A COMBINED FACTOR ANALYSIS OF CREATIVITY AND INTELLIGENCE

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Psychometrics

Background:

• Previous research has explored the relationship between intelligence and creativity.
• The general intelligence factor (g) is well-established in psychometric studies.
• The distinctiveness of creativity as a cognitive factor requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between intelligence (verbal and reasoning) and creativity.
• To determine the influence of the general intelligence factor (g) on these cognitive abilities.
• To compare findings with previous studies on creativity and intelligence.

Main Methods:

• Administered a battery of tests, including the Lorge-Thorndike Intelligence Tests and five creativity tests, to 447 secondary students.
• Conducted factor analysis on the combined test battery, rotating to an oblique simple structure and then a hierarchical solution.
• Identified verbal intelligence, reasoning, and creativity as distinct factors.

Main Results:

• Three primary factors emerged: verbal intelligence, reasoning, and creativity.
• The cognitive structure was found to be highly oblique.
• The general intelligence factor (g) accounted for 77% of verbal intelligence variance, 89% of reasoning variance, and 48% of creativity variance.

Conclusions:

• While verbal intelligence and reasoning are substantially explained by general intelligence (g), creativity is less so.
• This suggests that creativity represents a partially independent cognitive domain.
• Findings contribute to understanding the complex interplay between intelligence and creativity.