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The Flynn Effect states that Intelligence is increasing worldwide. So, how has Creative Thinking changed over the last 40 years? Kyung Hee Kim set out to answer this with her article The Creativity Crisis: The Decrease in Creative Thinking Scores on the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking.
The relationship between intelligence and creativity has been frequently described using the threshold theory. This theory states that an adequate level of intelligence is needed to be creative. More specifically, it suggests that there is a weaker relationship between creativity and intelligence for individuals with an IQ above 120 than there is for individuals with an IQ below 120. This theory is generally agreed upon, however, inconsistencies have been found.
Kim (2011) wanted to test this theory and began by looking into the Flynn effect. So, what is the Flynn effect? In 1984, Flynn determined that exposure to enriched environments, as well as other factors, were increasing IQs in America each decade. This phenomenon was named the Flynn Effect. It was later concluded that this effect was being seen worldwide where with each decade scores go up approximately 10 points.
Referred to as the “Fourth-grade Slump”, previous research has found that students experience a substantial drop in creativity when conformity is initially taught. It is suggested that this decrease occurs as students are introduced to new stressors, demands, and peer pressure while being required to conform to the classroom rules. Hence, creativity and curiosity are inhibited. This has been seen across several cultures including disadvantaged African American students, Indian, Australian, and Norwegian. However, creativity scores are reported to increase after this period.
A reversed trend was being seen in creativity levels as opposed to the Flynn Effect. This research was based on the results from approximately 300,000 kindergartens to 12th-grade students and adults. From which, Kim found that creativity scores had been rising, just like the Flynn Effect suggests about IQ scores, until the 1990s. However, during the 1990s there was a significant downward fall in creativity. This decline is seen in all ages yet found to be the most serious in younger children – from kindergarten through to sixth grade.
It is speculated that this creative decline is due to the stifling of creative thinking in schools and the increased dependence and use of technology in everyday life. Since the 1990s, children are becoming more dependent on technology to communicate, enabling them to learn to interact in impersonal ways. Although technologies are useful in the creative process and can in some cases enhance creativity, some aspects of these technologies that we rely so heavily on may impede a child’s developing creative personality.
Furthermore, the education system has put a greater emphasis on standardized testing and away from critical and creative thinking. However, both home and schools could be to blame for the decrease in creative thinking in younger children.
The decline in creativity starts in young children, this could stunt the development of abilities that are supposed to mature as one gets older. There are many things that parents, teachers, and schools can do to reduce the detrimental effects on creativity. The first is the reinstation of ‘playtime’. Children require uninterrupted free time to engage in abstraction. Homes and schools have removed this time from their schedules as a result of hurried lifestyles and overstructured and academic-focused activities. Electronic device exposure should also be at the expense of playtime.
Furthermore, children need meaningful interactions and collaborations in order to be creative. Teachers and parents should provide opportunities for teamwork to develop skills as well as provide engaged psychological support to encourage creativity.
For the creative decline to be reversed, schools need to teach problem finding, not just problem-solving. Additionally, standardization should be resisted The high-stakes testing environment has led to the elimination of electives, the arts, playtime, and foreign language. This leaves little room for imagination and creativity.
So I ask, should creativity be sacrificed for academic endeavors and the focus on intelligence?
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