TOWARD AN IMPROVED MEASURE OF REMOTE ASSOCIATIONAL ABILITY

Abstract

A lack of satisfaction with existing measures of creativity and the need for a more theoretically sophisticated approach to measurement in this area were identified Mednick's remote association theory of creative behavior was reviewed, and Mednick and Mednick's operationalization of that position, the Remote Associates Test (RAT), was analyzed both logically and empirically. An alternative measure of remote associational ability, the Functionally Remote Associates Test (FRAT), was offered as a more logical extension of Mednick's theory. Empirical data were presented which suggest the superiority of FRAT to RAT as a measure of creativity.