Some correlates of originality

Abstract

A non‐intellective theory of originality was proposed, which equated original performance with the inability or unwillingness to internalize “stop‐rules.” On the basis of this theory, a battery of non‐intellective tests was administered to 320 schoolchildren of average age 13 years 6 months. Multivariate analysis of the test scores showed that the correlates of originality, measured in terms of oblique factor scores, were (in descending order) impulse expression, category width, risk‐taking, and MBTI E‐I. These results forced a revised theory involving a single very general “stop‐rule.” Analysis of the specific relationship between sex and originality supported the revised theory.