Remote Associates Test

The Remote Associates Test (RAT) is a creativity test used to determine a human's creative potential. Each test typically lasts forty minutes and consists of thirty to forty questions each of which consists of three common stimulus words that appear to be unrelated. The person being tested must think of a fourth word that is somehow related to each of the first three words. Scores are calculated based on the number of correct questions.

Example:
Question - Falling Actor Dust
Correct Response - Star

The Remote Association Test was originally created by Professor Sarnoff Mednick at the University of Michigan in 1962. Mednick created the RAT based on his belief that a creative person could think of novel ideas and use them effectively. Mednick tested the RAT on his students and reported a validity coefficient of .70. In 1967 Mednick published "Examiner's manual: Remote Associates Test" with his wife Martha.

Mednick believed the RAT could be used to test "all fields of creative endeavor" and suggest that those who excel on the RAT will be gifted creatively as well as in the sciences. Mednick also suggested that this test be used to select students from lower-income families to be admitted to special educational programs. However there is no data that shows that students who have done well on the RAT excel in any particular subject leading to criticism of the validity of the RAT. Worthen and Clark (1971) concluded that the RAT measured sensitivity to language rather than creative potential. The correct response is often the most common response and does not link the other three words in any conceptual way. Worthen and Clark improved upon the RAT to create the Functionally Remote Associates Test (FRAT) that depends on functional relationships.

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