The relationship between creativity, teacher ratings on behavior, age, and gender in pupils from seven to ten years

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the performance on a test for the assessment of creative behavior and teacher ratings on scales for the assessment of behavior commonly seen as negative. The sample consisted of 71 Austrian elementary school students (33 boys and 38 girls), from seven to ten years of age. The children were tested with the German “Creativity Test for Preschoolers and Pupils” by Krampen. This test is based on Guilford’s model of the structure of the intellect and it assesses divergent thinking with respect to behavioral, figural, and semantic tasks. The teachers completed the “Conners Abbreviated Teacher Rating Scale,” a teacher rating questionnaire based on the DSM-IV criteria to assess inattentive and impulsive/hyperactive behavior, and a researcher self-constructed teacher rating questionnaire, containing the scales “dissocial behavior”, “introverted behavior”, and “creative behavior”. It was found that more impulsive/hyperactive and disruptive behavior was related to a better performance on fluency and more attentive and less introverted behavior were related to a better performance on flexibility. Additionally, it was found that boys present more alternatives in active behavior than girls. The results lead to the conclusion that more lively behavior of pupils should not be seen negatively, as such behavior seems to be a predictor of creative thinking