The relationship between diverse components of intelligence and creativity

Abstract

Intelligence and creativity are accounted for in terms of two different mental operations referred to as 'convergent thinking' and 'divergent thinking', respectively. Nevertheless, psychometric evidence on the relationship between intelligence and creativity has been controversial. To clarify their relationship, we characterized the relationship between diverse components of intelligence and creativity through the administration of psychometric tests on a large sample (WAIS, RPM, and TTCT-figural: n = 215; TTCT-verbal: n = 137). The general intelligence factor (g) score showed significant correlations with both TTCT-figural and TTCT-verbal scores. However, sub-dimensional analysis demonstrated that their association was attributable to the specific components of both TTCTs (TTCT-figural: Abstractness of Titles, Elaboration, and Resistance to Premature Closure; TTCT-verbal: Flexibility) rather than to their common components (Fluency and Originality). Among the intelligence sub-dimensions, crystallized intelligence (gC) played a pivotal role in the association between g and the specific components of both TTCTs. When the total sample was divided into two IQ groups, these phenomena were more evident in the average IQ group than in the high IQ group. These results suggest that the mental operation of creativity may be different from that of intelligence, but gC may be used as a resource for the mental operation of creativity.