and cultural groups (Kim, 2006; Millar, 1995).”

“Possibly students with low IQ scores can also be creative and produce rare ideas, even if these are not useful and original (Kim, 2006).”

“…claimed that they measured CP by assessing general abilities that under certain circumstances would be realized in later Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 2 April 2019 | Volume 10 | Article 733 life, something which appears to be happening up to a degree (Kim, 2006; Runco et al., 2010).”

“In terms of construct validity, studies have shown conflicting results with regard to its dimensionality (Kim, 2006).”

“The TTCT are a suitable tool for measuring creativity in gifted people and in the general population [37].”

“Torrance recommended the creation of a game-like, thinking, or problem-solving atmosphere, inviting the examinees to enjoy the activities (Kim, 2006).”

“The TTCT is also the most extensively studied and scrutinized test of creative thinking (Cramond, Matthews-Morgan, Bandalos, & Zuo, 2005; Kim, 2006, 2008, 2011a, 2011b, 2011c; Plucker, 1999; Silvia, Winterstein, Willse, Barona, Hess, Martinez, & Richard, 2008; Torrance, 1972, 1981a, 1981b, 2000)…”

“The Torrance Test (see Kim, 2006 for a review) is a battery of tasks that asks children to create unusual uses for objects, to name ways a toy can be improved, and that prompts children to ask, and answer, questions about a picture that serves only as a support.”

“(Kim 2006: 3) Provides the best platform for teachers to develop curriculum and assessment.”

“When Torrance first developed Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), the aim was to understand another important faculty of the human mind other than intelligence and also to help teachers design activities that are more suitable for creative individuals (Torrance, 1966, 1974; Kim, 2006).”

“However, previous research also indicated that creativity assessment should be based on more than one single concept (Kim 2006).”

“In addition, those environments demanded a high degree of leadership on the part of the instructor and a strong emerging collaboration between instructor-student and between students with their peers [30,31].”

“The most difficult version was inspired by Torrance’s product improvement task (Kim, 2006).”

“After more research, Torrance (1990) cited in Kim (2006) added abstractness of titles (it measures the degree a title moves beyond concrete labelling of the pictures drawn) and resistance to premature closure (the degree of psychological openness).”

“Supported also by Kim [22] states that the Torrance Creative Thinking Test (TTCT), developed by Torrance and Ball, is very good for measuring to identify creative thinking in education, but it is also good to discover the creativity of the general public in everyday life.”