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Abstract
This dissertation addresses a very important topic, which is discussed but rarely studied by researchers in the creativity field, problem finding (PF). The introductory chapter presents the rationale for conducting a systematic review and a meta-analysis study regarding the relationship between PF and creativity in order to answer four questions: What is the nature of the relationship between PF and creativity? Is the relationship affected by certain variables? How do various terms used in the problem finding (PF) literature differ from one another--if they differ at all? And, is there one term that is the best label for the processes that can be studied empirically? Chapter two is an attempt to address those questions through a systematic review of PF literature. Chapter three examines the nature and the magnitude of the relationship between PF and creativity using the meta-analysis method. Five moderators were used to explain the variance in the mean effect size (r). Retrieving and aggregating effect sizes from forty studies employing the random-effects model uncovered an overall moderate significant relationship between PF and creativity, r= .22 (95% CI= .11 - .32). Moderator analysis showed that three out of the five moderators independently influenced the effect size: age, DT indices, and PF domain. The results suggest that using different terms in PF research does not affect the research findings. Finally, chapter four offers some implications and suggestions for further studies on PF.