On the role of creativity in the formation of new complex words

Dados Bibliográficos

ID3989588
AutoresLívia Körtvélyessy (0000-0001-5292-2355, Department of British and American Studies , Faculty of Arts, P. J. Šafárik University , Košice , Slovakia, autor correspondente), Pavol Štekauer (0000-0001-9316-5071, Department of British and American Studies , Faculty of Arts, P. J. Šafárik University , Košice , Slovakia), Pavol Kačmár (0000-0003-0076-1945, Department of Psychology , Faculty of Arts, P. J. Šafárik University , Košice , Slovakia)
Ano2021
Volume59
Fascículo4
Páginas1017-1055
Data de publicação2021-07-27
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoLinguistics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0024-3949 • E-ISSN: 1613-396X
EditoraWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1515/ling-2020-0003
OpenAlexW3176353073
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas7
Referências citadas67

This article presents the results of a large-scale interdisciplinary project aimed at a corroboration of the role of creativity in the way university undergraduates (N = 309) coin new complex words. Specifically, the tendency towards economy of expression, preferred by a speaker, and the tendency towards semantic transparency, preferred by a listener, were examined in the broader context of the creative potential of an individual, understood as divergent thinking abilities captured by the Torrance test of creative thinking (TTCT). The results indicate that divergent thinking abilities, as operationalized by the TTCT scores, negatively correlate with the general tendency to coin new complex words in a more economical fashion. More specifically, the general tendency towards economy of expression correlates negatively with Elaboration, Creative Strengths, and potentially with Creativity. A more detailed analysis indicates that this is especially the case for the word-formation task, where open-ended responses were analyzed and a drawing served as stimulus material for word formation. These results are not only novel but also encouraging for future research into the role of psychological factors in the psycholinguistic process of word formation conceived as a creative act of a language user

Cognitive psychology · Cognitive science · Creative thinking · Creativity · Elaboration · Epistemology · Expression (computer science) · Humanities · Linguistics · Operationalization · Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking · Computer Science · Creativity in Education and Neuroscience · Educational Methods and Teacher Development · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Psychology · Social Psychology