Content area
Full text
ABSTRACT: To study the relationship of giftedness with creativity and postformal thinking, creativity with postformal thinking, and age with postformal thinking, 263 Malaysian adults (minimum first degree holders) of two age groups-young adults 18-39, and middle-aged adults, 46-65- were recruited online and administered a demographic questionnaire, Giftedness in Adults Rating Scale, Creative Personality Scale, and Postformal Thought Scale. Correlation design was adopted for the first three relationships and a single factor independent design for the fourth relationship. As hypothesized, giftedness predicted creativity and postformal thinking positively; creativity predicted postformal thinking positively. However, the fourth hypothesis that postformal thinking would be greater in middle adulthood than in young adulthood was not supported. Implications of the findings are discussed.
There are no universally accepted definitions for giftedness, creativity, or postformal thinking, and past studies have offered various definitions for each of these concepts. Generally, the literature has referred to giftedness as having something, be it ability or performance, that is at top form. For example, Adelodun (2011) defined giftedness as excelling beyond a person's peers' level in abilities. Colombo, Shaddy, Blaga, Anderson, and Kannass (2009) put it as outstanding performance in any area of skills, while Gagné (2004) and Worthen (2000) explained it as having brilliant talent. In line with Adelodun's view, the present study has termed giftedness as being more able and capable than the average in any ability.
In terms of creativity, there is not a clear-cut definition in psychological writings thus far (Adelodun, 2011). Besançon, Lubart, and Barbot (2013) have defined creativity as the ability to create novel results, while Wallace (1985) viewed it as being distinctive in a specific field or creating something astonishing that has not been seen before. Creativity has also been used alternatively with originality, imagination, and divergent thinking (Adelodun, 2011). Shah, Millsap, Woodward, and Smith (2012) explained that divergent thinking involves the production of numerous flexible and original ideas. This is similar to Adelodun's further explanation that being perceptive, thinking flexibly, looking for new situations, and exploring possibilities are some of the traits of creative people. Moreover, Sternberg (2003) also included the ability to tolerate vagueness. As such, creativity involves the ability to be flexible, generate many possible solutions, and face the unknown. Being creative is a...