How can creativity be measured?
Assessing creativity is a particular challenge. As creativity is a very multifaceted construct, there are specific assessment instruments for the individual facets. Creative cognitive potential, for example, is usually measured using divergent thinking ability. In the FWF research project Advancement of Divergent Thinking Assessment (ADTA), we are investigating how this ability can best be assessed (Project number: P 35661; Grant-DOI: 10.55776).
We are also working on instruments to assess creative activities and achievements. Many standard procedures in this area are freely available (siehe Open Science Framework).
Further Reading:
- Benedek, M. & Beaty, R. E. (2025). Envisioning the future of creative thinking assessment. Journal of Creative Behavior, 59(2), e70036. doi.org/10.1002/jocb.70036
- Benedek, M., Christensen, A. P., Fink, A., & Beaty, R. E. (2019). Creativity Assessment in Neuroscience Research. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 13, 218-226. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000215
- Diedrich, J., Jauk, E., Silvia, P.J., Gredlein, J.M., Neubauer, A.C., & Benedek, M. (2018). Assessment of real-life creativity: The Inventory of Creative Activities and Achievements (ICAA). Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 12, 304-316. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000137
- Saretzki, J., Forthmann, B., & Benedek, M. (2024). A Systematic Quantitative Review of Divergent Thinking Assessments. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000691
- Saretzki, J., Andrae, R., Forthmann, B., & Benedek, M. (2025). Investigation of Response Aggregation Methods in Divergent Thinking Assessments. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 59(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.1527
- Ceh, S. M., Edelmann, C., Hofer, G., & Benedek, M. (2022). Assessing raters: What factors predict discernment in novice creativity raters?. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 56(1), 41-54. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.515.
Creativity und Artificial Intelligenz
It is hard to escape the current hype surrounding artificial intelligence. Initial results indicate that some large language models (LLMs) such as GPT-4 match or outperform humans in standardized creative tasks. But humans also are curious and have drive to create. That's why we're looking at how we can harness that the ever-increasing creative potential of artificial intelligence in the service of human creativity. We want to know, to what degree KI can support creativity research and are exploring if, how and to what extent LLMs can help the recording and evaluation of creativity tasks - entirely automated, of course.
Further Reading:
- Meinzer, N., Saretzki, J., Ceh, S. M., & Benedek, M. (2026). Automated Scoring of Creative Achievement. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 60(2), e70104. https://doi.org/10.1002/jocb.70104
- Saretzki, J., & Benedek, M. (2026). Investigating the Validity Evidence of Automated Scoring Methods for Divergent Thinking Assessments. Creativity Research Journal, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/10400419.2025.2607669
- Saretzki, J., Knopf, T., Forthmann, B., Goecke, B., Jaggy, A.-K., Benedek, M., & Weiss, S. (2025). Scoring German Alternate Uses Items Applying Large Language Models. Journal of Intelligence, 13(6), 64. https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence13060064