Creativity in early childhood: How do imagination and self-regulation predict creativity in a story-stem task?

Creativity is often considered to involve two processes: a generative process that includes forming multiple ideas and an evaluative process where one selects the highest-quality idea that was generated (Sowden et al., 2015). Models of creativity have not yet investigated these processes in early childhood. By examining behaviors that naturally involve generative processes (e.g., imaginative play) and evaluative processes (e.g., self-regulation), we may uncover how the development of these systems is involved in creative thought. The current study aimed to examine the interaction between imagination and self-regulation on creativity using a story-stem creativity task. It was predicted that children who had a preference for imaginative play and those who were high in self-regulation would produce the most creative ideas due to their experience engaging in both the generative and evaluative processes. Sixty-six preschool children and their teachers completed measures of creativity, self-regulation, and imagination. Results indicated that the interaction between imagination and self-regulation predicted creativity using a story-stem task. Our results suggest that skills that naturally involve the generative and evaluative processes may be beneficial for creativity in early childhood, providing children with skills that may scaffold their creativity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)