Divergent Thinking and Creative Performance in Gifted and Nongifted Children

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Abstract
Because intellectual measures often have idiosyncratic psychometric properties in exceptional populations, the relationship between divergent thinking test scores and creative performance was evaluated and compared in gifted and nongifted children (N = 212). The criterion of creative performance was a self-report which estimates the quantity and quality of extracurricular activity in seven domains. Results of canonical and bivariate analyses indicated that divergent thinking and creative performance scores were moderately related in the gifted sample, but unrelated in the nongifted sample. Additionally, the quantity of extracurricular performance was more predictable than its quality. Finally, there were particular areas of performance (e.g., writing and art) that were more strongly related to divergent thinking than other areas (e.g., music and science). These results are discussed in the context of the criterion-related validity of divergent thinking tests.