Creativity in drawings of geometric shapes - A cross-cultural examination with the Consensual Assessment Technique

This study examines whether European Americans and Chinese differ in their creation and evaluation of drawings of geometric shapes. Two hundred ninety-four drawings created by 50 European American and 48 Chinese college students were selected from a larger study of culture and creativity. Drawings were judged by eight Chinese and six European Americans following the Consensual Assessment Technique. The drawings were coded by content to examine what the judges considered creative. Results showed high consensus between European American and Chinese judges and great similarity in the creativity of drawings generated by the two groups. Judges liked best those drawings they judged more creative. The most creative drawings typically involved representations of geometric shapes in contexts (either concrete or abstract). Results run counter to the belief that there are wide cultural variations in the evaluation of and attitudes toward creativity, demonstrate the feasibility of cross-cultural comparisons with the Consensual Assessment Technique, and provide a basis for further cross-cultural research on creativity.