Divergent Thinking, Cultural Differences, and Bilingualism

• Published in: The Journal of social psychology 1977-10, Vol.103 (1), p.3-11
• Main Authors: Price-Williams, Douglass R., Ramirez, Manuel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Indexing in process
• ISSN: 0022-4545; 1940-1183
• DOI: 10.1080/00224545.1977.9713289

Mexican-American, black and Anglo fourth grade children (N = 183) from Catholic parochial schools in Houston, Texas, were tested with the Unusual Uses Test and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The Anglo Ss scored higher than the blacks and Mexican-Americans on the Peabody test. Mexican-American and black males scored higher than Anglo males on both fluency and flexibility as measured by the Unusual Uses Test. Black males scored higher on fluency than any of the other subgroups. On the other hand, Anglo females scored higher on fluency and flexibility than the other females. Furthermore, Anglo females scored higher on flexibility than any of the other subgroups. Black females obtained the highest flexibility/fluency ratio. The results of the male Ss supported the hypothesis that children of minority groups and children who are "balanced" bilinguals tend to do better on the Unusual Uses Test. The female results, however, did not support this hypothesis and could not be explained by the study.