How Creative Are You?
Creative thinking tests generally fall into a few categories. The most prevalent type are known as 'Task-Oriented' that measure one's fluency and flexibility in generating new ideas. Another category of test is "Personality-Based" which focuses on personality traits, attitudes, motivations, values, and interests. The latter type of test measures the variables that predispose a person to think creatively. The partial test listed below was developed by Princeton Creative Research, Inc in Princeton, New Jersey.
- Testing Instructions
- After each statement, indicate with a letter the degree or extent with which you agree or disagree with the statement:
- A = strongly agree
- B = agree
- C = in between or I don't know
- D = disagree
- E = strongly disagree
Mark your answers as accurately and as frankly as possible. Try not to "second guess" how a creative person might respond to each statement.
- I always work with a great deal of certainty that I'm following the correct procedures for solving a particular problem. ____.
- It would be a waste of time for me to ask questions if I had no hope of obtaining answers. ____.
- I believe that a logical step-by-step method is best for solving problems. ____.
- I occasionally voice opinions in groups that seem to turn some people off. ____.
- I spend a great deal of time thinking about what others think of me. ____.
- I feel that I may have a special contribution to give to the world. ____.
- It is more important for me to do what I believe to be right than to try to win the approval of others. ____.
- People who seem unsure and uncertain about things lose my respect. ____.
- I am able to stick with difficult problems over extended periods of time. ____.
- On occasion I get overly enthusiastic about things. ____.
- I often get my best ideas when doing nothing in particular. ____.
- I rely on intuitive hunches and the feeling of 'rightness' or 'wrongness' when moving toward the solution of a problem. ____.
- When problem solving, I work faster analyzing the problem and slower when synthesizing the information I've gathered. ____.
- I like hobbies which involve collecting things. ____.
- Daydreaming has provided the impetus for many of my more important projects. ____.
- If I had to choose from two occupations other than the one that I now have, I would rather be a physician than an explorer. ____.
- I can get along more easily with people if they belong to about the same social and business class as myself. ____.
- I have a high degree of aesthetic sensitivity. ____.
- Intuitive hunches are unreliable guides in problem solving. ____.
- I am much more interested in coming up with new ideas than I am in trying to sell them to others. ____.
- I tend to avoid situations in which I might feel inferior. ____.
- In evaluating information, the source of it is more important to me than the content. ____.
- I like people who follow the rule "business before pleasure". ____.
- One's own self-respect is much more important than the respect of others. ____.
- I feel people who strive for perfection are unwise. ____.
- I like work in which I must influence others. ____.
- It is important for me to have a place for everything and everything in its place. ____.
- People who are willing to entertain 'crackpot' ideas are impractical. ____.
- I rather enjoy fooling around with new ideas even if there is no practical payoff. ____.
- When a certain approach to a problem doesn't work, I can quickly reorient my thinking. ____.
- I don't like to ask questions that show ignorance. ____.
- I am able to more easily change my interests to pursue a job or career than I can change a job to pursue my interests. ____.
- Inability to solve a problem is frequently due to asking the wrong questions. ____.
- I can frequently anticipate the solution to my problems. ____.
- It is a waste of time to analyze one's failures. ____.
- Only fuzzy thinkers resort to metaphors and analogies. ____.
- At times I have so enjoyed the ingenuity of a crook that I hoped he or she would go scotfree. ____.
- I frequently begin work on a problem which I can only dimly sense and not yet express. ____.
- I frequently tend to forget things such as names of people, streets, highways, small towns, etc. ____.
- I feel that hard work is the basic factor in success. ____.
- To be regarded as a good team member is important to me. ____.
- I know how to keep my inner impulses in check. ____.
- I am a thoroughly dependable and responsible person. ____.
- I resent things being uncertain and unpredictable. ____.
- I prefer to work with others in a team effort rather than solo. ____.
- The trouble with many people is that they take things to seriously. ____.
- I am frequently haunted by my problems and cannot let go of them. ____.
- I can easily give up immediate gain or comfort to reach the goals I have set. ____.
- If I were a college professor, I would rather teach factual courses than those involving theory. ____.
- I'm attracted to the mystery of life. ____.
- Scoring Instructions
- To compute your percentage score, circle and add up the values assigned to each item.
A B C D E
Strongly Agree In-Between Disagree Strongly
Agree or Disagree
Don't Know
1. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
2. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
3. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
4. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
5. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
6. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
7. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
8. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
9. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
10. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
11. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
12. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
13. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
14. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
15. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
16. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
17. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
18. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
19. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
20. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
21. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
22. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
23. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
24. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
25. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
26. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
27. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
28. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
29. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
30. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
31. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
32. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
33. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
34. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
35. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
36. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
37. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
38. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
39. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
40. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
41. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
42. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
43. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
44. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
45. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
46. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
47. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
48. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
49. -2 -1 0 +1 +2
50. +2 +1 0 -1 -2
- 80 to 100 Very Creative
- 60 to 79 Creative
- 40 to 59 Average
- 20 to 39 Below Average
- -100 to 19 Noncreative
Bibliography
- Raudsepp, Eugene, "How Creative Are You?", Personnel Journel, April, 1979, pp. 218-220.
- Raudsepp, Eugene, How To Create New Ideas for Corporate Profit and Personal Success, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1982.