Acta Psychologica Sinica

Abstract

This study administered the Scientific Creativity Test for Secondary School Students to 1190 adolescents aged 11 to 15 from 6 suburban middle schools in England and 1087 adolescents aged 12 to 18 from 2 suburban middle schools in China. Result indicated that: (1) the age difference of scientific creativity of adolescents is marked. It has increasing tendency, but decreases at 14. The key periods for the rapid development of adolescents’ scientific creativity are from 11 to 13 and from 14 to 16 years old. (2) The scientific creativity of adolescents has sex difference. English females’ scientific creativity is evidently superior to males’. But Chinese males’ scientific creativity is superior to females’, and the difference is not remarkable. Based on this result and other studies, we proposed the culture model of sex difference of scientific creativity. (3) There is marked difference in scientific creativity between Chinese and English adolescents. Chinese adolescents’ creative problem solving ability is evidently superior to that of English adolescents. But English adolescents’ other scientific creativity and whole scientific creativity are evidently superior to that of Chinese adolescents. (4) There is marked difference in scientific creativity among students in different kind of Chinese schools. Key-middle-school-subjects’ scientific creativity is evidently superior to that of ordinary-middle-school-subjects. The authors think school environment and school education are more important than school type to the development of scientific creativity.

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