Newell 1
Sandy Newell
Ms. Kravitz
English
April 15th, 2017
Correlation Between Parenting Style and Creativity Found in Adults
Debates on the association between the three different types of parenting styles and
creativity oscillates amongst many research studies. Permissive parenting style portrays a friend
like relationship between the parents and the children, showing little rules and authority (Miller).
In contrast to permissive parenting, authoritarian parents strictly control children’s behaviour,
and uses discipline as a fix for disobedience (Mehrinejad 50-60). The third type of parenting
style is authoritative. This type of parenting maintains a balance between demandingness and
responsiveness, establishing rules and standards for the children (Talib 19). Studies favoring the
authority of authoritarian parenting argues that leniency is directly associated with neglect which
negatively impacts creativity (Lim 417). Other studies, such as that of Mehrinejad and Millers,
believe that a strict parenting style such as the authoritarian parenting forces negativity upon
children causing them to fear new things, and experience, thus limiting their creativity
(Mehrinejad 50-60). I would like to support this argument because Miller’s study measures
creativity from different points of view while many other studies moves away from these aspects
of creativity that parallels with the different parenting styles.
I will be reviewing several research studies done in North America that test the
correlation between the three different types of parenting style and the level of creativity that is
found in adults who grew up in these different home environments. By analyzing these studies, I
Newell 2
will determine which of the three types of parenting allows for the greatest level of creativity
growth. As a result, I will argue that adults raised under authoritative parenting style posses a
higher level of creativity in comparison to those who grew up with authoritarian and permissive
parents. Despite permissive parenting being easygoing and favouring of the children, many
studies show that individuals who experience this type of parenting lacks warmth and feels to be
neglected which is a direct effect towards their level of creativity (Koestner, Berthelsen).
Creativity is separated by “Little C Creativity”, which is the creativity used throughout
daily life and problem solving, and “Big C Creativity”, which is signified by those individuals
such as artists, writers, scientists, and others that are well known in their domain of study
(Csikszentmihalyi). As many research studies uses the Standard Creativity Test as a basis for
testing individual's levels of creativity, Miller takes a more precise approach by conducting his
research based on the 4Ps creativity testing, which categorizes creativity into four variables,
including person, process, product, and press (Davis). The person component of creativity
explores the internal personality ...
