The research presented in this volume suggests that divergent thinking is an important component of the creative process. Divergent thinking tests are probably the most commonly used measure of children's potential for creative thinking. There are a number of unanswered questions about children's divergent thinking and creativity which are answered throughout the volume and may be identified as themes in the research. The first theme is that the capacity for divergent thinking may not be normally distributed across all levels of ability (a relevant premise is that creative abilities are not evenly distributed across domains of performance and achievement). A second theme is that divergent thinking is influenced by the conditions under which it is assessed. A third theme of the book is methodological; several chapters explore existing evaluations of divergent thinking tests. A final theme is that divergent thinking is important for both basic and applied research. From the perspective of basic research, the divergent thinking model offers an empirically supported view of a cognitive process. From the applied perspective, divergent thinking can be viewed as one component of giftedness and predictive of several expressions of real-world creativity.
Mark A. Runco is currently the E. Paul Torrance Professor of Creativity Studies at the University of Georgia, Athens.
Mark earned his PhD in Cognitive Psychology from the Claremont Graduate School. He earned tenure first at the University of Hawaii, Hilo, and then at California State University, Fullerton, and then, in 2008, at the University of Georgia, Athens. At that time he accepted the position of Torrance Professor at UGA. He was Director of the Torrance Creativity Center from 2008-2010. Dr. Runco has been Editor of the Creativity Research Journal since 1989 and is a Past President of Division 10 (Psychology, Art, Creativity, and Aesthetics) of the American Psychological Association. He co-edited two editions of the Encyclopedia of Creativity (1999, 2011). Probably for this reason he has, in the past two years, been quoted by the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek (cover story), US News and World Report, Oprah, Women's Health, and NPR. His textbook, Creativity: Theories, themes, and issues (Academic Press) has been translated into six languages. His new book, The New Science of Creativity, is due out in the Spring (Taylor & Francis). He is President of Creativity Testing Services, LLC (creativitytestingservices.com), which is the publisher of the extensive "rCAB" (Runco Creativity Assessment Battery). The "r" in rCAB is silent. Or perhaps it is trying to escape.
Amazon usually lists over 30 of Dr. Runco's editing books, text books, and similar publications.
