Predictor variables for creativity in industrial science

Abstract

25 managers rated the creative performance of a representative sample (N = 88) of industrial scientists and technologists within a large company. The ratings provided a continuous distribution of creativity scores. Performances on 53 different test variables were correlated with the criterion scores to produce 9 valid predictors of the rated criterion. The best multiple correlation obtainable upon the smallest number of the test predictors with rated creativity is .67, corrected for bias. A limited cross-validation upon a different sample confirmed the validation. According to test results, the typically more creative industrial scientist or engineer was found to be: highly capable of reasoning well with words and other symbols, fluent in the output of ideas, original in the quality of ideas, emotionally stable, determined to master his working environment, adventurous in outlook, high in degree of scientific curiosity, and low in indication of general anxiety. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)