Publication Date

2006

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Robinson, Rhonda S.

Degree Name

Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)

Legacy Department

Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment

LCSH

College students--Psychology; Creative thinking

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between naturalistic media usage and creative thinking from the perspective of Gavriel Salomon’s revised reciprocal determinism. The study addressed six limitations of previous research in this area by providing a standardized definition for creative thinking, providing an overall theoretical framework for the relationship between media usage and creative behavior, controlling for extraneous variables, using a more extensive measure of media behavior, extending the research into a natural setting, and examining the impact of media formats. In the study, creative thinking was assessed by using the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults. Media behavior was assessed using a media diary and a media questionnaire. The study controlled for gender, major, and leisure-time activities. The major findings of the study were (a) the importance of reading on the development of creative-thinking skills, (b) the impact of the symbol system of the new medium of the Internet on users, and (c) the impact of level of attention paid to the media on the development of creative-thinking skills. Based on the findings of the study, future research isolating the formal features of various aspects of new media was proposed.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references (pages [101]-107).

Extent

vii, 124 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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