Questioning the Validity of the Malevolent Creativity Behavior Scale (MCBS)

Lots of Malevolence, Little Creativity

Bibliographic Data

ID21611913
AuthorsDavid H Cropley (0000-0002-7964-6538, Adelaide University, corresponding author)
Year2026
Pages1-13
Publication date2026-06-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCreativity Research Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1040-0419 • E-ISSN: 1532-6934
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10400419.2026.2688150
OpenAlexW7164833148
LanguageEN
References cited36

Strong and growing interest in Malevolent Creativity has created a need for valid and reliable measures of, among other things, malevolent creative ideation. The Malevolent Creativity Behavior Scale (MCBS) was created in response to weaknesses identified in earlier studies of malevolent creativity. However, concerns over the face validity of the MCBS, coupled with an increasing popularity of the scale in empirical studies, prompted an examination of the construct and concurrent (i.e. predictive) validity of the MCBS. The results of this study suggest that the MCBS has poor validity: it measures neither creative nor malevolent ideation sufficiently well to warrant its use in empirical studies of malevolent creativity. These findings caution against the uncritical use of the MCBS and underscore the need for new instruments, and approaches, that better measure the intersection of novelty, effectiveness and harmful intent

Construct validity · Creativity · Empirical research · Ideation · Popularity · Warrant · Creativity in Education and Neuroscience · Mind wandering and attention · Psychological and Educational Research Studies

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