Contrary Imaginations: A Psychological Study of the English Schoolboy [Hardcover]

Acknowledgements.  1. Presuppositions  2. Arts and Science  3. Convergers and Divergers  4. A Network of Connections  5. Rival Systems of Defence  6. The Question of Creativity  7. A Tentative Explanation  8. Some Speculations on Original Thought.  Appendix A: Statistical Tables.  Appendix B: The Tests.  References.  Index.

First published in 1966, this title describes two types of clever schoolboy, the converger and the diverger. The intellectual and personal differences between these two types are examined in detail. This description is used as the foundation for a more general discussion of the motives which lead men and women into the Arts or the Sciences, and of the qualities which enable some to think productively while others do not. Dr Hudsons work is remarkable not only for the fresh light he throws on the relation of intelligence to personality, but also for his method. His research combines the skills of intelligence testing and psychoanalysis in a way which had not previously been attempted.

Originally published in 1966, Contrary Imaginations describes two types of clever schoolboy, the converger and the diverger. The intellectual and personal differences between these two types are examined in detail.