General creativty and aspects of creative thinking in artists and nonartists

Abstract

This study examined differences between artists and non-artists creativity profiles, considering both general creativity and specific aspects of creative thinking. A sample of 128 students (66 artists and 62 non-artists) participated in the study. All participants completed a multidimensional creativity test, which is based on the Guilford’s model of creative thinking. Both general creativity and several aspects of creativity (fluency, productivity, originality, and elaboration), were assessed. Results have shown no significant differences between artists and non-artists in general creativity. On the other hand, artists scored higher on the Originality subscale (t(126) = 3.662, p < .01). Results of discriminant analyses supported these findings by showing that respondents on the basis of creativity, mostly Originality, could be classified with 71.9% of accuracy. These findings support the existence of general creativity as an ability that is not reserved only for artists. However, results also indicate that artists and non-artists differ on the basis of Originality, which implies that this aspect is essential for artistic creativity.