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The Elements of Creativity and Giftedness in Mathematics pp 5–28Cite as

An Exploratory Study of Relationships between Students’ Creativity and Mathematical Problem-Posing Abilities

Comparing Chinese and U.S Students

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Part of the book series: Advances in Creativity and Giftedness ((ACAG,volume 1))

Abstract

The literature is replete with statements alleging that people in the Western countries are more creative than people in the East Asian countries (Zhao, 2008; Rudowicz & Hui, 1998; Yue & Rudowicz, 2002; Lubart, 1990; Dunn, Zhang, & Ripple, 1988). A typical explanation for those statements is that, citizens of the Western cultures tend to be independent and to find meaning largely by reference to their own internal thoughts, feelings, and actions rather than by those of others; while citizens of the East tend to hold an interdependent perspective of the self in which meaning depends more on interpersonal relationships (Markus & Kitayama, 1991). In other words, in the Western countries, individuals often focus on discovering and expressing themselves and on accentuating differences from others, whereas East Asians tend to organize more into hierarchies in which individuals seek membership in larger communities (Zha, Walczyk, Grifffith-Ross, & Tobacyk, 2006).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Mathematics, Illinois State University, Normal, USA

    Xianwei Yuan & Bharath Sriraman

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  1. Xianwei Yuan
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  2. Bharath Sriraman
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Montana, Missoula, USA

    Bharath Sriraman

  2. Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea

    Kyeong Hwa Lee

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Yuan, X., Sriraman, B. (2011). An Exploratory Study of Relationships between Students’ Creativity and Mathematical Problem-Posing Abilities. In: Sriraman, B., Lee, K.H. (eds) The Elements of Creativity and Giftedness in Mathematics. Advances in Creativity and Giftedness, vol 1. SensePublishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-439-3_2

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