Ideational Fluency Research Articles

Enhancing Innovative Thinking Skills via Digital Narratives in Translation Training

In this study, the authors take the presented pedagogical approach, Digital Narratives in Translation Training (DNTT), as the starting point to promote innovative thinking in translation education. Specifically, it evaluates the framework’s impact on three dimensions of cognitive creativity: associative reasoning, visual structuring, and ideational fluency. In the present study, a quasi-experimental research design was employed, and the participants were 63, divided into two experimental and control groups to assess the impact of integrating digital storytelling in translation training. The results presented have revealed a relatively significant improvement, particularly in the conceptual fluency that has dramatically enhanced the generation of multiple and novel ideas. This means that the performance of associative reasoning was moderately improved to support the enhanced creative ideas connected to the translation tasks. Visual structuring, however, only needed moderate advance, indicating specific problems in transferring spatial and visual factors into cognitive processes of interpretation. The quantitative data and graphical illustrations serve as evidence of those outcomes and underscore the value of the DNTT framework for developing mental and creative skills. All these outcomes show that the integration of the use of digital stories is a strategic factor in the training of translators. The study encourages higher learning institutions in translation to embrace progressive, creativity-based strategies alongside mainstream strategies to train translation students in innovative skills. This study attempts to contribute to reducing cognitive creativity gaps in translation training to enhance the field's educational model.

Variability in the Effects of Mood and Cognitive Stimulation on Creative Generation: A Task‐Dependent Perspective

ABSTRACTThis research comprises two studies investigating the impact of mood and cognitive stimulation on creativity, with a focus on the role of task type. The first study focused on idea generation, whereas the second explored slogan generation, revealing differing outcomes for distinct tasks. Positive and negative moods were induced through memory recall, and cognitive stimulation was manipulated using cue words in varying quantities. In Study 1, participants were tasked with brainstorming about the advantages and disadvantages of having an extra thumb. The initial hypothesis, proposing that a positive mood and cognitive stimulation enhance ideational fluency, was supported through the flexibility pathway. Study 2 shifted the focus to slogan generation, emphasizing originality, which aligns with the nature of slogan generation. The hypothesis was that mood and cognitive stimulation would not impact fluency but might influence originality. Surprisingly, participants in the negative mood condition generated more slogans, challenging the common belief that positive moods consistently boost creativity. Those without cognitive stimulation also performed better in terms of originality, which is in line with past studies indicating that examples can inhibit originality. In conclusion, this study underscores the intricate and context‐dependent nature of creativity, advocating for a nuanced approach to creativity studies.

Longitudinal differences in language in middle‐aged and older people with normal cognition, subjective cognitive impairment, and mild cognitive impairment. Results of the Compostela Aging Study

AbstractBackgroundLanguage performance has been considered a potential screening tool in the continuum from healthy cognitive aging to cognitive impairment and dementia. Language impairment and most notably impairment in semantic verbal fluency has been shown to increase with the progress in this continuum (Liampas et al., 2023).MethodThe study sample was drawn from the participants of the Compostela Aging Study who completed baseline and two follow‐up assessment, each of them about 18 months after the previous cognitive and neuropsychological evaluation (Pereiro et al., 2021). Sample included 22 persons with uni‐domain mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 20 with multi‐domain MCI, 46 with subjective cognitive decline and 73 cognitively unimpaired participants. Language performance was assessed via Boston naming test, semantic, phonemic and ideational fluency. GLM repeated measures were implemented comparing performance in the three assessments for each of the language measures as a dependent variable, and the diagnostic group as a factor. Age and years of formal education were included as covariates.ResultA significant interaction between time of assessment and group was only found for the Boston naming test (F = 1.75, p<0.05, η2 = 0,03, B‐1 = 0,53). Age, but not education, was a significant covariate for all the language measures.ConclusionEven though language measures could be relevant to detect early changes in cognitive status, these measures has scarcely been studied in recent literature. According to these preliminary analyses of the longitudinal results of our study, the Boston naming test could be a linguistic marker of cognitive changes in late adulthood.

Comic Media on Arabic Language Learning Speaking Skills: The Analysis of Students’ Creative Thinking

Abstract. The active involvement of students when learning Arabic language speaking skills using comic media has implicitly raised and produced the process of creative thinking ability. The creative thinking ability produced by students during the learning process can be reviewed in more detail based on its aspects. According to Guilford, this study aims to reveal the utilization of comic media for Arabic speaking skills to improve creative thinking. This study includes qualitative research using a case study design with a type of single case instrument that produces descriptive data. The descriptive data was collected by 1) observation of the learning process, 2) distribution of observation results and their classification on Guilford's creative thinking ability, and 3) data disclosure and reporting. The selection of participants used a purposive sampling technique on 32 ninth-grade students. Using the interactive model for analysis technique by identifying comic media developed and implemented to describe and classify all learning activities from speaking skills to creative thinking ability based on Guilford's theory. The study's findings show that four different comic activities, all of which improve students' ability for creative thought when learning to speak Arabic, namely: a) dialog, including associational fluency, expressional fluency, and originality; b) survey, including associational fluency, ideational fluency, and spontaneous flexibility; c) development of description, featuring associational fluency, ideational fluency, and spontaneous flexibility; d) storytelling, including ideational fluency, expressional fluency, and originality. Using students' imaginations and experiences employing comics as a teaching tool for speaking skills can enhance and promote creative thinking. This creative thinking during Arabic language learning has created active student engagement to communicate actively and confidently, driving the improvisation of speaking skills.Keywords: Arabic Speaking Skills, Comic Media, Creative Thinking

Exploring the Creative Personality: Using Machine Learning to Predict Fluency and Originality in Divergent Thinking

ABSTRACT In this study, 100 self-reported personality items from the Big Five Aspects Scale, responded to by a sample of 334 undergraduate participants, were used to predict quantity (ideational fluency) and quality (originality) of ideas on a divergent thinking (DT) task. The originality of DT responses was scored through a fine-tuned version of the Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) 3.5 (i.e., Ocsai), and a least absolute shrinkage selection operator (LASSO) machine learning model selected the items that were meaningful predictors of each outcome. Results revealed that the personality profiles of highly fluent and highly original individuals were characterized by a tension between seemingly opposed personality attributes. Both ideational fluency and originality were predicted by a playfully open intellectualism that nonetheless avoided more typical work (i.e. was disorderly and unindustrious). Fluency was additionally predicted by a tension between enthusiasm for social interaction and depressive symptoms associated with withdrawal. Originality was predicted by a socially dominant assertiveness that was tempered by awareness and care for others’ feelings (e.g. compassion and politeness) as well as stability (i.e. non-volatility). Taken together, these results demonstrate that the creative personality is likely to be composed of aspects of multiple dimensions of typical personality models like the Big 5, and that the highly fluent and the highly original creative personality is different in important ways.

Characterizing Features of Creative Writing in Older Adults.

How does creative expression change across the life span? Although creativity is generally preserved well into adulthood, certain cognitive functions, such as episodic detail and ideational fluency, have been shown to decline with age. The present study employs computational linguistic analyses to investigate the salient features of creative writing in older adults. We collected short stories from a sample of 50 older adults (age 65≤) which were subsequently rated for creativity by an independent set of participants. Mixed-effects linear regression models were used to describe semantic diversity and perceptual details as predictors of creativity. Semantic diversity reflects the extent to which a narrative connects divergent ideas and is closely associated with creativity. Perceptual details, characterized by sensorial descriptions, have been previously associated with creative writing and may serve to transport readers to alternative times and places. Additionally, we compare these measures to a previously collected sample of stories from younger adults. Results indicate that the presence of perceptual details and semantic diversity were significant positive predictors of creativity (p < .05). Moreover, we find that stories written by older adults contain fewer perceptual details compared with stories written by younger adults. These results advance our understanding of age-related changes in creativity and highlight the potential role of episodic simulation in writing creative short stories.

Driving factors of individual differences in broad retrieval ability: Gr is more than the sum of its parts.

Broad retrieval ability (Gr) posits an essential factor of human cognitive abilities. Previous literature indicates Gr is best modeled as a higher-order factor model with lower-level factors such as ideational fluency (IF), word fluency (WF), expressional fluency (EF), or figural fluency (FF). However, the dimensionality of Gr is not well studied. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether specific retrieval affordances such as differing retrieval time periods (e.g., short vs. long) can be psychometrically separated from more general retrieval affordances. Such a distinction would imply differential associations between specific retrieval, general retrieval, and other cognitive abilities, which, in turn, depict a vital part of explanatory models of individual differences in Gr. To test these assumptions, we conducted a multivariate study (N = 331) and evaluated competing latent variable measurement models for a variety of Gr tests. We then regressed the best measurement model onto working memory capacity, secondary memory, mental speed, and crystallized intelligence in order to evaluate the distinctiveness of Gr. Our results suggest that no specific retrieval affordances with regard to time periods can be distinguished. A higher-order model, with a second-order Gr factor above three first-order factors (IF, WF, EF, and FF) fitted the data best, extending previous literature by increasing construct coverage through the implementation of FF. All covariates show incremental predictive validity, beyond their communality. Summarizing, our results endorse a perspective on Gr as a strong and discriminant factor of cognitive abilities that is not affected by time constraints, and show that Gr is more than a linear combination of its parts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Verbal and nonverbal fluency in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a multi-system disorder that commonly affects cognition and behaviour. Verbal fluency impairments are consistently reported in ALS patients, and we aimed to investigate whether this deficit extends beyond the verbal domain. We further aimed to determine whether deficits are underpinned by a primary intrinsic response generation impairment (i.e., a global reduction across tasks), potentially related to apathy, or an inability to maintain responding over time (i.e., a 'drop off' pattern). Twenty-two ALS patients and 21 demographically-matched controls completed verbal and nonverbal fluency tasks (phonemic/semantic word fluency, design fluency, gesture fluency and ideational fluency), requiring the generation of responses over a specified time period. Fluency performance was analysed in terms of the overall number of novel items produced, as well as the number of items produced in the first 'initiation' and the remaining 'maintenance' time periods. ALS patients' overall performance was not globally reduced across tasks. Patients were impaired only on meaningful gesture fluency, which requires the generation of gestures that communicate meaning (e.g., waving). On phonemic fluency, ALS patients showed a 'drop off' pattern of performance, where they had difficulty maintaining responding over time, but this pattern was not evident on the other fluency tasks. Apathy did not appear to be related to fluency performance. The selective meaningful gesture fluency deficit, in the context of preserved meaningless gesture fluency, highlights that the retrieval of action knowledge may be weakened in early ALS.

Asymmetric Activation of Frontal Brain Regions during Cognitive Reappraisal Generation—A Function of Implemented Reappraisal Strategy?

Prefrontal cortex activity facilitates emotion regulation by cognitive reappraisal. Yet, neuroimaging studies have yielded disparate findings as to whether relatively greater left or right prefrontal activity is more beneficial for reappraisal success. We argue that differences in hemispheric activation during reappraisal efforts may depend on the specific and diverse cognitive strategies utilized to reappraise negative stimuli. In this EEG study, n = 94 participants were randomly assigned to three groups and instructed to either generate problem-oriented reappraisals, positive reinterpretations, or distancing reappraisals for anger-eliciting situations while EEG alpha asymmetry changes in the prefrontal cortex were recorded (F3–F4, F7–F8, and Fp1–Fp2). Engaging in problem orientation yielded a right-lateralized frontal activation pattern and was linked to the highest reappraisal success (percentage of strategy-conforming reappraisals), along with the highest believability ratings. Conversely, engaging in distancing reappraisal yielded a left-lateralized frontal EEG pattern, along with the highest ideational fluency and lowest anger ratings post-reappraisal. No distinct asymmetry pattern emerged for positive reinterpretation; however, this reappraisal condition yielded the lowest reappraisal success and lowest believability ratings. For all groups, higher reappraisal capacity correlated with right-lateralized frontal activity. Frontal EEG alpha asymmetry observed during reappraisal may be a specific function of implemented reappraisal strategy rather than general ideational fluency.

The motivation and pleasure deficits but not expressivity affects social functioning through cognitive function in male patients with schizophrenia: A structural equation model.

This study aims to compare cognitive function and social functioning in male schizophrenia patients with deficit syndrome (DS) and non-DS, and to explore the associations among two different dimensions of negative symptoms (motivation and pleasure (MAP) and expressivity (EXP) deficits), cognitive function and social functioning base on a Structural Equation Model (SEM). The current study enrolled 161 male schizophrenia patients and 120 age- and education- matched healthy controls. The DS and non-DS group were categorized by the Chinese version of Schedule for the Deficit Syndrome (SDS). The psychotic and negative symptoms were evaluated by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Brief Negative Symptoms Scale (BNSS). The Social functioning was measured by Scale of Social function in Psychosis Inpatients (SSPI). A battery of classical neurocognitive tests was used for assessing cognition including sustained vigilance/attention, cognitive flexibility, ideation fluency and visuospatial memory. Our study indicated that DS patients performed worser in cognitive function and social functioning than non-DS patients. The SEM model demonstrated that MAP significantly affected social functioning through direct influence and mediation of cognitive function. However, our results found that EXP had little influence on cognitive function and social function. Our findings provided evidence supporting that DS may represent as a subtype of schizophrenia, and the MAP factor play a pivotal role to influence the cognitive and social functioning in schizophrenia patients.

The Role of Two Factors of Negative Symptoms and Cognition on Social Functioning in Male Patients with Schizophrenia: A Mediator Model

This study aims to compare the cognitive function and social functioning in male patients with deficit syndrome (DS) and non-DS, and to explore whether cognitive function serves as a mediator in the relationship between the two factors of negative symptoms (motivation and pleasure (MAP) and expressivity (EXP) deficits, and social functioning in schizophrenia patients. One hundred and fifty-six male patients with schizophrenia and 109 age- and education-matched normal controls were enrolled in the current study. The Chinese version of a Schedule for Deficit Syndrome (SDS) was used for DS and non-DS categorization. The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) and the Brief Negative Symptoms Scale (BNSS) were used to assess psychotic and negative symptoms in patients. The Social-Adaptive Functioning Evaluation (SAFE) was adopted to evaluate patients' social functioning, and a battery of classical neurocognitive tests was used to assess cognition, including sustained vigilance/attention, cognitive flexibility, ideation fluency, and visuospatial memory. We found that male patients with DS performed worse in all four cognitive domains and social functioning compared to non-DS patients. Both total negative symptoms and its two factors were significantly associated with all four domains of cognition and social functioning in male patients. Interestingly, our results indicate that only cognitive flexibility mediates the relationship between negative symptoms and social functioning in schizophrenia patients, but there were no differences between EXP and MAP negative factors in this model. Our findings suggest that DS patients may represent a unique clinical subgroup of schizophrenia, and the integrated interventions targeting both negative symptoms and cognition, especially cognitive flexibility, may optimally improve functional outcomes in schizophrenia patients.

Does Word Frequency Impact Ideational Fluency in Divergent Thinking? A Meta-analytic Exploration with the Alternate Uses Test

The Alternate Uses Test (AUT) is one of the most popular divergent thinking tasks and commonly used to measure creativity. Researchers using AUT often pick an everyday object and instruct participants to think of possible uses for it. Yet, the word frequency of the selected objects may impact the outcomes. The present study investigates the variation in the fluency scores from AUT in terms of word frequency values of the selected everyday object. We expected a positive relationship between the word frequency metrics and the fluency scores when other potential factors are controlled such as time-on-task, explicit instructions, the form of task administration and a number of various psycholinguistic characteristics. The mean effect (average fluency score) is 9.08, 95% [7.54, 10.61] from 114 effects from 31 studies. There was a significant interaction effect of Time-on-Task and Word Frequency (b = -.01, t (3.05) = -3.51, p = .038). These findings indicate that word frequency is correlated with fluency scores under strict time conditions, and this effect seems to disappear with lenient time conditions. The results are discussed based on the recommended assessment practices in the literature.

Predictors of creativity in young people: Using frequentist and Bayesian approaches in estimating the importance of individual and contextual factors.

© 2020 American Psychological Association. The development of creativity in young children has been studied extensively, but relatively few studies have examined the period of adolescence and emerging adulthood in relation to creative potential. The present study uses a combination of frequentist and Bayesian analyses to evaluate the impact of individual factors (e.g., IQ) and contextual factors (e.g., pursuit of creative hobbies) on creative ideation in three cohorts of young people aged 14-20 years. Measures of divergent thinking, specifically the Alternate Uses Task (AUT) and the Overcoming Knowledge Constraints Task, were used to this end. Openness to aesthetic and imaginative experience was the strongest predictor of creative potential for the 3 AUT measures. Moreover, Bayesian hypothesis testing revealed that the best predictive model for AUT ideational fluency and AUT overall originality was one that included only Openness, whereas the best predictive model for AUT peak originality, or the propensity to generate highly original responses, included Openness, as well as IQ and Engagement in Creative Hobbies. No group differences in creative potential were found between the three age cohorts (aged 14-15, 16-17, and 18-20). The study not only confirms the importance of openness to aesthetic and imaginative experience as a predictor of creative potential in adolescents and young adults, but also indicates the necessity to consider the combined and differentiated impact of individual and contextual factors in different facets of creative ideation.

Assessing Creativity in Secondary Schools: A Focus on the Impact of an Arts‐based Intervention

AbstractAs programs aimed at fostering creativity in educational settings become more widespread, assessing their impact becomes increasingly important. This article responds to calls for evidence‐based policy in this field by assessing the impact on creativity of a government‐funded arts‐based educational program in Malta (European Union). A quasi‐experimental design was adopted and data was collected pre‐ and post‐intervention from a test group and a control group of students across nine secondary schools (n = 400 pre‐intervention and n = 259 post‐intervention). Students undertook a total of four Divergent Thinking tests, which culminated in indices comprising ideational fluency, flexibility, originality, novelty, relevance, and elaboration. Ordinary Least Squares models of creativity were estimated revealing a strong positive association between creativity scores and participation in the program. Difference‐in‐Differences analyzes with matched pre‐ and post‐intervention responses (n = 380), further confirmed that participation in the program positively impacts creativity scores, particularly among students who did not self‐select into the project and who had low prior exposure to creative experiences. We also observe an overall decline in creativity between the start and end of the scholastic year. These results suggest that arts‐based programs can be effective in enhancing (at worst, preserving) students’ creativity.

Reasoning outside the box: Divergent thinking is related to logical reasoning

When people reason, they do so in a way that suggests they are thinking beyond the premises and actively using background knowledge. This study explored the hypothesis that divergent thinking, a key component of creativity, is a unique predictive factor of logical reasoning. A total of 96 adults completed a divergent thinking task and logical reasoning problems with varying forms and contents. Cognitive capacity was measured as a confounding factor. Individual differences in ideational fluency and originality were derived from the divergent thinking task. As hypothesized, originality was predictive of logical reasoning beyond fluency and cognitive capacity.

Understanding ideational fluency as a survival process.

When students generate ideas, important inter-individual variance exists both in the quantity and the quality of ideas they are able to produce (e.g., perfectionists who have few highly creative ideas or mass producers who produce a lot of uncreative ideas). In educational psychology research on creativity, the relation between the quantity and quality of ideas has not been well understood, limiting progress in this area. We conceptualized Ideational Fluency as a phenomenon that requires participants to 'survive' to produce more ideas, and where dropping out of the ideational process was analogous to 'dying'. Using this novel paradigm, we aimed to test the relations among Fluency (as a dependent variable); and creative Expertise, Originality and self-reported Personality attributes (as independent variables). Participants were drawn from three groups: those with demonstrated expertise in stage or screen acting (n = 104); undergraduates being trained in the same domain (n = 100), and adults with no acting training or experience (n = 92). Participants responded to the Alternate Uses Task; Non-parametric and semi-parametric survival models were fit to their Ideational Fluency; and average and maximum Originality scores, as well as self-reported Personality attributes, were used as covariates. Across all participants, the Ideational Fluency survival function showed an S-shape, but the Expertise grouping interacted with that pattern. The survival rate of professional actors decreased more rapidly during the first few ideas, but after the 5th idea, professional actors displayed a clear advantage in survival rate. Participants who were less original on average but who showed a high maximum Originality, as well as those participants who reported more Assertiveness and less Industriousness, also survived further into the Ideational process. Contrary to our hypothesis, professional actors' advantage in Fluency did not manifest in the survival model until after the 5th idea generated. A quantity-quality trade-off was observed with average Originality being associated with shorter survival, but that trade-off was not observed with maximum Originality, which was associated with longer survival.

Interdependencies between openness and creativity of fifth graders.

Openness to experience has become of special interest in the field of creativity research. Theoretical frameworks consider openness as one important individual feature that contributes to creative outcomes. Empirical results support this assumption, showing openness to be positively related to various creativity measures. However, studies on the relationship between creative outcomes and openness mainly focus on adults and differ in their operationalization of creativity. The present study analyzes the relationship between openness and different creativity measures in late childhood using a holistic measure to assess creative potential as well as divergent thinking tasks scored for ideational fluency and flexibility. Accounting for interdependencies over the 5th school year, the results show that (a) comparable with previous findings, there are low cross-sectional correlations between openness and creativity, and (b) openness and creativity develop independently in the period considered. Only divergent thinking slightly affects openness 1 year later (β = .084, p < .01). The study extends existing research by including childhood development. The results suggest that the relationship between creativity and openness consolidates with age. Implications for creativity research and the educational context are discussed while considering the limitations of the study. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Failure to reappraise: Malevolent creativity is linked to revenge ideation and impaired reappraisal inventiveness in the face of stressful, anger-eliciting events

ABSTRACT Background and objectives: The complexities of daily life often necessitate creative ideas to successfully cope with negative social situations. This study investigated the relationship of two types of creativity that may be elicited by similar contexts but are associated with different goals and impact of ideas: reappraisal inventiveness (the capability to generate manifold reappraisals for negative situations) and malevolent creativity, capturing the inventiveness in intentionally harming others. Design and methods: In 73 women, these variables were assessed by performance tests depicting real-life, anger-eliciting situations. Additionally, participants reported their trait anger and depressive symptoms. Results: Inventiveness (ideational fluency) was positively correlated between the two tasks, probably indicating shared divergent thinking demands. A more intricate pattern emerged for quality aspects of generated ideas. Participants inventing particularly harmful ideas for damaging others generated fewer valid reappraisals and displayed less problem-oriented thinking during reappraisal. Greater inventiveness in damaging others was linked to more revenge-related ideation during reappraisal attempts, which also correlated with self-reported depressive symptoms. Conclusions: A higher capacity for malevolent ideation may potentially hamper successful coping with stressful, anger-eliciting events and, as a result, may advance an adverse spiral of reinforcement. Considering these links may help tailor psychotherapeutic interventions to individuals’ specific predispositions.

Augmenting ideational fluency in a creativity task across multiple transcranial direct current stimulation montages

Neuroimaging and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) research has revealed that generating novel ideas is associated with both reductions and increases in prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity, and engagement of posterior occipital cortex, among other regions. However, there is substantial variability in the robustness of these tDCS‐induced effects due to heterogeneous sample sizes, different creativity measures, and methodological diversity in the application of tDCS across laboratories. To address these shortcomings, we used twelve different montages within a standardized tDCS protocol to investigate how altering activity in frontotemporal and occipital cortex impacts creative thinking. Across four experiments, 246 participants generated either the common or an uncommon use for 60 object pictures while undergoing tDCS. Participants also completed a control short-term memory task. We applied active tDCS for 20 min at 1.5 mA through two 5 cm × 5 cm electrodes over left or right ventrolateral prefrontal (areas F7, F8) or occipital (areas O1, O2) cortex, concurrent bilateral stimulation of these regions across polarities, or sham stimulation. Cathodal stimulation of the left, but not right, ventrolateral PFC improved fluency in creative idea generation, but had no effects on originality, as approximated by measures of semantic distance. No effects were obtained for the control tasks. Concurrent bilateral stimulation of the ventrolateral PFC regardless of polarity direction, and excitatory stimulation of occipital cortex did not alter task performance. Highlighting the importance of cross-experimental methodological consistency, these results extend our past findings and contribute to our understanding of the role of left PFC in creative thinking.

Does design thinking training increase creativity? Results from a field experiment with middle-school students

ABSTRACT Design thinking remains mired in controversy. Its proponents claim that it enhances not just confidence but also creativity, while the opponents question whether it does anything beyond building unfounded confidence. To bring rigorous evidence to this debate, we designed a randomised field experiment amongst school children served by a major non-governmental organisation in rural India. The findings reveal that the design thinking training did not just increase confidence: it also significantly increased ideational fluency and elaboration in a divergent thinking task, although the originality and flexibility of the generated ideas was on average lower in the treatment group than the control group. We also find that the increase in confidence occurred primarily among female students, whereas the increase in ideational fluency and elaboration occurred for both genders in our study.