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A test is made of the theory that children's creativity varies according to the degree to which the child's role in the family requires conformity to conventional norms. A test of this ‘conformity-inhibition’ theory is made possible by the known differences in degree to which Indian and American society expect normative conformity of children, and also because both societies expect greater conformity on the part of girls. Creativity was measured by the ability to generate ideas which might solve a puzzle in the form of a game presented for solution to husband-wife-child groups. Data for 128 family groups show that the Bombay children had lower scores than the Minneapolis sample. Girls' scores were lower than those of boys in both societies. Sex differences in creativity were greatest in Bombay. The lesser sex difference in the Minneapolis sample is interpreted as reflecting the greater freedom and individuality permitted girls in American society. As societies change towards a less restrictive normative code, individual creativity is likely to increase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The residence background of wives who migrate to metropolitan areas plays an important role in determining their fertility. From the data collected during 1966, relating to 7,872 currently married women of Greater Bombay, India, an attempt was made to establish differentials in marital fertility by residence background of the wives. This was categorized into three groups, non-migrants, urban migrants and rural migrants. It was observed that rural migrant wives exhibited significantly higher fertility compared with the other two groups, and this was explained by their lower educational attainment. Between the non-migrant and the urban migrant wives the latter consistently showed lower fertility for all age groups up to 40, while there was a reversal in the age group 40 and above, where non-migrants exhibited lower fertility. The urban migrant wives showed a somewhat higher level of education, most likely on account of selectivity, compared to the non-migrants. According to the author, wife's education explains to a large extent the observed fertility differentials by residence background.