| dc.description.abstract | Dutch schools do not pay a lot of attention to the development of creativity, while creativity seems important for academic achievement and success at school. It is still unclear which factors stand at the base of creativity. Possible factors are inhibition and intelligence, but results are conflicting. In the current study, the hypothesis was tested that intelligence mediated the relationship between inhibition and creativity. A stronger relationship was expected between creativity and inhibition for a higher level of intelligence, because inhibition simplifies the development of new ideas and intelligence has a positive effect on the creativity of these ideas. Therefore, higher functioning individuals possibly generate creative ideas earlier than lower functioning individuals. The sample included 350 primary school students between 8 and 11 years old. General creativity, inhibition, verbal and visual intelligence were tested in the current study. While there was a direct relation between creativity and intelligence, there was no relationship found between creativity and inhibition. Besides, intelligence did not influence this. These results indicate that a higher level of intelligence does not mean a stronger relationship between creativity and inhibition. These findings are discussed in relation to measurement of creativity, the development of creativity and inhibition, and the width of ages in the sample. It seems important to stimulate the development of creativity. Finally, it is suggested to further investigate the underlying processes of creativity and inhibition, to provide more evidence about the relationship between these factors. | |
