Situated Creative Activity: The Drawings and Private Speech of Young Children

摘要

Although attention has been paid to creative individuals, their products, the various creative processes involved in creative activity (such as divergent thinking), and the environments or situations that afford or constrain creative activity, little attention has been paid to how these components converge during creative activity. The primary questions addressed in this study concern the role of self-regulation while children were engaged in drawing pictures of real and make-believe objects. The study questions were addressed by examining the private speech (i.e., spontaneous self-directed talk) and drawings of real and make-believe objects made by 108 children (36 in first grade, 36 in third grade, and 36 in fifth grade). The findings of this study illuminate differences in the use of private speech (overall and by subtype) for self-regulation purposes by participants based on the type of drawing task (real or make-believe), grade, and creative ability level of participants. This study also found a moderate, positive (r = .28, p < .005) correlation between the drawing and creative ability of participants. Avenues for future research are discussed.