Article

Some Correlates of Technical and Scientific Productivity

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Abstract

Using publications and inventions (weighted) as a combined technical and scientific productivity criterion, reports on certain work habits, practices, and attitudes were collected from 194 technical and scientific personnel." Analysis of these reports yielded such information as: individuals with greatest accumulated productivity were characterized by more degrees, higher rank, more honorary and professional memberships, more journals read, less belief in equalitarian practices in research units, more belief in voluntary determination of deadlines, and more selflessness of motive.

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... There has been a growing research interest in originality during the last decade. Areas of major concern have been the study of the productivity of creative individuals (Dennis, 1958;Lehman, 1953;Taylor, 1956Taylor, , 1958Van Zelst & Kerr, 1951), their personality (Barron, 1955;Drevdahl, 1956;Taylor, 1956Taylor, , 1958, the sociological and cultural factors promoting creativity (Barnett, 1953;Stein, 1953;Taylor, 1956Taylor, , 1958, and investigations designed to develop reliable paper and pencil tests for the study of individual differences (Guilford, 1950;Springbett, Dark, & Clarke, 1957;Wilson, Guilford, & Christensen, 1953). 2 Although there is general recognition of the importance of the problem of devising training techniques for facilitating creativity, most of the work in this important area has been anecdotal or merely hortatory (Ghiselin, 1955;Mearns, 1958;Osborn, 1957;Slosson & Downey, 1922). ...
... Two additional experimental groups received lists of 125 different stimulus words, the same number as the repetitions of the initial list for the standard experimental group. One group received high frequency count stimulus words while the other group was presented with relatively low frequency count words (Thorndike & Lorge, 1944). This procedure equated the experimental groups for the total number of different responses. ...
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"A series of experiments by Maltzman and his associates was reviewed, and a procedure which consistently facilitated originality was described. This procedure involves the repeated presentation of a list of stimulus words in a modified free association situation accompanied by instructions to give a different response to each stimulus. Under these conditions the responses become more uncommon. When presented with new stimulus materials, Ss receiving such training are reliably more original than Ss receiving no training." (38 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
... Third, creativity is positively associated with openness to experience and a breadth of interests (Carson, Peterson, & Higgins, 2005;Gough, 1979;Harris, 2004;McCrae, 1987). Highly creative people are usually omnivorous readers, reading well outside their specialty areas (Chambers, 1964;McCurdy, 1960;Simon, 1974;Simonton, 1984;Van Zelst & Kerr, 1951). Strikingly, highly creative scientists tend to have more artistic interests than their less creative colleagues (Root-Bernstein et al., 2008;Root-Bernstein, Bernstein, & Garnier, 1995). ...
Chapter
It is with some hesitation that I write this chapter. Personal modesty and professional honesty require that I admit my limitations from the outset. This admission might even be considered an act of “truth in advertising” or a “caveat emptor.” So, here are two confessions.
... Third, creativity is positively associated with openness to experience and a breadth of interests (Carson, Peterson, & Higgins, 2005;Gough, 1979;Harris, 2004;McCrae, 1987). Highly creative people are usually omnivorous readers, reading well outside their specialty areas (Chambers, 1964;McCurdy, 1960;Simon, 1974;Simonton, 1984;Van Zelst & Kerr, 1951). Strikingly, highly creative scientists tend to have more artistic interests than their less creative colleagues (Root-Bernstein et al., 2008;Root-Bernstein, Bernstein, & Garnier, 1995). ...
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How do beginning engineers perceive engineers they term "productive?" Ss were 80 male, 3rd year engineering students employed ½ of each year full time in industry. The Productive Behavior Checklist (Stoltz) was used. A t ratio was used to compare productive and nonproductive sets of ratings. A description of the "stereotype of the productive engineer" was developed: (a) "The productive engineer is seen as a versatile person, intelligent, with good analytical reasoning ability." (b) He is very interested in his work. (c) "The producer is seen as having a high degree of independence needs and initiative, again chiefly within the job area, and with a definite orientation toward accepting responsibility." (d) "The subordinates see the producer as having the ability to capably administer his own work and the work of others, but as not being particularly fond of administrative work." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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A sample of 514 technical and scientific respondents anonymously completed self-administered self-description ratings on a five-point scale for each of 56 personality trait names. The self-ratings were correlated with a productivity criterion (inventions plus publications). On the basis of the finding that 68% of the validity coefficients exceeded chance at the 1% level, it is concluded that "… a self-rating approach… may yield… greater validity than ordinarily found in the external evaluation [personality test or clinical assessment] approach." As compared with the less productive, the more productive scientists described themselves as more original, imaginative, curious, enthusiastic, impulsive, less contented, conventional, etc. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
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This study was designed to examine several factors of the goal orientation → information behavior → research performance linkage relevant to research management policy. Questionnaires, complemented by interviews with several respondents, were completed by a stratified sample of 89 U.S. and Canadian biological scientists. Four meaningful dimensions of goal orientation were identified (leader-administrator, entrepreneur, scientist-basic, and scientist-applied) and found to be significantly related to facets of the information environment categorized in terms of their relevance to the respondent's methodology, hypotheses and theories, data, and laboratory equipment. Information environment in turn was shown to be significantly related to objective measures of research performance. Several implications are suggested with regard to consequences of policy interventions directed at introducing a change in terms of research process output and content.
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