Can creative thinking predict academic success in medical education? Correlating Torrance Test of Creative Thinking scores and five-year GPAs of Japanese medical students

This study determined the correlation between creative thinking aptitude, measured by the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking–Figural (TTCT–F), and five-year academic achievement. The TTCT–F was administered to 135 first-year medical students at a Tokyo-based medical school in 2018. Participants’ academic records—annual GPAs over five years—were averaged, and data were analyzed in 2023. Pearson correlation coefficients examined the relationship between the TTCT–F Creativity Index and the five-year average GPA; multiple linear regression assessed the predictive value of TTCT–F components on GPA; canonical correlation analysis explored multivariate relationships. The Creativity Index demonstrated a weak, non-significant correlation with the five-year average GPA. Fluency, Originality, and Elaboration components were not significantly correlated, while Abstractness of Titles demonstrated a moderate positive correlation. Linear regression indicated that Abstractness of Titles signi..., Participants
We conducted a retrospective cohort study, administering the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking Figural (TTCT–F) in 2018 as a proctored and timed test to a cohort of 135 first-year medical students at Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine in Chiba, Japan. The participants took the test simultaneously and were between the ages of 18 and 23 years old at the time. The cohort comprised 42 women (31.1%) and 93 men (68.9%) (see Table 1). The study was approved by the Juntendo University Institutional Review Board and conducted in accordance with ethical guidelines to ensure participant confidentiality and data anonymity. All participants provided informed consent before participation and allowed access to their academic records for research purposes. No exclusion criteria were applied, and all first-year medical students in the cohort were eligible to participate. Data were collected and stored in compliance with ethical guidelines to ensure confidentiality and anonymity.
Instr..., , # Can creative thinking predict academic success in medical education? Correlating Torrance Test of Creative Thinking scores and five-year GPAs of Japanese medical students

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.79cnp5j6p](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.79cnp5j6p)

## Description of the data and file structure

## Data Set

The data set shows the following:

1. An anonymous student number is assigned to each student from 1 to 135.
2. Gender
3. Torrance Test of Creative Thinking Figural (TTCT-F) Fluency Score 
4. TTCT-F Originality Score
5. TTCT-F Elaboration Score
6. TTCT-F Abstractness of Titles Score
7. TTCT-F Premature Closure Score
8. TTCT-F Sum Score
9. TTCT-F Average Standard Score
10. TTCT-F Creativity Index Score
11. First year of medical school (M1) GPA - Fifth year of medical school (M5) GPA
12. Average 5-year GPA

TTCT-F scores and categories are described above in the methods section.

GPA = Grade Point Average.,