Divergent Thinking, Age, and Intelligence in White and Negro Children1,2

Abstract

Ideational-fluency and ideational-flexibility scores were obtained from an Unusual Uses Test given to 267 Texas white and Negro school children aged 5 to 9. Overall, these divergent-thinking scores were significantly higher for Negroes, and showed low, significant rs with WISC for both races. Fluency scores were not dependent upon age as such, but upon race as such and in interaction with age. Flexibility scores showed no over-all relations with age or race. Certain interesting comparisons by WISC subtests, flexibility categories, and 5 age levels are discussed and interpreted. Doubts are raised concerning the notion of creative thinking as a simple function of age or of intelligence-there is need for more developmental studies of originality in varied social and cultural contexts.