STUDIES OF CREATIVITY AND OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTURBANCES IN CHILDREN HAVE SUGGESTED THE PRESENCE OF SLUMPS (OR INVERSIONS) WHICH MAY BE CORRELATED WITH DEVELOPMENTAL TRANSITIONS. THE MOST NOTABLE OF THESE OCCURS AT ABOUT THE FOURTH GRADE AND IS THE OBJECT OF THIS STUDY. THREE SETS OF INVESTIGATIONS WERE UNDERTAKEN--(1) A STUDY OF CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT IN 7 CULTURES, (2) A STUDY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONFORMITY TENDENCIES, AND (3) LONGITUDINAL STUDIES OF CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT. THE 7 CULTURES SELECTED WERE (1) UNITED STATES, DOMINANT, ADVANTAGED, (2) UNITED STATES, SEGREGATED, NEGRO, (3) WESTERN AUSTRALIA, (4) WESTERN SAMOA, (5) WEST GERMANY, (6) NORWAY, AND (7) INDIA. THE BASIC DATA WERE OBTAINED FROM A BATTERY OF VERBAL AND NONVERBAL TESTS GIVEN TO THE CHILDREN AND WERE SUPPLEMENTED WITH INFORMATION FROM TEACHERS ABOUT THEIR TEACHING PRACTICES AND THEIR CONCEPTS OF AN "IDEAL PUPIL." SAMPLE SIZES FOR EACH CULTURE RANGED FROM 500 TO 1000 CHILDREN COVERING GRADES 1 THROUGH 6. THE CONFORMITY TENDENCIES WERE EXPLORED IN A SERIES OF 6 STUDIES, EACH INVOLVING FROM 150 TO 500 U.S. ADVANTAGED-CULTURE CHILDREN IN GRADES 2 THROUGH 6. THE LONGITUDINAL STUDY WAS BASED ON A SAMPLE OF 100 U.S. ADVANTAGED-CULTURE CHILDREN WHOSE PERFORMANCES IN THE THIRD, FOURTH, AND FIFTH GRADES WERE COMPARED. THE INTERCULTURAL STUDY FOUND THAT DISCONTINUITIES IN DEVELOPMENT OCCUR IN MOST CULTURES AND CONCLUDED THAT THERE IS EVIDENCE TO SUGGEST THAT THEY ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THE IMPOSITION OF ADDITIONAL SOCIAL DEMANDS. THE TEACHERS' RESPONSES ON AN IDEAL PUPIL CHECKLIST PROVED ABLE, WHEN COMPARED WITH THOSE OF AN EXPERT PANEL ASKED TO DETERMINE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A CREATIVE CHILD, TO PREDICT THE RELATIVE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE DIFFERENT CULTURES' CHILDREN IN CREATIVITY. THE CONFORMITY STUDIES REVEALED AN INCREASED TENDENCY FOR CHILDREN TO CONSULT WITH THEIR PEERS AT ABOUT THE FOURTH GRADE, AND THE LONGITUDINAL STUDY CONFIRMED THE EXISTENCE OF THE SLUMP IN INDIVIDUALS. (DR)