In Search of Temperament and Personality Predictors of Creativity: A Test of a Mediation Model

Risk factors for early use of e-cigarettes and alcohol: Dimensions and profiles of temperament

Adolescent e-cigarette use has been labeled an epidemic and alcohol use during this developmental period is associated with deleterious outcomes. Though specific temperamental dimensions have been shown to predict substance use, profiles of temperament have rarely been examined as predictors. This study examines dimensions and profiles of adolescent temperament as predictors of early use of e-cigarettes and alcohol. The sample was comprised of adolescent (62.07% female, 87.59% White, 82.76% Hispanic/Latinx)/caregiver dyads (N = 146) who completed the first two timepoints (M age at second timepoint = 16.16, SD = 0.68) of a longitudinal adolescent substance use study. Models showed parent-reported effortful control predicted protection against adolescent use of e-cigarettes, whereas adolescent report of effortful control predicted protection against alcohol use. Though dissimilar in temperamental pattern, three profiles emerged from both parent- and adolescent-report-based latent profile analysis models. Adolescents characterized by parents as displaying a Resilient profile had greater odds of e-cigarette use than those characterized by a Reserved profile, whereas adolescents who self-characterized as Mixed-type had markedly greater odds of alcohol use than those who self-characterized as Resilient. Utilization of temperamental profiles may aid in identification of particularly vulnerable subgroups of adolescents who may benefit from relevant preventative programing.

Factor structure of intelligence and divergent thinking subtests: A registered report

Psychologists have investigated creativity for 70 years, and it is now seen as being an important construct, both scientifically and because of its practical value to society. However, several fundamental unresolved problems persist, including a suitable definition of creativity and the ability of psychometric tests to measure divergent thinking—an important component of creativity—in a way that aligns with theory. It is this latter point that this registered report is designed to address. We administered two divergent thinking tests (the verbal and figural versions of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking; TTCT) with an intelligence test (the International Cognitive Ability Resource test; ICAR). We then subjected the subscores from these tests to confirmatory factor analysis to examine which of nine theoretically plausible models best fits the data. Results show that none of the pre-registered models fit the data well, an ambiguous result that leaves unanswered the question of whether intelligence and divergent thinking tests measure the same construct. Exploratory (i.e., not pre-registered) measurement models of each test separately shows that the TTCT-F may not measure a coherent, unitary construct—leading to model misspecification when TTCT-F subtests were included in larger models. This study was conducted in accordance with all open science practices, including pre-registration, open data and syntax, and open materials (with the exception of copyrighted and confidential test stimuli). Materials are available at https://osf.io/8rpfz/.

Factor structure of intelligence and divergent thinking subtests: A registered report

Psychologists have investigated creativity for 70 years, and it is now seen as being an important construct, both scientifically and because of its practical value to society. However, several fundamental unresolved problems persist, including a suitable definition of creativity and the ability of psychometric tests to measure divergent thinking—an important component of creativity—in a way that aligns with theory. It is this latter point that this registered report is designed to address. We propose to administer two divergent thinking tests (the verbal and figural versions of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking; TTCT) with an intelligence test (the International Cognitive Ability Resource test; ICAR). We will then subject the subscores from these tests to confirmatory factor analysis to test which of nine theoretically plausible models best fits the data. When this study is completed, we hope to better understand whether the degree to which the TTCT and ICAR measure distinct constructs. This study will be conducted in accordance with all open science practices, including pre-registration, open data and syntax, and open materials (with the exception of copyrighted and confidential test stimuli).