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Forward flow-An alternative interpretation: Comment on Gray et al. (2019)
1School of Psychology.
The American Psychologist
|July 17, 2020
Summary
The forward flow construct for creativity measurement has issues. Its chained word association method is not ideal for assessing originality, leading to weak correlations with standard creativity tests.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Creativity assessment is crucial in psychology.
- Existing methods for measuring creativity have limitations.
- Gray et al. (2019) introduced 'forward flow' to predict creativity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically evaluate the 'forward flow' construct.
- To identify methodological limitations in measuring originality via chained word associations.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of the 'forward flow' construct's measurement properties.
- Comparison of chained word association methodology with requirements for originality tests.
Main Results:
- Chained word associations do not meet originality test criteria (single response, non-independent items).
- Originality calculation in 'forward flow' is questionable (based on starting word, not cue word).
- Scores from the 'forward flow' construct show weak correlations with established creativity measures.
Conclusions:
- The 'forward flow' construct, as currently measured, is problematic for assessing creativity.
- Methodological flaws limit the validity and reliability of 'forward flow' in creativity research.
