Psychometric study of the creative imagination test for young
people in the Colombian population
28
Olena Klimenko
Nubia Hernández-Flórez
Annia Esther Vizcaíno Escoba
Elisama Beltrán de la Rosa
Diana Lucia Arroyave-Jaramillo
Revista Criterios - vol. 31 n.
o
2 Julio-Diciembre 2024 - pp. 28-43
Rev. Criterios ISSN: 0121-8670, e-ISSN: 2256-1161
https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.criterios
Psychometric study of the creative
imagination test for young people in the
Colombian population
Olena Klimenko
1
Nubia Hernández-Flórez
2
Annia Esther Vizcaíno Escoba
3
Elisama Beltrán de la Rosa
4
Diana Lucía Arroyave-Jaramillo
5
To reference this article / Cómo citar este artículo / Para citar
este artigo:
Klimenko, O., Hernández-Flórez, N., Vizcaino-Escobar,
A. E., Beltrán de la Rosa, E., & Arroyave-Jaramillo, D. L. (2024).
Psychometric study of the creative imagination test for young people
in the Colombian population.
Revista Criterios, 31
(2),
28-43
.
https://
doi.org/10.31948/rc.v31i2.4268
Received:
November 30, 2023
Revised:
March 11, 2024
Accepted:
May 6, 2024
Abstract
The importance of fostering creative thinking in contemporary education implies
having adequate and valid measurement instruments to identify these skills and
guide educational eforts more accurately. The present study aimed to validate
the Test of Creative Imagination for Adolescents in the Colombian population.
It was a quantitative, psychometric, descriptive and cross-sectional study. The
test was administered to 670 high school students with a mean age of M 14.7
1
Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Atlantic International University (USA); Ph.D. in Psychopedagogy from the Universidad Católica
de Argentina; M.A. in Social Sciences from the Universidad de Antioquia; psychologist from the Lomonosov State University (Russia).
Professor at Institución Universitaria de Envigado. E-mail: eklimenco@correo.iue.edu.co
2
Ph. D. in Educational Sciences, Universidad Cuauhtémoc (Mexico); doctoral candidate in Humanities, Universidad Anáhuac (Mexico);
master’s degree in Quality Management, Universidad Católica de Valencia (Spain); master’s degree in Advances in Research, Treatments
in Psychopathology and Mental Health, Universidad de Valencia (Spain); psychologist, Universidad de Pamplona (Colombia). Professor
in charge of the Laboratory area, Psychology Program; research professor, Universidad Metropolitana de Barranquilla (Colombia).
E-mail: nhernandezf@unimetro.edu.co
3
Ph.D in Psychological Sciences. Coordinator of the Doctoral Program in Psychological Sciences, Universidad Central Marta Abreu de
Las Villas (Cuba). E-mail: annia@uclv.edu.cu
4
Ph.D. in Psychology, Behavior and Cognition, Atlantic International University (USA); Master in Psychoneuropsychiatry and
Rehabilitation, Universidad Metropolitana; Master in Psychology in Social Intervention, Columbus IBS-Aragon, (Spain); specialist in
Family Health, Universidad del Norte; specialist in HIV, Colombian Association of Infectious Diseases; specialist in Psychology in Social
Intervention, Columbus IBS-Aragon (Spain). Director of the Psychology Program, Universidad Metropolitana, Barranquilla. E-mail:
elisama.beltran@unimetro.edu.co
5
Master in Mental Health, Childhood and Adolescence, Universidad CES; specialist in Neurodevelopment and Learning, Universidad
CES; psychologist, Institución Universitaria de Envigado. Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Humanities and Education, Institución
Universitaria de Envigado. E-mail: dlarroyave@correo.iue.edu.co
Article result of the research entitled:
Propiedades psicométricas de la prueba PIC-J en población colombiana,
developed during
January - December 2023
Psychometric study of the creative imagination test for young
people in the Colombian population
29
Olena Klimenko
Nubia Hernández-Flórez
Annia Esther Vizcaíno Escoba
Elisama Beltrán de la Rosa
Diana Lucia Arroyave-Jaramillo
Revista Criterios - vol. 31 n.
o
2 Julio-Diciembre 2024 - pp. 28-43
Rev. Criterios ISSN: 0121-8670, e-ISSN: 2256-1161
https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.criterios
(SD 1.6), distributed between 12 and 18 years old. The results indicated that the
predictive validity of the test was higher in the Colombian sample; however, the
creativity scores obtained by the Colombian students were signifcantly lower
than those of the reference population. The greatest diference was found in
narrative creativity, with graphic creativity being the most similar to the original
sample. Among the variables that make up the narrative creativity factor, the
one most afected was narrative fexibility. The importance of educational and
cultural factors in the development of the creative potential of young Colombians
is discussed.
Keywords
: creativity, PIC-J, narrative creativity, graphic creativity, Colombian
students
Estudio psicométrico de la prueba de
imaginación creativa para jóvenes
en la población colombiana
Resumen
La relevancia del fomento del pensamiento creativo en la educación contemporánea
implica contar con instrumentos de medición adecuados y validos que permitan
identifcar estas habilidades y orientar los esfuerzos educativos de forma más
acertada. El presente estudio se orientó a validar la prueba de imaginación
creativa para jóvenes (PIC-J) en la población colombiana. Fue un estudio de
enfoque cuantitativo, psicométrico, de nivel descriptivo y de corte transversal.
La prueba se aplicó a 670 estudiantes de bachillerato, con una edad promedio
de M 14,7 (DT 1,6), distribuidos entre 12 y 18 años. Los resultados indicaron
que la validez predictiva de la prueba fue mayor en la muestra colombiana; sin
embargo, los puntajes en creatividad obtenidos por los estudiantes colombianos
fueron signifcativamente menores que los de la población de referencia. La
mayor diferencia se obtuvo en la creatividad narrativa, siendo la creatividad
gráfca la
más parecida a la muestra original. Entre las variables que conforman
el factor de creatividad narrativa, la más afectada fue la fexibilidad narrativa.
Se discute la importancia de factores educativos y culturales en el desarrollo del
potencial creativo de los jóvenes colombianos.
Palabras clave
: creatividad, PIC-J, creatividad narrativa, creatividad gráfca,
estudiantes colombianos
Psychometric study of the creative imagination test for young
people in the Colombian population
30
Olena Klimenko
Nubia Hernández-Flórez
Annia Esther Vizcaíno Escoba
Elisama Beltrán de la Rosa
Diana Lucia Arroyave-Jaramillo
Revista Criterios - vol. 31 n.
o
2 Julio-Diciembre 2024 - pp. 28-43
Rev. Criterios ISSN: 0121-8670, e-ISSN: 2256-1161
https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.criterios
Estudo psicométrico do teste de
imaginação criativa para jovens da
população colombiana
Resumo
A importância de promover o pensamento criativo na educação contemporânea
implica ter instrumentos de medição adequados e válidos para identifcar essas
habilidades e orientar os esforços educacionais com mais precisão. O presente
estudo teve como objetivo validar o Teste de Imaginação Criativa para Adolescentes
na população colombiana. Foi um estudo quantitativo, psicométrico, descritivo e
de corte transversal. O teste foi aplicado a 670 estudantes do ensino médio com
idade média de M 14,7 (DP 1,6), distribuídos entre 12 e 18 anos. Os resultados
indicaram que a validade preditiva do teste foi maior na amostra colombiana;
entretanto, as pontuações de criatividade obtidas pelos estudantes colombianos
foram signifcativamente menores do que as da população de referência. Foi
encontrada a maior diferença na criatividade narrativa, com a criatividade gráfca,
sendo a mais semelhante à amostra original. Entre as variáveis que compõem
o fator de criatividade narrativa, a mais afetada foi a fexibilidade narrativa.
Discute-se a importância dos fatores educacionais e culturais no desenvolvimento
do potencial criativo dos jovens colombianos.
Palavras-chave:
criatividade, PIC-J, criatividade narrativa, criatividade gráfca,
estudantes colombianos
Introduction
The promotion of creativity has become
one of the most important objectives in
contemporary education, not only in terms
of educational policies, but also in terms
of numerous researches and publications.
However, there is still a large gap between the
objectives proposed in educational policies and
the real situation regarding the promotion of
creative abilities in students in the Colombian
educational system, a reality that is revealed
by their low performance in the PISA tests.
Schleicher (as cited by Adamo-Idoeta, 2021),
Director of Education for the Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), states that Colombian students have
low levels of creative thinking skills; they have
a good memory and retain information well,
but do not know how to apply it in real life for
creative problem solving.
The Colombian education system sufers from
many shortcomings, including: unequal access
to educational services; poorly prepared
teachers and precarious working conditions;
backwardness in rural education; lack of
infrastructure and technological resources;
and, above all, outdated pedagogical models
(Leal-Talero, 2023).
Thus, the transformation of education requires
the implementation of innovative methodological
strategies aimed at fostering creativity in
students throughout the educational cycle,
which in turn requires, among other things, the
availability of measurement tools that can be
applied in educational settings and that provide
teachers with information on the difculties
presented by students in order to guide
pedagogical interventions in an appropriate
manner (Vuk, 2023).
Psychometric study of the creative imagination test for young
people in the Colombian population
31
Olena Klimenko
Nubia Hernández-Flórez
Annia Esther Vizcaíno Escoba
Elisama Beltrán de la Rosa
Diana Lucia Arroyave-Jaramillo
Revista Criterios - vol. 31 n.
o
2 Julio-Diciembre 2024 - pp. 28-43
Rev. Criterios ISSN: 0121-8670, e-ISSN: 2256-1161
https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.criterios
In this order of ideas, it is important to
have instruments that can objectively
assess students’ creativity, although it is a
complex concept that lends itself to diferent
interpretations (Kalogeratos et al., 2023). The
assessment of creativity has been a rather
controversial issue due to diferent approaches
in its theoretical conceptualization. Therefore,
some authors have used several indicators for
their respective assessment, depending on
whether they have considered only cognitive
or emotional aspects, personality, or whether
they have approached creativity as a process,
product, person or environment (Kalogeratos
et al., 2023; Brown et al., 2024).
Traditionally, four areas have been identifed
in which the evaluation of creativity is carried
out: creative processes, where the skills
considered necessary for a creative process are
assessed; the creative person, where the stable
psychological traits that characterize a creative
person are studied; creative products, where a
consensus is reached on how to determine the
criteria for a creative product; and the context
that favors creativity, where various factors
related to the environment are identifed that
allow the promotion of creative manifestations
(Long et al., 2022).
The present study focuses on the instruments
used to assess the cognitive abilities necessary
to achieve a creative thinking process. After
analyzing the indicators proposed by diferent
authors in this line of studies and in a historical
retrospective, it can be pointed out that there
are certain central indicators that are used
to assess creative ability. For the frst time,
in 1922, Simpson proposed the following
indicators: imagination, fantasy, invention,
humor, originality, fexibility and fuency to
evaluate creativity. In 1947, in the frst edition
of their book
Development of Creative Ability
,
Lowenfeld and Brittain (1980) proposed the
indicators of fuency, fexibility, originality,
ability to reorganize, sensitivity to problems,
ability to abstract, closure, and intuition.
MacKinnon (1965) defned the following
criteria: originality, intuition, persistence,
sensitivity, cognitive fexibility, curiosity,
independence, and openness to experience.
Torrance (1969) suggested: fuency, fexibility,
originality, elaboration, sensitivity to problems,
independence, autonomy, self-confdence,
curiosity, and communication. Marín (1998)
emphasized productivity, fexibility, originality,
elaboration, analysis, synthesis, openness,
communication, sensitivity to problems, and
inventiveness. For Violant and De la Torre
(2006), the indicators were: resistance to
closure, originality, elaboration, expressive
richness, fgurative expansion, fantasy, and
thematic and linear connectivity.
Most instruments for measuring creativity are
based on Guilford’s (1959a; 1959b) multifactorial
concept of intelligence, which conceives of
creativity as a set of stable intellectual abilities,
among which divergent thinking stands out.
The divergent production test constructed
by Guilford to assess creativity considers
the following indicators: fuency, fexibility,
originality, and elaboration.
Another of the most widely used tests for
assessing creativity is the Torrance Creative
Thinking Test (1972). The test consists of two
subtests: verbal and fgurative, which can be
used individually or together. Like the Guilford
test, this instrument aims to assess the four
divergent thinking skills: fuency, fexibility,
originality and elaboration.
There are other assessment batteries based on
Guilford’s model, such as Getzels and Jeackson’s
(1962) and Wallach and Kogan’s (1965). These
are very similar; the diference lies in the
conditions of use; Wallach and Kogan (1965)
support a test administration in the form of a
game and free of time constraints. According
to them, this makes it possible to separate
the creative manifestations of intelligence in
general.
Mednick’s (1962) Distant Associations Test
assumes that an important aspect of the
creative process is relating or associating
distant elements or elements from diferent
areas. The aspects assessed in the test are the
need for associative elements, the associative
hierarchy, the number of associations, cognitive
or personality factors, and the selection of
creative combinations.
Another more recent instrument is the Corbalán
et al. (2003) Test of Cognitive Measurement of
Creativity (CREA), which measures creativity
through the divergent production of questions.
Psychometric study of the creative imagination test for young
people in the Colombian population
32
Olena Klimenko
Nubia Hernández-Flórez
Annia Esther Vizcaíno Escoba
Elisama Beltrán de la Rosa
Diana Lucia Arroyave-Jaramillo
Revista Criterios - vol. 31 n.
o
2 Julio-Diciembre 2024 - pp. 28-43
Rev. Criterios ISSN: 0121-8670, e-ISSN: 2256-1161
https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.criterios
It is based on the premise that the ability to
formulate ‘good’ questions demonstrates the
capacity for inquisitive thinking, which allows
one to discover diferent facets of a given
situation, to search for hidden aspects and to
make remote associations, abilities that are
necessary for the creative process, among
others.
One of the most widely used instruments is the
Marín Test (1998), inspired by the Torrance Test,
which mainly measures productivity, mental
fexibility, originality and elaboration, although
it can also detect aspects such as synthesis
and humor.
The Artola et al. (2008) test, called PIC-J or
creative imagination test for adolescents, is
designed to assess «an aspect of creativity,
divergent thinking, through the subject’s use
of imagination or fantasy» (p. 13). The test
was initially validated in the Spanish population
and has been used in several Latin American
populations, such as Guatemala (Ballesteros,
2016), Peru (Albitres, 2017), Argentina
(Villadiego et al., 2015), Chile (Olivos et al.,
2013), and Colombia (Chaverra-Fernández and
Gil-Restrepo, 2016), among others.
Some review studies (Catalán, 2012; Pupiales
et al., 2013; Kaufman, 2019; Weisberg, 2020)
indicate that the PIC-J is the most complete
creativity measurement instrument used in
educational contexts to date; it includes items
that have been validated in practice in other
tests; it is designed to measure one aspect
of creativity: divergent thinking, through the
use of the subject’s imagination or fantasy.
Creative imagination allows the creation of new
images from previous representations stored
in memory. In this way, a diferent perception
of reality is generated, which is not reduced
to a mechanical reproduction of previous
perceptions and representations, but a creation
of new meanings.
Therefore, the present study aimed to validate
the PIC-J in the Colombian population in order to
have an instrument for the educational context.
Methodology
The design of this research was developed
through a quantitative descriptive study with
a cross-sectional approach, with the objective
of developing the psychometric validation of
the PIC-J test in the Colombian population,
which evaluates the creative thinking of young
people and focuses on the development of
cognitive intelligence. A rigorous methodology
was used to guarantee the validity and
reliability of the results.
In the psychometric validation study, statistical
analyses were performed to assess the internal
consistency of the test. Content and concurrent
validity were also validated. Reliability analysis
was performed using Cronbach’s alpha.
Finally, the results were processed through
an interpretation analysis with the intention of
structure a reliable and valid tool for educational
contexts.
Instrument
The PIC-J test by Artola et al. (2008) consists
of four games (tasks), three of which measure
narrative creativity and the fourth measures
fgurative or graphic creativity. Each task has
detailed instructions for its administration and
scoring. The result of the scoring of the four
tasks is the overall creativity score, which in
turn is composed of the narrative and graphic
creativity scores. The narrative creativity score
is composed of scores in narrative fuency,
narrative fexibility, and narrative originality;
the graphic creativity score is composed of
scores in graphic originality, elaboration, title,
and special details.
The direct score can also be converted to the
percentile score. In the present study, we worked
with the direct score, which has reference values
for three age groups: 12-13 years, 14-15 years
and 16-18 years, from the Spanish population.
The test obtained a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.85;
an exploratory factor analysis was carried out,
which showed the presence of two factors with
a variance of 53.77%.
Psychometric study of the creative imagination test for young
people in the Colombian population
33
Olena Klimenko
Nubia Hernández-Flórez
Annia Esther Vizcaíno Escoba
Elisama Beltrán de la Rosa
Diana Lucia Arroyave-Jaramillo
Revista Criterios - vol. 31 n.
o
2 Julio-Diciembre 2024 - pp. 28-43
Rev. Criterios ISSN: 0121-8670, e-ISSN: 2256-1161
https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.criterios
Participants
The instrument was administered to 670
Colombian students belonging to six educational
institutions with a mean age of M 14.7 (SD
1.6), with a minimum of 12 and a maximum
of 18 years. The predominant strata were 2
and 3. 46.4% of the sample were female and
53.6% were male; 48.5% were students from
public schools, while 51.5% were from private
schools; 44.5% studied under the traditional
pedagogical model and 55.5% under the
alternative pedagogical model.
Methodology
First, schools located in the Aburrá Valley,
department of Antioquia, Colombia, were
contacted and invited to participate in the
study; from the 13 institutions that responded,
six schools were randomly selected for the
sample; fnally, and in the same way, high
school students were selected from each
school. The test was administered in person in
the classrooms indicated by each institution.
The technical, procedural and ethical
regulations set forth in Resolution 8430 of
1993 were followed; informed consents were
signed by the parents of the students and by
the participating students.
Data Analysis
The analysis procedure for the validation of the
PIC-J psychometric test was carried out using
SPSS software version 28. Statistical techniques
were used to evaluate the reliability and validity
of the test in the Colombian population.
First, a calculation was made using Cohen’s
Kappa index, which allowed us to evaluate the
analyses of agreement between the direct scores
obtained in the PIC-J test. This index generates
the proportion of measures of agreement with
the categorical or nominal data that make up
the test. In this sense, the internal consistency
of the items and the reliability of the test as
a whole were determined, guaranteeing the
consistency and quality of the results.
Next, an exploratory type of factor analysis
was performed, as indicated by López-Aguado
and Gutiérrez-Provecho (2019), using the
principal component extraction method. In this
sense, this analysis allowed the identifcation
of the dimensions underlying the PIC-J test.
The patterns of responses that explain the
extraction of the factorial components and
the variability of the data were determined.
Among them, the eigenvalues resulting from
the extracted components were studied; the
analysis of the amount of variability explained
by each component was carried out. In addition,
the sedimentation technique was used to
identify the infectional data in the decrease of
the eigenvalues, with the factors to be retained,
considering the communality of the items in the
proportion of variance of the extracted factors
and the evaluation of the factorial structure of
the PIC-J test.
Subsequently, a descriptive statistical analysis
was performed (López and Hernández, 2019) for
the study of the scores in each item of the test,
generating a calculation from the measures of
central tendency and dispersion, as observed in
the standard deviation and range. In this way, a
detailed description of the analyzed results was
obtained, considering the established analyses
related to the reliability and validity criteria in
the validation of the psychometric test PIC-J in
the Colombian context.
Results
First, the authors of the test were asked for
permission to adapt and validate it, and once
obtained, the test was evaluated by two experts:
one from Colombia and the other from Cuba.
The evaluation matrix was designed in Excel to
evaluate the sufciency, coherence, relevance
and clarity of each item on a scale from 1 to 5.
The Cohen’s Kappa index was calculated from
the evaluations of each expert whose results
are presented in Table 1.
Psychometric study of the creative imagination test for young
people in the Colombian population
34
Olena Klimenko
Nubia Hernández-Flórez
Annia Esther Vizcaíno Escoba
Elisama Beltrán de la Rosa
Diana Lucia Arroyave-Jaramillo
Revista Criterios - vol. 31 n.
o
2 Julio-Diciembre 2024 - pp. 28-43
Rev. Criterios ISSN: 0121-8670, e-ISSN: 2256-1161
https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.criterios
Table 1
Calculation of Cohen’s Kappa index to measure sufciency, coherence, relevance and clarity of
writing game instructions
MeasurementValueApproximate Sig.
Sufciency
Measure of agreementKappa1,000,046
Number of valid cases4
Coherence
Measure of agreementKappa1,000,046
Number of valid cases4
Relevance
Measure of agreementKappa1,000,046
Number of valid cases4
Clarity of
wording
Measure of agreementKappa,200,046
Number of valid cases4
For the clarity item, the concordance obtained
was weak, and the judges’ scores were lower
for the frst three items, so they requested
adjustments in the wording of the instructions.
Both the national and international judges
suggested a small adjustment to the instructions
in terms of language expressions to make them
more understandable to the Latin American
public.
The following is a list of the initial and fnal
instructions after the adjustments suggested
by the judges:
Game #1 (original test instructions): Look
carefully at the picture on the previous page.
Your task is to imagine everything that could
happen in this scene. Write down anything that
comes to mind. Remember that there are no
right or wrong answers in this game, so use
your imagination and try to come up with lots
of ideas. For example: «It’s an adventure on a
lake».
Game #1 (adapted version): Look carefully at
the picture on the previous page; imagine as
many diferent situations as possible that could
occur and write them down below. Note that
there are no right or wrong answers; just try
to generate as many ideas as possible. For
example: «It’s an adventure on a lake».
Game # 2 (original test instructions): Make a
list of all the things a rubber tube can be used
for. Think of interesting and original uses. Write
down all the uses you would make of it, even
if they are imaginary. You can use any number
and any size. For example: «As a water pipe».
Game #2 (adapted version): Imagine as many
diferent uses as you can for a tube made of
rubber. The tube can be any size and you can
use as many as you want. Think of something
original and interesting. For example: «As a
pipe for water».
Game # 3 (original test instructions): Imagine
and answer what you think would happen if
what this sentence says occurred: What would
happen if the ground suddenly became elastic?
Example: «We’d be bouncing around all day».
Game # 3 (adapted version): Imagine that
the ground under our feet suddenly becomes
elastic. Write down all the things you think
might happen. For example: «We would be
bouncing around all day».
No changes were made to game #4, as the
judges did not indicate the need for it. The
fnal version of the instructions was left in its
original form, as follows: On this page you can
see some incomplete drawings. Try to complete
them by making a drawing so original that no
one else would have thought of it; then give
each of the drawings an interesting title.
Psychometric study of the creative imagination test for young
people in the Colombian population
35
Olena Klimenko
Nubia Hernández-Flórez
Annia Esther Vizcaíno Escoba
Elisama Beltrán de la Rosa
Diana Lucia Arroyave-Jaramillo
Revista Criterios - vol. 31 n.
o
2 Julio-Diciembre 2024 - pp. 28-43
Rev. Criterios ISSN: 0121-8670, e-ISSN: 2256-1161
https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.criterios
Factor Analysis
This factor analysis of the test yielded the results described below: the scores in the dimensions
evaluated by the test were used for the AFE: narrative fuency, narrative fexibility, narrative
originality, graphic originality, title, elaboration, special details.
The KMO master adequacy with a value greater than or equal to 0.5 shows that the partial correlations
between the variables are relevant for the factor analysis. Bartlet’s sphericity test indicates that
the correlations between the variables are signifcant (see Table 2).
Table 2
KMO and initial Barlett’s test - PIC-J factor analysis
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin sample adequacy measure,810
Bartlet’s sphericity test
Approximate Chi-square2608,417
gl21
Sig.,000
The factor analysis showed the presence of two factors, with an explained variance of 67%. This
value is higher than the value obtained in the Spanish population (53.77%), thus fulflling the
criterion of parsimony, since with two factors the variance is greater than 50%. The two components
have eigenvalues greater than 1 (see Table 3).
Table 3
Initial factor variance
Component
Initial eigenvalues
Sums of the squared
saturations of extraction
Sum of the saturations
squared by rotation
Total
% of variance
% accumulated
Total
% of variance
% accumulated
Total
% of variance
% accumulated
13,41748,80848,8083,41748,80848,8082,98242,59542,595
21,27218,17066,9771,27218,17066,9771,70724,38266,977
3,84912,12479,102
4,6409,13688,238
5,5618,01296,250
6,1782,54498,794
7,0841,206100,000
Note.
Extraction method using principal component analysis.
The criterion used in the rotation analysis was that the components had factor loadings greater
than 0.4 (see Table 4).
Psychometric study of the creative imagination test for young
people in the Colombian population
36
Olena Klimenko
Nubia Hernández-Flórez
Annia Esther Vizcaíno Escoba
Elisama Beltrán de la Rosa
Diana Lucia Arroyave-Jaramillo
Revista Criterios - vol. 31 n.
o
2 Julio-Diciembre 2024 - pp. 28-43
Rev. Criterios ISSN: 0121-8670, e-ISSN: 2256-1161
https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.criterios
The factor loadings show the frst component of narrative creativity, which includes: narrative
fexibility, narrative fuency, and narrative originality; the second component, graphic creativity,
with graphic originality, details, elaboration, and title.
Although all variables had a factorial loading value above 0.5, the title and elaboration variables had
a lower loading. The above is diferent from the initial analysis of the test. In the Spanish version,
graphic originality obtained a factorial loading of .44 (the lowest); elaboration, .73 (the highest);
title, a loading equal to .52. In the Colombian version, originality obtained a factor loading of .76
(the highest); followed by special details with .65), elaboration with .62), and title with .52.
The above suggests that graphic originality is the variable that contributes most to the assessment
of graphic creativity, since it represents the ability to create original and unusual images from
undefned initial strokes. Likewise, the Special Details variable contributes signifcantly in the same
direction, as it reveals the ability to create unusual spatial relationships and representations, which
is also a key element of graphic creativity. Elaboration has a lower but important load, since it
is an aspect more related to the completeness and embellishment of drawings, considering that
unoriginal drawings can be embellished with details. Thus, the results of the factor analysis indicate
that graphic originality is more relevant than elaboration for the evaluation of graphic creativity,
contrary to the results of the analysis carried out with the Spanish population.
Table 4
Matrix of rotated components
Component
12
Narrative fexibility
,945,157
Narrative fuency
,943,099
Narrative originality,916,131
Graphic originality,142,759
Details-,102,651
Elaboration,385,618
Title,426,522
In view of the above, a second analysis, equally relevant and signifcant, was carried out, excluding
two variables (see Table 5), which also showed an increase in the variance explained by the factors,
amounting to 79.9% (see Table 6).
Table 5
KMO and Barlett’s test second analysis
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin sample adequacy measure,761
Bartlett’s sphericity test
Approximate Chi-square2201,853
gl10
Sig.,000
Psychometric study of the creative imagination test for young
people in the Colombian population
37
Olena Klimenko
Nubia Hernández-Flórez
Annia Esther Vizcaíno Escoba
Elisama Beltrán de la Rosa
Diana Lucia Arroyave-Jaramillo
Revista Criterios - vol. 31 n.
o
2 Julio-Diciembre 2024 - pp. 28-43
Rev. Criterios ISSN: 0121-8670, e-ISSN: 2256-1161
https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.criterios
Table 6
Second Analysis of Explained Variance
Component
Initial eigenvalues
Sums of the squared
saturations of
extraction
Sum of the saturations
squared by rotation
Total
% of variance
% accumulated
Total
% of variance
% accumulated
Total
% of variance
% accumulated
12,84656,93056,9302,84656,93056,9302,74554,90254,902
21,14822,96979,8991,14822,96979,8991,25024,99779,899
3,74214,83494,733
4,1783,56798,300
5,0851,700100,000
Note.
Extraction method using principal component analysis.
With the elimination of the title and elaboration variables, the factor loadings of the graphic originality
and special details variables increased for the graphic creativity factor. It is interesting to note that
the special details variable had a higher factor loading (.84) than the graphic originality variable
(.72). This suggests the importance of visualization and spatial thinking skills in assessing graphic
creativity. Imagining the union of several drawings, the rotation of an object in space, or an unusual
perspective, among others, are key elements of graphic creativity (see Table 7).
Table 7
Matrix of Rotated Components Second Analysis
Component
12
Narrative fexibility
,959,119
Narrative fuency
,955,069
Narrative originality,930,106
Special Details-,041,837
Graphic originality,218,721
Finally, considering the theoretical importance of all the variables included in the test to assess
graphic creativity, it is recommended to keep both the elaboration variable and the title variable,
especially the latter, which refects the ability to relate the graphic image to a linguistic concept
whose degree of abstraction and metaphorical language refects the level of conceptual complexity
that the subject is dealing with. The above contributes to an assessment of general creativity,
since this variable contributes to both factors, its loading being higher for graphic creativity (.522),
but also important (although below the factorial loading acceptance limit: .426) for the narrative
Psychometric study of the creative imagination test for young
people in the Colombian population
38
Olena Klimenko
Nubia Hernández-Flórez
Annia Esther Vizcaíno Escoba
Elisama Beltrán de la Rosa
Diana Lucia Arroyave-Jaramillo
Revista Criterios - vol. 31 n.
o
2 Julio-Diciembre 2024 - pp. 28-43
Rev. Criterios ISSN: 0121-8670, e-ISSN: 2256-1161
https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.criterios
creativity factor, closely related to the personal linguistic pool. The internal consistency analysis
(Cronbach’s coefcient calculation) gave satisfactory results (see Table 8).
Table 8
Internal consistency data for the PIC-J
AlphaNElements
Total PIC-J0,746707
Table 9 shows the values of the descriptive measures obtained in the normative sample of the
study, according to age and criteria of the original study, whose scales are divided according to
these age groups.
Table 9
Descriptive Data of the Total Sample by Age
AgeMinimumMaximumMediaDt
12-13
Total creativity317053,632,3
Narrative creativity015547,030,3
Graphic creativity0216,54,1
Narrative fuency
07724,2316,1
Narrative fexibility
03614,67,2
Narrative originality0498,38,1
Graphic originality094,12,2
Elaboration081,01,4
Title041,41,4
Special details01,08,3
Total cases 183
14-15
Total creativity419653,133,8
Narrative creativity018746,431,9
Graphic creativity0216,73,8
Narrative fuency
010523,015,8
Narrative fexibility
04214,77,5
Narrative originality0498,79,8
Graphic originality0114,42,1
Elaboration081,01,4
Title081,21,6
Special details01,07,3
Total cases244
Psychometric study of the creative imagination test for young
people in the Colombian population
39
Olena Klimenko
Nubia Hernández-Flórez
Annia Esther Vizcaíno Escoba
Elisama Beltrán de la Rosa
Diana Lucia Arroyave-Jaramillo
Revista Criterios - vol. 31 n.
o
2 Julio-Diciembre 2024 - pp. 28-43
Rev. Criterios ISSN: 0121-8670, e-ISSN: 2256-1161
https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.criterios
AgeMinimumMaximumMediaDt
16-17
Total creativity819151,229,5
Narrative creativity418044,927,8
Graphic creativity0216,33,9
Narrative fuency
210621,913,8
Narrative fexibility
23514,66,9
Narrative originality0438,58,2
Graphic originality0124,22,2
Elaboration05,861,2
Title061,11,5
Special details02,07,3
Total cases243
Discussion and Conclusions
The predictive validity of the test was higher
in the Colombian sample; however, the
creativity scores obtained by the Colombian
students were much lower than those of the
reference population. The greatest diference
was obtained especially in narrative creativity,
with graphic creativity being more similar to
the original sample. Among the variables that
make up the narrative creativity factor, the one
most afected was narrative fexibility.
The lack of creativity in Colombian students has
been highlighted by several authors, who point
to the existence of gaps in educational practice
between what is proposed by educational
policies and what is actually done in the
classroom (Cárdenas, 2019; Mejía et al., 2022).
These defciencies are evident in the low
performance of Colombian students in the
PISA tests, which indicates that the teaching
methods in Colombian education are
oriented toward the memorization of content
rather than its understanding and creative
application (Montero, 2021; Castro, 2023;
Leal-Talero, 2023).
The Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD, 2023), in its analysis
of the quality of education in Colombia, points
out, among other things, methodological
defciencies and the presence of difculties in
terms of teacher qualifcations, the disparities
between rural and urban education, the lack
of infrastructure and technological resources,
which is refected in the training of students,
including their creative capacity.
Considering the diferences in creativity
between diverse countries and cultures, it
is important to observe other factors, such
as the combination of the level of economic
development of the country with the climatic
conditions (Van de Vliert and Murray, 2018),
the social mentality (Richter and Kruglanski,
2004), and especially the mentality of the
adolescents who formed the study sample.
Regarding this last factor, an interesting study
conducted in 55 countries on some elements
that contribute to people’s life satisfaction found
that Colombia belongs to the countries with a
collectivist culture and that, for its inhabitants,
vertical collectivism or conformity is positively
correlated with life satisfaction (Diener et al.,
1995). This is an attractive aspect that refects
the cultural mentality of conformism, which
can have a signifcant impact on the promotion
of creative and innovative thinking, the latter
being a characteristic contrary to the conformist
thinking that is fostered in children and
adolescents from an early age in educational
and family environments.
Another striking aspect is the low performance
of Colombian students in narrative creativity. It
is necessary to consider that creativity, being a
Psychometric study of the creative imagination test for young
people in the Colombian population
40
Olena Klimenko
Nubia Hernández-Flórez
Annia Esther Vizcaíno Escoba
Elisama Beltrán de la Rosa
Diana Lucia Arroyave-Jaramillo
Revista Criterios - vol. 31 n.
o
2 Julio-Diciembre 2024 - pp. 28-43
Rev. Criterios ISSN: 0121-8670, e-ISSN: 2256-1161
https://doi.org/10.31948/rev.criterios
complex mental capacity, is related to several
higher mental functions, including language.
Palacios et al. (2022) show that creativity has a
positive correlation with expressive language.
Gil (2018), for his part, also refers to linguistic
creativity, showing the relationship that exists
between creativity and language.
The above, applied to the educational context,
allows us to understand that in order to
promote creativity in students, it is essential to
adopt a comprehensive approach that includes
the promotion of diferent competencies,
including linguistic and reading comprehension.
Currently, this competence is also lacking in
Colombian students, according to a report by
the OECD (2023).
At a general level, the results of the present study
indicate good psychometric properties of the
PIC-J test in the Colombian population, allowing
the use of this test in educational contexts,
achieving the possibility of generating feedback
regarding the application of pedagogical and
didactic strategies oriented to the promotion of
creative abilities in students.
Among the limitations of the study, it is possible
to point out defciencies in the selection of
the sample, although it meets the criteria for
this type of study due to its size and random
selection procedure. Nevertheless, for the next
evaluations of the psychometric properties
of the test, it is convenient to extend the
sampling to the population of rural students
in diferent departments of the country with
cultural diferences, in order to improve the
representativeness of socioeconomic strata,
both of lower and higher economic.
With regard to the results of this validation
and, above all, the levels of the scores obtained
in the reference population, we recommend
continuing the same line of study and expanding
the sample both nationally and internationally,
i.e. in other Latin American countries.
Confict of interest
The authors of this article declare that they
have no conficts of interest related to the work
presented.
Ethical responsibilities
The ethical considerations, in accordance with
Colombian regulations, were based on the
guidelines of Resolution 8430 of 1993 of the
Ministry of Health and Protection and Law 1090
of the Colombian College of Psychologists, which
establishes the technical and administrative
scientifc contemplations for conducting
research with humans in Colombia, taking into
account those that guarantee the well-being
of patients. For this reason, this research is
considered to be of minimal risk; in addition,
the confdentiality and privacy of the data
collected have been guaranteed; therefore, the
treatment of the data has been respected.
Likewise, informed consent was signed by
each of the participants; clear and precise
information on the procedure and the possible
risks and benefts was provided to the
academic community, considering the right to
withdraw at any time from the research. The
principle of benefcence and non-malefcence
was manifested, ensuring ethical procedures.
Equally, the transparency and disclosure of the
results of the validation and standardization of
the PIC-J test was guaranteed, respecting the
rights and welfare of the participants in the
psychometric research.
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Contribution
Olena Klimenko:
principal investigator.
Statistical processing of data, writing of
materials and methods and obtaining results.
Nubia Hernández-Flórez
: analysis and
interpretation of results, writing the introduction,
methods, discussion and conclusions.
Annia Esther Vizcaino Escobar:
data
processing, content generation and validation
analysis and standardization.
Elisama Beltrán de la Rosa:
analysis
and interpretation of results, generation of
discussion contributions, and conclusions.
Diana Lucia Arroyave Jaramillo:
interpretation of statistical data, writing of
discussion, conclusions.
All authors participated in the preparation of
the manuscript, read and approved it.