Year

2013

Season

Spring

Paper Type

Master's Thesis

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree Name

Master of Arts in General Psychology (MAGP)

Department

Psychology

NACO controlled Corporate Body

University of North Florida. Department of Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. C. Dominik Guess

Second Advisor

Dr. Paul Fadil

Department Chair

Dr. Michael Toglia

College Dean

Dr. Barbara A. Hetrick

Abstract

Research on the influence of culture on creativity is in its infancy. Organizations world-wide may benefit from such research by implementing work environments that maximize creativity. In this article, the cross-cultural differences in creativity and the cultural values of cognitive uncertainty and desire for change were investigated. Three hundred eighty three undergraduate students from the University of North Florida and the University of Pretoria in South Africa participated in a study where creativity was measured using the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA; Goff & Torrance, 2002) and the Creative Achievement Questionnaire (CAQ), particularly the portion of the CAQ identifying domain specific achievements (CAQ; Carson, Peterson, & Higgins, 2005). In addition to measuring creativity levels in both cultures, two cultural values, Cognitive Uncertainty and Desire for Change, were measured. Results indicate a significant positive correlation between Desire for Change and the CAQ in the United States and a significant negative correlation between Cognitive Uncertainty and the CAQ in South Africa. Independent samples t-tests were also conducted, resulting in higher scores from the United States sample on the ATTA and higher scores from the South African sample on Cognitive Uncertainty. It is argued that the results could have implications for developing work environments that foster creativity.

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