Jacob W. Getzels: Theory of Creativity
William, Billy to everyone but his fourth grade teacher and mother, was not a typical student. He rarely raised his hand in class, his homework in most subjects was just average and he seemed to lack confidence in himself when it came to academics.
However, although fairly humble, he was the most popular student in the class. He was always smiling, he could tell some great jokes and he was always quick to tease. That's what his teacher noticed first. His teasing wasn't hurtful, it was creative to the point that even the child being teased laughed.
Then there were his grades. Although he didn't answer questions and was average in subjects where rote memorization was key, he excelled in subjects where his personality could shine. He was great in English and could figure out word problems in math faster than anyone.
When the school conducted a battery of IQ tests, his teacher thought William (Billy) would have one of the top scores. She was disappointed to find that his IQ test indicated he was just a little above average. The result made her wonder: Is there more to intelligence than the tests are showing?
A psychologist at the University of Chicago, Jacob W. Getzels wondered the same thing. He was curious where intelligence and creativity intersected. He wanted to know if creativity was a product of intelligence or if they were separate concepts.
To find the answer, he began by conducting research with secondary students in the 1960s. He tasked them with standard intelligence tests to begin with to find out which students were supposed to be the brightest - who should score the highest on intelligence tests.
While studying the tests he recognized something that would become very important. He realized that the tests were leading toward the right answers, but that they asked the questions in the wrong way. The tests questions did not allow for creative answers. Rather they were focused on memory tasks.
Getzel's research, documented in his book Creativity and Intelligence, looked at the students who scored well in the classroom and expected all of these students to perform equally well on intelligence tests. When some students did not score as high as they should have on the these tests, he realized that there was an underlying cause.
People who have greater creative competency can perform well in the classroom because there is some freedom of thought. These students were able to come up with creative solutions to problems, which demonstrated their understanding of the material.
Conversely, on standardized tests, there was no allowance for creativity. Students who could memorize and recall well were rewarded because they could spit back the answers they were supposed to. Whereas students who thought creatively were not able to express themselves in that way and thus did not perform as well.
Jacob Getzels proposed that standardized tests needed to have a variety of question types so that all students were included. He asked them questions such as, 'How many uses can you name for this (a certain object)?' When given the chance to express their creativity, these students performed very well. Getzels theory of creativity is based on the fact that intelligence is not confined to one type of learning or expression.
Since Jacob Getzels first introduced his new learning theory to the general public, tests have changed. Standardized tests for intelligence now include different types of questions so that students have the ability to express themselves in ways that are natural to their individual ability. He is recognized in the field of psychology as the originator of some of the most forward-thinking innovations in the science of intelligence.
Jacob W. Getzels was a psychologist who was interested in the way people thought. While researching intelligence, he noticed that some students who performed well in school did not perform as well as expected on standardized tests.
His questioning led him to discover that some students were successful due to their ability to arrive at conclusions creatively rather than by memory and recall. He then instituted tests that allowed students who were more creative to better show their proficiency. He is remembered as the originator of a creative theory of intelligence, which he documented in his 1962 book Creativity and Intelligence.
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