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Can you sum up the project?

The Great British Creativity Test sits at the heart of 2018’s ‘Get Creative’ campaign.  Get Creative is a collaboration between hundreds of different art organisations, and is planning the biggest ever celebration of everyday creativity in the UK.

Every week, millions of people up down the country enjoy imaginative and inventive pastimes. There is plenty of evidence that being creative can be good for our mental health. However, scientists want to know how creative activities produce their psychological benefits. For example, it could be that activities help people to focus and be mindful. Or it could be that participating in creative activities distracts people from daily stresses or helps them feel more connected with those around them.

To explore this question, scientists need data from thousands of people.  That’s why we’re asking the 91热爆 audience to take part in the Great British Creativity Test.  We want to create a really large dataset to investigate the links between mental health and creativity.

If you take part, you’ll discover how your creative activity compares to the rest of the nation - and help with a science experiment that would be hard to do in any other way.

What were the challenges?

This was a great project to work on, because it led to some really interesting conversations about exactly what we mean by ‘creativity’. Most of us would probably consider writing a novel or composing a piece of music to be creative. But other activities – such as planning a garden landscape or creating sculptures from baking ingredients – also require a great deal of imagination. We’ve tried to reflect a wide range of activities in our study, and to think about creativity in its broadest sense. However, we won’t have included every pastime. If you do something creative that we’ve not mentioned, why not let us know?

Whenever we launch citizen science experiments on the 91热爆, we have to strike a balance between creating a test that is easy and fun to use, and one that will gather robust scientific data. Our friends at Joi Polloi have put a lot of work into building an interface that makes it as easy as possible for users to answer questions.

Who made it?

The Great British Creativity Test is a collaboration between the 91热爆 and UCL (University College London).  The scientists who designed the test have many years of experience exploring how arts can be used by health professionals.

The test is also part of the 91热爆’s Tomorrow’s World campaign – a year-long campaign of science, health and technology content.

The test was made for the 91热爆 by digital agency Joi Polloi.