THE BACKGROUNDS, MOTIVATIONS, AND PERSONALITIES OF THREE GROUPS WERE INVESTIGATED TO DETERMINE THE SOURCE AND TYPE OF EDUCATIONAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS THAT ARE CONDUCIVE TO CREATIVE PRODUCTIVITY. A SAMPLE OF 30 PSYCHOLOGISTS WAS SELECTED AND, AFTER SOME INVESTIGATION, WAS DIVIDED INTO THE FOLLOWING GROUPS--(1) CREATIVE, (2) NONCREATIVE, PRODUCTIVE, AND (3) NONCREATIVE, NONPRODUCTIVE. EACH SUBJECT PARTICIPATED IN AN UNSTRUCTURED PERSONAL INTERVIEW FROM WHICH INDIVIDUAL IDENTIFICATION WAS MADE ON A NUMBER OF PERTINENT FACTORS INCLUDING MOTIVATION, PERSONALITY, ETIOLOGY, DEVELOPMENT, AND EDUCATION. THE COLLECTED DATA WERE ANALYZED, AND CROSS-CORRELATIONS OF ALL FACTORS WERE MADE TO ESTABLISH SOME FORMIDABLE COMPARISONS AMONG THE SUBJECT GROUPS. CONCLUSIONS WERE THAT SOME REVISION OF CURRENT PROFESSIONAL TRAINING PROCEDURES COULD BE OF BENEFIT IN THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF CREATIVITY, AND THAT THE FAMILY AND EMOTIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENTS ARE OF CONSIDERABLY GREATER IMPORTANCE IN FOSTERING CREATIVITY THAN THE FAMILY SOCIOECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES. EARLY FAMILY RESPONSIBILITY AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR INDEPENDENT ACTION WERE ALSO CONSIDERED TO BE OF VALUE. IN ADDITION, IT APPEARED THAT EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES ARE INFLUENTIAL IN FOSTERING OR SUPPRESSING CREATIVE POTENTIAL. (JH)