The creative thinking and ego functioning of children

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Abstract
One hundred highly creative children and 100 uncreative children were selected from a sample of 1,450 fifth‐ and sixth‐grade children. They were identified with the the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). Comparisons revealed significant differences in terms of quantity and quality of primary process content. The creative children gave not only more primary process ideation, but the quality was (a) significantly more libidinal than aggressive, (b) more regressive (greater DD), and (c) showed more effective use of regression in the service of the ego (calculated by using the popular response to score defense effectiveness). There were no sex differences in the TTCT scores or the primary process content, but girls gave more libidinal content and boys gave more aggressive content.

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