Sex differences in the original thinking of preschool and elementary school children

Abstract

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to assess the development of sex differences in the creative potential of preschool and early elementary school children. Preschool, first‐, and third‐grade children (N = 188) received the Multidimensional Stimulus Fluency Measure (MSFM). The MSFM assesses creative potential in terms of popular and original responses (ideational fluency). Comparisons of the three groups of children indicated that sex differences emerged throughout early elementary school. No sex differences were found within the preschool sample; but by third‐grade, boys were found to score significantly higher than girls on both popular and original responses. These findings were discussed with regard to evaluation, conformity, assimilative strategies, and the environmental factors which might affect creative potential.