Self-description or projection: Comparison of two methods to estimate creativity

Two different methods to estimate creativity are compared, first in a group of 39 university students, then in a group of 22 students for cross-valida tion. The Creative Functioning Test (CFT; Smith & Carlsson, 1990a), a perce pt-genetic (tachistoscopic) technique, assesses the inclination of viewers to go beyond the constraints of correctness set by the stimulus picture. Th e Self-Descriptive Creativity Test (SDC; Smith & Faldt, 1997) includes 14 b rief characterizations, 7 that are supposed to be typical of high-creative persons, and 7 that are supposed to be typical of low-creative individuals. Participants were asked to use 4 of these items to characterize themselves and another 4 to characterize their nonself: In a second part of the SDC t hey were invited to describe their ideal self and its opposite. The results of the 2 tests did not correlate directly. Instead, high-creatives accordi ng to the CFT preferred the high-creative SDC items to apply both to their ideal self and its opposite, leaving many of the low-creative items unused. The difference between high- and low-creatives is highly significant.