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Alternate Uses (Guilford's Alternate Uses)

 

Authors: J.P. Guilford, Paul R. Christensen, Philip R. Merrifield, & Robert C. Wilson

Alternate Uses (also known as Guilford's Alternate Uses) is a revised and improved form of the test Unusual Uses, which was originally designed (Wilson, Guilford, Christensen & Lewis, 1954) to represent an expected factor of "flexibility of thinking" in an investigation of creative thinking. Each item represents the name of well-known object, such as a newspaper, with a statement of its ordinary use. The participant is to list as many as six other, uncommon uses for the object, in the time allowed.

The Alternate Uses score relates to:

  • Originality
  • Fluency
  • Flexibility
  • Elaboration

In both forms, Alternate Uses is divided into two separately timed parts of three items each, in order to help the survey participants to distribute their time more equitably among the items. Forms B and C were designed for those test administrators who want two comparable forms of the test, or who would like to increase reliability of measurement by applying both forms. The original Form A has been discontinued although it may be reconstructed using Forms B and C along with instructions in the manual.

Copyright © 1960 Sheridan Supply Co.

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  • Manual
    $50.00
    Includes details on reliability, validity, scoring, etc. and a review-only copy of the Alternate Uses form. PDFs are not refundable.
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  • License to Reproduce
    $2.75
    Minimum purchase of 50. Allows you to administer the ALT-U as an online survey via a non-Mind Garden survey system or as a paper and pencil survey. The downloadable PDF file includes one copy of the ALT-U, scoring key, and permission to administer the ALT-U up to the quantity purchased. The PDF is non-refundable.
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  • Manual: Printed for shipping
    $60.00
    Includes details on reliability, validity, scoring, etc. and a review-only copy of the Alternate Uses form. This is a paper product. The manual will be printed, bound, and shipped to you (FedEx shipping costs apply).
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Features of Alternate Uses

Purpose: Measures "flexibility of thinking" in an investigation of creative thinking.

Length: 6 items

Average completion time: 8 minutes

Target Population: 5th grade reading level and higher

Norms in manual: Age

Uses of Alternate Uses

  • Creativity evaluation

Scales

Acceptable: the use is possible for the object; must be different than the provided use; must not be vague or very general use

Unacceptable: the use does not qualify as Acceptable

Please read the Alternate Uses Manual for details on scales and scoring.

List as many as six possible uses for each of the following objects.

5. BRICK (used for building)

a. ____________________ (example: to hit someone on the head)
b. ____________________ (example: a paperweight)
c. ____________________ (example: to save water in a toilet tank)
d. ____________________ (example: a doorstop)
e. ____________________ (example: to build a house)
f. ____________________ (example: throw through a window)

Copyright © 1960 Sheridan Supply Co.

Available with Alternate Uses License to Administer:
These translations are available free of charge with your purchase of the license. Translations are provided in a separate pdf-format file. Select the language from the Translation drop-down list. Need multiple translations? Contact us.

  • Chinese-Mandarin
  • Dutch
  • French--Canada
  • German (Form B only)
  • Korean (Form C only)
  • Lithuanian
  • Norwegian
  • Russian
  • Turkish

Note: We cannot assure translation quality — many are made by individual researchers and we are not necessarily familiar with the particular language or dialect. Some of the translations are partial and typically do not have validation data. Basically, we offer whatever is available to facilitate your work.

If you are unable to find the translation you need, you can request permission to make a translation.

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