The Influence of Gender and Scientific Program Experience on Postgraduates' Creativity

Abstract

This study aimed to empirically investigate the influence of China postgraduates’ both gender and participation in research projects. A sample of 260 postgraduates (106 males and 143 females) from a China university performed the Kaufman domains of creativity scale and the questionnaire on scientific project participation. The results showed that the female’s performance in everyday creativity was significantly better than the male, whereas the male’s performance in scientific creativity was significantly better than the female. The amount of research project participation could also affect postgraduates’ creative performance, with a markedly better performance for the students participating in two or more projects than others. These results suggest gender and participation in research projects both greatly contribute to the postgraduates’ creative performance.