The Effect of Play on the Creativity of Young Children During Subsequent Activity

This study investigated whether the experience of unstructured play in a preceding task may influence the creativity of young children in subsequent activity. 52 children in the age range 6-7 were randomly allocated to two groups. The first group was allowed to play with salt-dough for 25 minutes, while the other group followed a structured exercise involving the copying of text from the board. All children were then asked to produce a collage of a creature, using a controlled range of tissue-paper materials. The procedure was then repeated some days later, with the two groups experiencing the other preceding task. 10 judges (7 trainee teachers and 3 lecturers) judged the creative quality of the work arising. The range of colours and total number of pieces used by each child in each collage was also recorded. Analysis of the results revealed a significant positive effect of preceding task upon creativity and range of colours.