Joint Developmental Trajectories of Novelty and Usefulness in Chinese Children's Creativity

Creativity encompasses both novelty and usefulness, with novelty referring to the generation of unique and uncommon ideas, while usefulness pertains to the effectiveness and appropriateness of these ideas in addressing the given task. The comprehension of the process of coordinated development for children's novelty and usefulness, including the potential gender differences, is crucial; however, it still lacks clarity in the current academic discourse. To address these gaps, this study investigated the joint developmental trajectories of novelty and usefulness as well as the gender differences in trajectory group membership among Chinese children. A sample of primary school children (initial grade 3, N = 665; 46.4% girls; initial Mage = 8.60 years) were followed for three years. The results revealed a negative association between novelty and usefulness across all three time points. Through parallel-process latent class growth modeling, three distinct trajectories of novelty and usefulness were identified: the High Novelty Decline-Medium Usefulness Increase-Stability Group (66%), the Low Novelty Increase-High Usefulness Decline-Convergence Group (19%), and the Low Novelty Decline-High Usefulness Increase-Divergence Group (15%). These findings suggest that the development of children's creativity is influenced by a multifaceted pattern involving both novelty and usefulness. Moreover, gender differences in trajectory group membership were examined and discussed within the context of creativity development in Chinese children.