The Creativity in Play Scale: Examining the Role of Imagination and Self-Regulation in Naturalistic Play Ratings of Creativity

Creativity is central to success and growth in a 21st-century world, necessitating a better understanding of its development. For children, play is thought to be a developmentally appropriate creative product that may represent a child's everyday creative potential, but few scales exist to measure creativity in play. The first aim of the current study was to develop the Creativity in Play Scale to evaluate preschool creativity using children's natural play behaviors. Second, we aimed to uncover some of the processes that may be related to creativity in childhood, such as imagination and self-regulation. To this end, we examined whether teacher reports and child direct measures of imagination and self-regulation were related to creativity measured via Creativity in Play Scale observations. Results from 90 preschoolers suggest that assessing creativity through play is feasible. Moreover, higher imagination was related to higher observed creativity in play; however, self-regulation was not. This study extends previous research by establishing a new measure of creativity for preschool-aged children. It also informs creativity theory, providing a richer understanding of what variables contribute to children's creative process during play.