The aptitude for coming up with ideas and brainstorming is called Ideaphoria by Johnson O’Connor and Idea Productivity by The Highlands Ability Battery. This aptitude is measured through a timed writing test. It’s simple: how many words can you write about a certain topic in x amount of minutes?
The spark: how quick can you come up with ideas?
The test administrator does not grade for quality of content, but rather how many words a person can produce quickly. Writing speed usually does not sway the results much. If you are a person who is able to come up with a lot of ideas, you will be able to write more words than most people. One idea leads easily and seamlessly into another. You may even be able to think of the next sentence while writing the current one. On the other hand, if you are a person who has trouble thinking up new ideas, you will be on the lower end of the scale.
Just as with other aptitudes, there are benefits and disadvantages to scoring either high or low. Knowing your score will help you direct your life into areas in which you are sure to be successful. Ideaphoria is a driving ability, so if you have a high score, putting yourself into situations in which you can use it will help you find success and happiness there.
Johnson O’Connor says, “High-ideaphoria people should choose work that gives them an outlet for their ideas. Sales, advertising, journalism, and teaching are examples of fields that will generally provide such an outlet. The teacher trying to keep a class alert and interested, the journalist struggling to complete a story before a deadline, the salesperson thinking of the one last persuasive point to clinch a sale, are all exercising their ideaphoria.”
Low Ideaphoria
The idea productivity aptitude measures quantity, not quality of ideas
A low-ideaphoria person will not do well in these situations. They will struggle to come up with solutions quickly. They will find it taxing to constantly meet deadlines dependent on their thought output.
Instead, “the low-ideaphoria person should consider occupations that call for concentration rather than a rapid flow of new ideas, such as some areas of banking, clerical work, and engineering. These jobs demand concentration, an ability to work at complicated tasks without being distracted. Business executives often do not score high in ideaphoria: in many management situations it is more important to carry through existing policies than to dream up countless new projects.” A very high Ideaphoria person will probably find these jobs slow paced, boring, and will soon realize their strengths are not being used.
An important thing to remember about the Ideaphoria test is that it does not measure the quality of your ideas. This is something you must work on your own and receive feedback from others about. The quality of your ideas is something you can control (unlike the innate aptitude of Ideaphoria). You can widen your experiences, hone your writing and speaking skills, improve your vocabulary, and work on creative projects.
How bright is your Idea Productivity? Find out by taking The Highlands Ability Battery today!
If you have low Ideaphoria but are creative, don’t worry! Scoring low in Ideaphoria does not mean you cannot be a writer or creative person. The Career Profiler, a career coach, had a client who had low Ideaphoria but high originality. His originality pressed him to produce something new. His low Ideaphoria actually helped him slow down enough to create the new thing. With low Ideaphoria he was able to stick through his projects until finished. That is a skill many artists wish they had!
Do you know how you score in Ideaphoria? The answer is important if you want to find a job that makes you happy. Find out today by taking an aptitude test. We recommend The Highlands Ability Battery.