CREATIVITY AND COGNITIVE STYLE OF CREATIVITY: A DESCRIPTION OF GRADUATE NURSING FACULTY AND CONSTRUCT VALIDATION OF THE KIRTON ADAPTION-INNOVATION THEORY.
Contributors: Indiana University School of Nursing.
Published: 1988
Number of pages: 227
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: This study utilized traditional measures of creativity and Kirton's Adaption-Innovation Inventory (KAI) to describe both level of creativity and cognitive style of creativity in faculty and administrators in National League for Nursing accredited graduate schools of nursing. The KAI measures a cognitive style of creativity. Traditional measures of creativity included measures of personality traits, perceptions of environment for creativity, demographic validity for the Adaption-Innovation Theory was demonstrated. Seventy-four schools of nursing agreed to participate, with 613 usable questionnaires returned.

Reliabilities for the seven personality scales exceeded.72. Reliability of the KAI was.88. Reliability of the Creative Survey was.82. The sample was found to exhibit significantly higher scores than did the norms used for comparison on the Breadth of Interest, Complexity, Energy Level, Innovation and Risk taking scales. Scores on the Conformity and Valve Orthodoxy scales were significantly lower than norms. The mean score on the KAI was 107.58, significantly more innovative than general population norms. Pearson product moment correlations measuring the relationships between KAI scores, measures of selected personality traits, demographic variables, research and publication productivity, and environment for creativity supported the hypotheses.

Conclusions of the study are: (1) that this sample of nurses faculty and administrators in National League for Nursing accredited graduate schools of nursing can be described as exhibiting an innovative cognitive style of creativity; (2) that this sample of faculty and administrators exhibit a higher level of creativity than norms; (3) faculty and administrators rate their work environment as being only moderately supportive of creativity; and (4) construct validity for the Kirton Adaption-Innovation theory was provided through hypothesis testing.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-09, Section: B, page: 3680.

Thesis (D.N.S.)--INDIANA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF NURSING, 1988.

School code: 0815.