What makes someone creative is hard to define, making it difficult to measure—until now. Thanks to a team of international researchers from Harvard University, McGill University, and the University of Melbourne, there’s an easy way to measure your creativity, and it only takes four minutes.
The test is simple: Think of 10 words—specifically nouns—that are as different as possible from one another. Then, enter the words to find out just how creative you are. That’s it.
Ready to see how your creativity ranks? Take the test.
Now, DAT’s science!
We know. You’re wondering, “How could it be so simple?” Well, so were we. But before we dive in, we’re issuing a spoiler alert: If you want authentic results, consider pausing here to take the test, then tab back to understand how it works.
The test, officially named the Divergent Association Task (DAT), measures divergent creative thinking—or the thought process using imagination to explore many possible solutions, typically resulting in unique, innovative ideas.
DAT calculates your creativity using an algorithm to measure the distance or relatedness between the words. According to the researchers, words used together often—like “apple” or “orange”—are more related, meaning less distance between them, resulting in a lower creative score. Whereas words like “orange” and “magazine” are less related with more significant distance between them, yielding a higher creative score.
The researchers say DAT test scores correlate with other creative assessments, including the ability to create new uses for everyday objects (think #lifehacks) and finding connections between unrelated concepts. Thus proving this short task as a reliable and effective way to measure creativity.
If you scored low on the test, don’t be discouraged. The DAT is just one measure of your creative thinking—and you may have a different creative approach to work and life.
But if your brand’s marketing feels stuck—and you need help developing creative ideas to generate buzz for your brand—we’ve got you covered. Contact us.
