THE RESPONSE OF OLDER WOMEN TO A CREATIVE PROBLEM?SOLVING PROGRAM

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Abstract
Little work has been done in the development of creativity in older adults. The limited research seems to support the notion that older people are not as creative as younger people. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether or not creative behavior as measured by Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking can be increased in older adult women through a creative problem‐solving program. The major hypothesis under investigation was: The use of a specific problem‐solving program designed to increase certain creative thinking abilities will increase those abilities at a significant level in older adult women. Forty women volunteers, ranging in age from 60 to 82, participated in the six‐week program. Experimental subjects did not score significantly higher on the Torrance tests than the control subjects who had not participated in the program. However, information collected via the teacher's log and a questionnaire given to the subjects at the end of the class showed that the experience was unusually positive and creatively beneficial. It is concluded that the program was not of sufficient intensity and that in order to measure change in creative thinking with older people, a more creative approach in testing may need to be developed.

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