The Influence of Modeling on Children’s Creative Performance

Three randomly assigned groups of sixth grade students watched a videotaped white female model present sets of responses to a creativity test categorized as low flexibility-low originality, high flexibility-low originality, and high flexibility-high originality. A randomly assigned control group viewed the same videotaped model giving instructions but not creative responses. Subjects then responded to the Unusual Uses and Just Suppose tests from the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Modeling did have an effect on children’s creative performance, but direction and magnitude of the effect were dependent upon sex, race, creativity traits measured, and test used.