Adults More Creative Than Kids in Study — SkimNews
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- Dr Mathias Benedek led a study at the University of Graz comparing creativity in adults and preschoolers, finding adults produced more original and useful ideas when given clear goals and time limits.
- University of Graz researchers asked 92 children (ages 4–7) and 70 adults to complete three creative tasks, including generating uses for a tin and drawing imaginary animals, then had judges rate the outputs.
- Judges rated adult-generated work as more creative, original, and useful than children’s, particularly in timed or goal-directed tasks, contradicting the common assumption that children are more creative.
- Children reported feeling more confident, motivated, and less anxious during creative tasks, despite producing less original outcomes, suggesting emotional factors shape perceived creativity.
- Adults expressed lower confidence and higher anxiety about their ideas, with researchers noting they often dismissed unusual concepts due to fear of judgment, limiting creative exploration.
- The study team concluded that adults do not lose creativity with age but lose confidence in using it, emphasizing that intrinsic motivation in children can be mistaken for superior creative ability.
Why it matters: The finding that adults outperform children in creativity under structure shifts how we understand creative development—educators and workplaces may now focus less on generating ideas and more on reducing anxiety around idea sharing, since confidence, not capacity, appears to be the bottleneck.
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