Study finds adults more creative than children but less confident

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 18:33 · Archive

Adults outperform preschoolers on creative tasks but feel more anxious doing them, research finds.

Researchers at the University of Graz in Austria tested 92 preschoolers aged four to seven and 70 adults mostly in their 20s on three creative tasks. The first asked participants to suggest as many uses as possible for a tin can in three minutes. The second involved drawing anything they liked with no time limit, and the third involved drawing an imaginary animal within eight minutes. Independent judges rated all work on originality, usefulness and overall creativity.

The judges found that adults' work was significantly more original, useful and creative than children's, particularly when clear goals and time limits were set. However, participants' self-reported experience differed markedly. Children reported feeling more confident, motivated and less anxious completing the tasks, while adults felt less confident despite their objectively better performance.

Dr Mathias Benedek, senior author of the study, explained that children's apparent advantage in confidence stems from intrinsic motivation. "Children are so intrinsically motivated and absorbed in play that we often mistake their engagement with greater creative ability," he said. He added that adults tend to worry more about evaluation and judgment, which inhibits the free flow of ideas, though adults may also assess their own creativity more realistically. The study was published in the journal PLOS One.

How it is being reported

• Preschoolers aren’t more creative than adults — they’re just more confident: studyToddlers’ true colors were revealed by researchers at the University of Graz in Austria, who found the kids were simply more confident at doing creative projects, not necessarily better at them.New York Post · 22 Oct, 18:22
• Do people become less creative as they get older? Research makes surprising discoveryStudy pitting preschoolers against adults mostly in their 20s finds fear of failure and anxiety hamper the grownups Ask a five-year-old to paint a picture and they will almost instinctively reach for the brush, but ask an adult to do the same and they will often hesitate and shy away. Now researchers say they know why. While it is widely assumed children are more creative than adults, a new study challenges this notion, finding adults outperform preschoolers on creative tasks but generally feel less confident and more anxious doing them. Continue reading...The Guardian · 21 Oct, 19:00

In this story: University of Graz · Dr Mathias Benedek · Austria

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