Researchers compare creative performance in preschoolers and adults and find that adults tend to perform better on creative tasks, even though they often report feeling less willing to try. The work challenges the common assumption that children are inherently more creative.
Across the coverage, a consistent explanation appears: adults’ creativity is constrained less by ability than by psychological factors. Outlets describe fear of failure, anxiety, and lower self-confidence as influences that make adults hesitate or avoid creative work when asked to do it. In contrast, preschoolers are portrayed as acting more automatically and confidently in the moment. The reporting also notes that the study uses an approach that pits younger children against adults, with the adults’ objectively stronger results paired with their more inhibited feelings.
