Theoretical Framework: DT ability is commonly viewed as indicator of a person’s creative cognitive potential, and robust predictor of creative achievement. While DT assessments are arguably the dominant approach to measure creative potential, they face persistent concerns regarding their psychometric quality. Several advancements for DT assessment have been proposed over the last years; however, novel approaches still await systematic evaluation and contribute to the observed heterogeneity of DT assessment approaches across labs.
Research Questions: This project aims to answer the main research question: How should DT tests be best administered and scored to ensure high psychometric quality? By answering this question, we aim to encourage more consistent standards for psychometrically sound DT assessments in creativity research.
Methods: This project will realize three main objectives by means of seven complemental studies:
Objective 1: The project takes stock of the various approaches to DT assessments by reviewing the prevalence of available DT test conditions and by conducting a meta-analysis of reliability/validity evidence of DT assessments.
Objective 2: It systematically examines promising variations of DT assessment including examinations of the role of task type and number, the role of task duration, the instruction-scoring fit, and different scoring approaches.
Objective 3: Finally, the project will realize a direct comparison of novel and established DT assessments to establish the potential benefits of novel DT assessments.
Innovation: This project addresses long-standing psychometric issues of DT assessment – the prevalent approach for the measurement of creative potential. It aims for a rigorous, systematic examination of previously proposed as well as novel psychometric advancements of DT assessments to provide dependable empirical evidence on how to maximize their psychometric quality. It has immense impact potential, because more effective measurements are expected to directly translate into more effective creativity research in terms of consistent and valid findings.