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Creative Potential in Science: Conceptual and Measurement Issues
This paper examines the concept of creative potential as it applies in science.
First, conceptual issues concerning the defifinition of creative potential are explored,
highlighting that creative potential is a moving target, and measures of creative potential
are estimates of future behavior. Then three main ways to detect creative potential
are examined. First, a person’s previous accomplishments in science can be analyzed.
These accomplishments can be regarded as predictors of future creative performance.
Second, science talent competitions can help to detect creative potential in children and
adolescents. There are particular types of talent competitions differing from each other
by the extent of focusing on individual (e.g., Science Fairs) or collaborative (e.g., Science
Olympiads) work. Third, to measure an individual’s creative potential, psychometric tools
such as Creative Scientifific Ability Test (C-SAT), Test of Scientifific Creativity Animations for
Children (TOSCAC), and Evaluation of Potential Creativity (EPoC) can be used. These
tools are conceptualized in terms of two scientifific activities: hypothesis generation and
hypothesis testing. In a fifinal section, these three types of measures are placed in a novel
time-space framework as applied to creative potential. Suggestions for future work are
also discussed.