J.P. Guilford created this test in 1967. Guilford was a psychologist who taught at a number of institutions, along with the University of Southern California. He spent 20 years at USC. Guilford created various creative tests when the United States Army Air Force urged him to investigate techniques to determine who would be a successful pilot. Guilford created the Alternative Use Test to assess divergent thinking/creativity and discovered that persons that are more creative were better pilots. The Alternative Paperclip Uses Test is not Guilford’s sole creativity test, but it is the most easily replicated. Guilford’s study was used in personnel evaluations/qualifying tests across all branches of the United States Armed Services in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.

Alternative Paperclip Uses Test encourages you to think of as many uses for a basic object as possible, such as well, a paperclip. Paul Guilford’s paperclip test is a perfect illustration of Functional Fixedness, the bias that makes it tough for us to come up with fresh or out-of-the-box ideas. It can also demonstrate how collaborating as a group expands the number of possible answers.

The Alternative Paperclip Uses Test is typically time-limited. Practicing this popular divergent thinking exam can help you improve your creative thinking skills. Why not give it a go for yourself? Give yourself a time limit, say two minutes, and attempt to come up with as many different paperclip uses as possible.

Grading the Alternative Paperclip Uses Test yourself is a little more difficult. If no one is available, try to mark your replies using the criteria we outlined earlier and be as forthcoming as possible. Keep in mind that they are fluency, originality, flexibility, and elaboration. Give oneself a score of 10 for fluency and then score each response for the next three characteristics. It is preferable if someone else marks this exam for you, but if this is not feasible, you may still have a lot of fun seeing how many ideas you can come up with. If you want truly accurate findings, have the test administered by an experienced specialist.

The Alternative Uses Test is an excellent tool for assessing divergent creative thinking. Unlike convergent thinking tests like the RAT Test, the Alternative Paperclips Uses Test focuses on how we can develop a diverse set of responses and solutions to the same topic. Being able to generate original ideas is an important talent to have in today’s idea-based economy, and taking this exam can help you strengthen your creative thinking skills.

The Alternative Paperclip Uses Test is straightforward to conduct. Participants are asked to list as many applications for a certain household item as they can in a given length of time. The responses are then evaluated based on a number of criteria, including the number of ideas, creativity, and detail. In fact, the fundamental exercise is so easy that you may do it on your own. You just need a notebook, a pen, a timer, and your brain. Try it right now. In two minutes, try coming up with as many alternative ways to utilize a paper clip aside from its traditional purpose of binding papers together as you can.

To demonstrate how simple this is, immediately behind the image that follows these directions is a list of 104 other uses that people have come up with. There are many more wherever they came from. The plan is that you first take the test, then go through the list…

Then, take out your timer and set it to two minutes. Be ready to write!