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The effect of problem-finding and creativity style on the musical compositions of high school students
Abstract
If music teachers are to emphasize creative activities in a class, they must have information about ways to most effectively structure learning. This study sought to understand the effect of problem finding and creativity style on the creative product. Participants (n = 32) were categorized by creativity style (adaptor or innovator) using the Kirton Adaption-Innovation Inventory. The participants completed two musical composition problems involving two different degrees of problem finding behaviors: an open (ill defined) and a closed (more defined) problem. The resulting products were scored for creativity by three judges using a modified version of Amabile's "consensual assessment technique." A repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the data. The independent variables were composition problem type and creativity style, and the dependent variable was the creativity score on the open and closed problems. The following null hypotheses were tested at the.05 level of significance: (1) There is no significant difference between the means of the open and closed problem groups with respect to creativity score as measured by expert ratings. (2) There is no significant difference between the means of the adaptor and innovator groups with respect to creativity score as measured by expert ratings. (3) There is no significant interaction between problem type and creativity style. All three hypotheses were accepted. This research supports the assertion of Kirton that adaption-innovation theory is a measure of creativity style rather than creativity level. Although the analysis did not show a statistically significant interaction between problem type and creativity style, the research model was supported by the trend of the data which showed that such an interaction may exist. Because of the importance of musical creativity to the profession, further research is suggested.
Subject Area
Music education|Educational psychology
Recommended Citation
Brinkman, David John, "The effect of problem-finding and creativity style on the musical compositions of high school students" (1994). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9504138.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9504138