Divergent Thinking Ability Research Articles

Neural, genetic, and cognitive signatures of creativity

Creativity is typically operationalized as divergent thinking (DT) ability, a form of higher-order cognition which relies on memory, attention, and other component processes. Despite recent advances, creativity neuroscience lacks a unified framework to model its complexity across neural, genetic, and cognitive scales. Using task-based fMRI from two independent samples and MVPA, we identified a neural pattern that predicts DT, validated through cognitive decoding, genetic data, and large-scale resting-state fMRI. Our findings reveal that DT neural patterns span brain regions associated with diverse cognitive functions, with positive weights in the default mode and frontoparietal control networks and negative weights in the visual network. The high correlation with the primary gradient of functional connectivity suggests that DT involves extensive integration from concrete sensory information to abstract, higher-level cognition, distinguishing it from other advanced cognitive functions. Moreover, neurobiological analyses show that the DT pattern is positively correlated with dopamine-related neurotransmitters and genes influencing neurotransmitter release, advancing the neurobiological understanding of creativity.

Creating a Reflective Framework for Exploring Divergent Thinking Potential to Enhance Unconventional Ideas

This paper aims to investigate the implications of divergent thinking (DT) on the 'Habit-Bound Thinking' of undergraduate design students. The goal of this research is to find a way to develop creative designs that accurately mimic 2D frequent shapes. The results of this semi-experimental study gathered and analyzed observational data to evaluate the participants' divergent thinking abilities to generate a wide range of ideas or solutions to a given situation. Two colleges' worth of 120 students were split evenly between the control and experimental groups. This data set addressed the study's primary research question and produced substantial changes in the outcomes. Students in the control group improved significantly on tests measuring component knowledge and creative ability after receiving training and creating the graphical models. These results back up the theory that student creativity is fostered via project-based learning. The establishment of workshops led to a rise in originality

Analisis Korelasi Kemampuan Berpikir Divergen dengan Kreativitas Ilmiah pada Mahasiswa Calon Guru IPA

This research aims to analyze the relationship between divergent thinking abilities and scientific creativity. That creativity is stated to originate from divergent and convergent thinking. Quantitative descriptive methods with a correlation approach were used in the research. A total of 100 prospective science teacher students were research subjects using random sampling techniques. Measuring divergent thinking abilities uses an instrument that adapts Graphic Convergent Thinking (GCT), consisting of the Gestalt Completion Test (GCT) and Snowy Picture Test (SPT). The scientific creativity instrument adapts the Scientific Creativity Test (SCT), which contains the dimensions of unusual use, problem finding, product improvement, creative imagination, problem solving, science experimentation, and product design. Correlation analysis was carried out using the Pearson correlation test. The results of the correlation test analysis obtained a Pearson correlation index of 0.932 with a significance of 0.000. These results state that divergent thinking has a very strong correlation with scientific creativity. Divergent thinking gives individuals the ability to produce many solutions with many ways of solving problems. The accuracy of the solution provided depends on the initial knowledge or information that the individual already has. Divergent thinking does not always produce new solutions.

No strong support for a Dunning–Kruger effect in creativity: analyses of self-assessment in absolute and relative terms

Competencies related to the evaluation of own cognitive processes, called metacognitive monitoring, are crucial as they help decide whether to persist in or desist from cognitive efforts. One of the most well-known phenomena in this context—the Dunning–Kruger effect—is that less skilled people tend to overestimate their performance. This effect has been reported for various kinds of performance including creativity. More recently, however, it has been suggested that this phenomenon could be a statistical artifact caused by the better-than-average effect and by regression toward the mean. Therefore, we examined the Dunning–Kruger effect in the context of creative thinking performance (i.e., divergent thinking ability) across two studies (Study 1: N = 425; Study 2: N = 317) and applied the classical quartile-based analysis as well as newly recommended, advanced statistical approaches: the Glejser test of heteroscedasticity and nonlinear quadratic regression. We found that the results indeed depended on the employed statistical method: While classical analyses supported the Dunning–Kruger effect across all conditions, it was not consistently supported by the more advanced statistical methods. These findings are in line with recent work challenging certain assumptions of the Dunning–Kruger effect and we discuss factors that undermine accurate self-assessments, especially in the context of creative performance.

Predictors of Change in Creative Thinking Abilities in Young People: A Longitudinal Study

ABSTRACTPrevious research has examined how creative potential develops during childhood and has identified peaks, slumps, and bumps during maturation. However, little is known about the causes of such changes. This study employed a longitudinal approach to assess predictors of change in creative ideation over 2 years in young people (N = 76) aged 14–20 years old at the first time point. The analysis employed frequentist and Bayesian methods to evaluate the effect of individual factors, such as openness to experience (assessed using the BFI‐10 short form), and contextual factors, such as pursuing creative hobbies (measured with a leisure questionnaire). Openness at the first time point and change in openness over time predicted change in peak originality. Engagement in creative hobbies at the first time point predicted change in fluency. The findings support the contribution of individual factors, in the form of openness to experience, and contextual factors, in the form of engagement in creative hobbies, in the development of divergent thinking abilities in mid‐adolescence and young adulthood. Altogether, this study suggests that interventions aimed at increasing time spent on creative activities and promoting openness to experience may enhance divergent thinking abilities, which are essential components of creative potential.

Investigation of divergent thinking among surgeons and surgeon trainees in Canada (IDEAS): a mixed-methods study

ObjectiveTo assess the creative potential of surgeons and surgeon trainees, as measured by divergent thinking. The secondary objectives were to identify factors associated with divergent thinking, assess confidence in creative...

The task of plotting flat cross-sections of polyhedrons as a means of developing divergent and algorithmic thinking and spatial representation ability

The task of plotting flat cross-sections of polyhedrons as a means of developing divergent and algorithmic thinking and spatial representation ability

On the relationship between creative potential and creative achievement: Challenges and future directions

A central tenet in creativity research is that individual differences in creative achievement arise from the interplay of individual differences in creative potential. So far, however, measures of creative potential (e.g., divergent thinking ability) have explained only very limited variance in creative achievement. This article identifies eight conceptual and methodological challenges that require attention in the study of creative potential-achievement relationship, including considerations regarding the proper assessment of creative achievement, the scope and specificity of creative potential, forms of interaction and developmental dynamics, the role of mediating creative behaviors, environmental influences, and sample characteristics. These deliberations inform a model of individual differences in creativity, which outlines the structure and interplay of relevant components at the levels of creative potential, creative behavior, and creative achievement under the influence of the environment. Drawing a more detailed picture of the complexities associated with the creative potential-achievement relationship may help to improve and eventually also recognize limits to the prediction of creative achievement. Educational relevance and implication statementThis article highlights the many facets of creativity at the level of creative potential, creative behavior, and creative achievement, and proposes mechanisms of how creative potential manifests into creative achievement. Implication for educational practice include the understanding that different aspects of creative potential are relevant at different stages in creative development and for different creative domains, which has implications for the fostering of creative potential.

간호대학생의 문제해결능력에 대한 학업탄력성 및 간호전문직관의 영향

Objectives This study was attempted to determine the correlation between nursing students' problem-solving ability, academic resilience, and nursing professional intuition, and to determine the influence of variables on problem-solving ability. Methods Data were collected using a structured questionnaire targeting 169 nursing students in County M, and the final 160 copies were analyzed using the SPSS 25.0 program. Data analysis used frequency and percentage, mean and standard deviation, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson’s correlations, and multiple regression analysis. Results Nursing students' problem-solving ability had a statistically significant positive correlation with academic resilience (r=.675, p<.001) and nursing professional intuition (r=.498, p<.001). As a result of conducting a hier-archical multiple regression analysis by inputting religious status and grades, which showed significant differences in problem-solving ability among general characteristics, the influence on problem-solving ability was determined by grades (β=.25, p=.002) and academic resilience (β=.65, p<.001) and nursing professional intuition (β=.33, p<.001) explained 58.1% (F=41.10, p<.001), and among the three variables, academic resilience was associated with problem-solving ability. was explained the most at 48.4%. Conclusions Nursing students' grades, academic resilience, and nursing professional intuition are important influ-encing factors that promote problem-solving ability, and among these, academic resilience was confirmed to be the factor that most explains problem-solving ability. Therefore, in order to improve the problem-solving ability of nursing students, a nursing education strategy that takes into account academic resilience and nursing pro-fessional intuition is needed, and nursing education programs and professional skills that improve the sub-areas of learning control ability, divergent thinking, execution, and risk-taking ability are needed. Specific strategic re-search is needed to expand social awareness of nurses.

Divergent thinking modulates interactions between episodic memory and schema knowledge: Controlled and spontaneous episodic retrieval processes.

The ability to generate novel ideas, known as divergent thinking, depends on both semantic knowledge and episodic memory. Semantic knowledge and episodic memory are known to interact to support memory decisions, but how they may interact to support divergent thinking is unknown. Moreover, it is debated whether divergent thinking relies on spontaneous or controlled retrieval processes. We addressed these questions by examining whether divergent thinking ability relates to interactions between semantic knowledge and different episodic memory processes. Participants completed the alternate uses task of divergent thinking, and completed a memory task in which they searched for target objects in schema-congruent or schema-incongruent locations within scenes. In a subsequent test, participants indicated where in each scene the target object had been located previously (i.e., spatial accuracy test), and provided confidence-based recognition memory judgments that indexed distinct episodic memory processes (i.e., recollection, familiarity, and unconscious memory) for the scenes. We found that higher divergent thinking ability-specifically in terms of the number of ideas generated-was related to (1) more of a benefit from recollection (a controlled process) and unconscious memory (a spontaneous process) on spatial accuracy and (2) beneficial differences in how semantic knowledge was combined with recollection and unconscious memory to influence spatial accuracy. In contrast, there were no effects with respect to familiarity (a spontaneous process). These findings indicate that divergent thinking is related to both controlled and spontaneous memory processes, and suggest that divergent thinking is related to the ability to flexibly combine semantic knowledge with episodic memory.

The Relationship of Divergent Thinking Ability, Learning Discipline, and Resilience to Adversity Towards The Mathematics Learning Outcomes of 5th Grade Elemtary School Students in Cluster 2 Mekarsari-Baturiti

This study aims to determine the relationship between divergent thinking ability, learning discipline, and resilience to adversity towards the mathematics learning outcomes of fifth-grade elementary school students in Cluster 2 Mekarsari-Baturiti. This research is correlational. The population in this study was 123 students, while the research samples were determined by using the Slovin formula and the obtained results were 94 students. Data collection methods used in this study were questionnaires, tests, and document studies. Data analysis used in this study is multiple regression and partial correlation. Based on the research that has been done, it can be concluded that: 1) There is a relationship between divergent thinking ability and mathematics learning outcomes of 5th grade elementary school students in Cluster 2 Mekarsari-Baturiti with a moderate correlation category. 2) There is a relationship between learning discipline and the mathematics learning outcomes of 5th grade elementary school students in Cluster 2 Mekarsari-Baturiti with a strong correlation category. 3) There is a relationship between resilience to adversity and the mathematics learning outcomes of 5th grade elementary school students in Cluster 2 Mekarsari-Baturiti with a very strong correlation category. 4) There is a simultaneous relationship between divergent thinking ability, learning discipline, and resilience to adversity on the mathematics learning outcomes of 5th grade elementary school students in Cluster 2 Mekarsari-Baturiti with a very strong correlation category.

Geography Assignment Design for Enhancing Targeted Literacy in the Context of "Double Reduction"

In the context of the "double reduction" policy, this article analyzes how to enhance the quality and efficiency of geography education in the new college entrance examination, in order to fully implement the fundamental task of cultivating students' moral character. By studying curriculum standards, past examination questions, and classroom teaching methods, the article explores teaching directions and extends this knowledge to design geography assignments that promote students' divergent thinking abilities. This approach aims to smoothly integrate geography teaching that incorporates humanistic care into the evaluation practices of the college entrance examination.

I am a Genius! Influence of Virtually Embodying Leonardo da Vinci on Creative Performance.

Virtual reality (VR) provides users with the ability to substitute their physical appearance by embodying virtual characters (avatars) using head-mounted displays and motion-capture technologies. Previous research demonstrated that the sense of embodiment toward an avatar can impact user behavior and cognition. In this paper, we present an experiment designed to investigate whether embodying a well-known creative genius could enhance participants' creative performance. Following a preliminary online survey (N = 157) to select a famous character suited to the purpose of this study, we developed a VR application allowing participants to embody Leonardo da Vinci or a self-avatar. Self-avatars were approximately matched with participants in terms of skin tone and morphology. 40 participants took part in three tasks seamlessly integrated in a virtual workshop. The first task was based on a Guilford's Alternate Uses test (GAU) to assess participants' divergent abilities in terms of fluency and originality. The second task was based on a Remote Associates Test (RAT) to evaluate convergent abilities. Lastly, the third task consisted in designing potential alternative uses of an object displayed in the virtual environment using a 3D sketching tool. Participants embodying Leonardo da Vinci demonstrated significantly higher divergent thinking abilities, with a substantial difference in fluency between the groups. Conversely, participants embodying a self-avatar performed significantly better in the convergent thinking task. Taken together, these results promote the use of our virtual embodiment approach, especially in applications where divergent creativity plays an important role, such as design and innovation.

Designing area of circle learning trajectory based on “what-if” questions to support students’ higher-order thinking skills

The study material on circle areas is contextually oriented and aids students in comprehending their surrounding environment. Higher-order thinking skills are imperative for the success of circular learning, as they help students grasp concepts holistically and solve concept problems. "What-if" questions can enhance students' higher-order thinking skills through problem-solving activities, fostering critical and creative thinking. However, applying "what-if" questions is limited to serving as problem-posing triggers, resulting in minimal variation in the material. Therefore, this study aims to design a learning trajectory for the area of circles based on "what-if" questions to enhance students' higher-order thinking skills. This research also addresses the gap by utilizing "what-if" questions to construct and evaluate circle area learning activities. We employed design research as the research method, conducted in three stages: preliminary design, experimental design, and retrospective analysis. The results demonstrated that the designed learning trajectory enhanced higher-order thinking skills in various aspects. Students exhibited critical thinking and profound analysis when working on worksheets and addressing the provided problems. Moreover, students showcased creative and divergent thinking abilities, enabling them to generate alternative problem solutions. Furthermore, optimizing technology usage and emphasizing reasoning in learning should be augmented to enhance student motivation and foster innovative learning.

Influence of Creativity Stimulation on Brain Connectivity during Divergent Thinking Tasks

INTRODUCTION: Different facets of divergent thinking (DT) are associated with connectivity between different cerebral areas. However, the causal interactions between the key DT nodes have yet to be explored. It is hypothesised that with creativity stimulation, changes in effective connectivity among regions will be observed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: By using control (n=26) and experimental (n=24) participants, this study aimed to investigate the effective connectivity between brain areas associated with divergent thinking that accentuate fluency, flexibility, and originality. The experimental participants attended a two-day creativity stimulation, followed by three task-based fMRI sessions for all participants, which included basic use (BU) identification, alternative use (AU) generation and unusual use (UU) determination tasks. Dynamic causal modelling (DCM) was used to determine the most optimal causal model representing the most possible modulatory influence on the connections between medial prefrontal cortices (mPFC), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), and inferior parietal lobule (IPL). RESULTS: The experimental participants scored higher fluency and flexibility than the controls (p<0.05). At neuronal level, the control group showed similar intrinsic connections receiving modulatory influence for AU and UU tasks, while the experimental group preferred a different perturbation of connection between both tasks. These intergroup differences may be caused by different thinking strategies involving semantic and episodic memory retrieval, and integration of remotely associated ideas to construct new combination among the experimental participants. CONCLUSION: Different DT demands may influence the effective connectivity between mPFC, IFG and IPL especially among individuals with higher DT abilities, especially in fluency and flexibility versus originality.

The influence of social network on innovation and entrepreneurship of economic and management college students based on adaptive particle swarm algorithm

Abstract Exploring the influence of social networks on innovation and entrepreneurship of economics and management college students to help them better enhance their innovation consciousness to face the future social workplace. In this paper, the particle swarm algorithm is optimized according to the strategy and parameter adaptive mechanism, and the SPS-PSO algorithm is used to initialize and update the population. The social network and innovation and entrepreneurship ability of university students in economics and management are introduced, and feature selection based on strategy and parameter adaptive particle swarm algorithm is utilized. The index mining of social network and innovation and entrepreneurship ability of college students is conducted, and the data analysis of innovation and entrepreneurship ability of college students in economics and management is carried out with the example of the University of S. From the social network, the percentages of those who agree with the validity of social network centrality, heterogeneity, dynamics and linkage strength are 71.56, 71.69%, 72.55% and 71.16%, respectively. From the perspective of innovation and entrepreneurship, the overall percentage of college students in economics and management who agreed was 69.27%. This indicates that the higher the integrity of the social network structure of economics and management college students, the more it can enhance innovation and entrepreneurship abilities and promote the cultivation of observation and judgment ability and divergent thinking abilities of economics and management college students.

Measuring the divergent thinking ability in biology science process skills of elementary school students based on tutoring activities

Learning in the current era is often directed at developing creativity. Increasing creativity is very close to divergent thinking skills. This study aims at measuring the divergent thinking ability in biology science process skills of the sixth-grade students at elementary schools in one regency in relation to the tutoring activities along with the effect of gender and parents occupations. This study is a descriptive quantitative study employing a survey method. The sample includes 603 sixth grade students at 18 elementary schools in one regency which was determined using a purposive sampling technique. The divergent thinking ability is indicated by the scores of the open-ended test. The tutoring programs, gender, and parents professions of the samples were obtained from questionnaires. Scoring guidelines and descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. The mean of testee joining the tutoring program is relatively low (mean=17.93/40.00, SD=6.02). This empirically shows that the development of divergent thinking ability in biology science process skills at elementary school is not optimal yet, particularly in the research samples. There is a relationship between the gender and parents occupations with the students divergent thinking ability of biology science process skills regarding the tutoring activities. This can be studied and examined further.

Do students motivated to learn have better creative abilities?

Despite the key role that motivation plays in the creative process— with respect to engaging with content, exploring, and learning—, surprisingly few studies have investigated the relationship between academic motivation and indicators of creativity. The objective of the current study was to clarify this relationship. More specifically, we examined the role of openness to experience and academic motivation in relation to subjective and objective indicators of creative abilities. We hypothesized that openness to experience would predict greater intrinsic academic motivation, which in turn would predict better divergent thinking abilities and self-ratings in academic activities. Regression and mediation analyses with a sample of 279 college students supported the hypothesis that openness to experience was positively associated with intrinsic academic motivation. In turn, intrinsic academic motivation was related to higher creative self-ratings in academically related activities, but not to better divergent thinking abilities. Additionally, controlled academic motivation was associated with poorer divergent thinking abilities. We discuss the place of creative abilities in education and the distinction between a motivation to explore and a motivation to learn within the academic context. Educational relevance statementThis paper examined the role of openness to experience and academic motivation toward the creative abilities of a population of university students. The results suggested that students with greater motivation to learn in school had no better creative abilities, as measured with divergent thinking tasks, but perceived themselves as more creative in academically related activities. This study has implications for the relationship between motivation and creative abilities in education.

NEEDFINDING PRACTICE: ENHANCING STUDENTS' PROBLEM FRAMING SKILLS THROUGH ITERATIVE OBSERVATION FOR BUSINESS INNOVATION

AbstractThe ambidextrous balance of combining quantitative and qualitative approach is crucial to achieve business innovation in our ever-changing society. While exploring the early stages of a problem space, profound and iterative observations of human behaviors allow designers to discover unusual insights and users’ needs. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to introduce the Needfinding Practice course at KAIST and emphasize the importance of observational research to frame new business opportunities. Main learning goal of this course is to expand the problem finding phase for enhancing students’ creativity and divergent thinking abilities. In this study, we have conducted a literature review on needfinding through observation and how the early stage of design thinking process is related to understanding users deeply. By presenting students’ field research projects, we highlighted the process of identifying unexpected latent needs to gain qualitative data for future business implications.

Investigating divergent thinking and creative ability in surgeons (IDEAS): a survey protocol

IntroductionA strong pipeline of creative ideas and individuals is critical if we are to tackle the complex healthcare challenges we will face in the 21st century. The field of creativity...