Age-related Changes in Creative Thinking

Age-related differences in cognitive processes were used to understand agerelated declines in creativity. According to the Geneplore model (Finke, Ward, & Smith, 1992), there are two phases of creativity — generating an idea and exploring the implications of the idea — each with different underlying cognitive processes. These two phases are measured in the Creative Invention Task (CIT; Finke, 1990). Younger adults (n = 41) and older adults (n = 41) completed the CIT, the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), and a measure of working memory capacity (Paper Folding test). In addition, the CIT was scored by both younger and older adults. There were age-related declines on both phases of the CIT, but not on the TTCT. These declines were noted by both the younger and older raters. After adjusting for working memory capacity, however, age-related differences on the CIT were nonsignificant.