I feel well, i play well, i learn well: Direct and indirect divergent thinking mediate the role of well-being in supporting literacy achievements

Abstract

In this study, we focused on children's well-being and dual manifestations of divergent thinking (DT), both direct and indirect, to investigate how these constructs correlate with children's literacy achievements. For this purpose, 107 children (52 % boys, mean age: 5.5 years, standard deviation (SD = 0.47 years) were recruited. Children's well-being was studied by counting their negative and positive affects expressed during solitary play and indicated by the positivity ratio, an index commonly used in adult studies but not previously employed in child samples. The same play episodes were used to examine indirect DT through object substitution generation (e.g., using a banana as a telephone), whereas direct manifestations of DT were examined using an alternate uses task that provided an indication of DT's triadic dimensions: fluency, flexibility, and originality. Vocabulary, morphology, and letter recognition tests were used to measure children's literacy achievements. Structural equation modeling analysis indicated that well-being is related to literacy achievements through indirect DT manifestation, which drives the flexible thinking dimension when DT is induced directly. We concluded that allocating multiple representations of objects in a play setting provides children with an opportunity to practice flexible thinking, a critical mechanism that connects well-being with literacy skills. This study is significant in revealing the possible mechanisms that explain how well-being affects children's cognitive and academic development. Practically, it provides educational practitioners with insights into monitoring children's mental states and promoting flexible thinking, both implicitly through play activities and explicitly through structure tasks.