Verbal Divergent Thinking Research Articles

Employing Verbal Divergent Thinking to Mitigate Cognitive Decline: Current State of Research and Reasons to Support Its Use

Background/Objectives: Divergent thinking (DT), the ability to generate alternative responses to open-ended problems, has become an increasingly relevant topic in aging research due to its inverse relationship with cognitive decline. Methods: In this narrative review, we explore the latest evidence supporting DT training as a potential strategy for dementia prevention. Results: We identify two pathways through which DT may protect against cognitive decline: (1) by fostering creative cognition and (2) by stimulating DT-related domains. Our findings suggest that verbal DT remains relatively well preserved in older adults, although there is limited empirical evidence to support the idea that DT training enhances creative cognition or DT-related domains in this population. Conclusions: Therefore, while tools designed to enhance DT in older individuals seem promising, it is crucial to rigorously test their effects on the target population to maximize their impact on both the cognitive and psychological domains.

Give your ideas a hand: the role of iconic hand gestures in enhancing divergent creative thinking

Hand gestures play an integral role in multimodal language and communication. Even though the self-oriented functions of gestures, such as activating a speaker’s lexicon and maintaining visuospatial imagery, have been emphasized, gestures’ functions in creative thinking are not well-established. In the current study, we investigated the role of iconic gestures in verbal divergent thinking—a creative thinking process related to generating many novel ideas. Based on previous findings, we hypothesized that iconic gesture use would facilitate divergent thinking in young adults, especially those with high mental imagery skills. Participants performed Guildford’s Alternative Uses Task in a gesture-spontaneous and in a gesture-encouraged condition. We measured fluency (number of ideas), originality (uniqueness of ideas), flexibility (number of idea categories), and elaboration (number of details) in divergent thinking. The results showed that producing iconic gestures in the gesture-encouraged condition positively predicted fluency, originality, and elaboration. In the gesture-spontaneous condition, producing iconic gestures also positively predicted elaboration but negatively predicted flexibility. Mental imagery skills did not interact with the effects of gestures on divergent thinking. These results suggest that iconic gestures are a promising candidate for enhancing almost all aspects of divergent thinking. Overall, the current study adds a new dimension to the self-oriented function of iconic gestures, that is, their contribution to creative thinking.

Automatic Scoring of Verbal Divergent Thinking Tests: From Lexical Databases to Large Language Models

The article explores the evolution of methods for automatically assessing verbal divergent thinking tests. Resear - chers have increasingly focused on the ability to evaluate the originality of respondents' answers by calculating their semantic distance from the stimulus task. From 2009 to 2019, latent semantic analysis became the primary method for assessing semantic distances. Overall, in terms of internal consistency and correlation with expert ratings, its application yielded satisfactory results, maintaining an acceptable balance of quality and effort expended. However, issues emerged (dependence on the corpus used, result instability, systematic distortions related to the length of analyzed responses), prompting researchers to transition to more advanced models of distributional semantics (GloVe, Word2Vec etc.), large language models, and supervised learning. Large language models, especially those fine-tuned on creativity test materials, demonstrated higher effectiveness compared to models assessing semantic distances and approached expert evaluations. In addition to evaluating originality, the article considers works proposing methods for automatic assessment of elaboration, flexibility, associative flow, and divergent semantic integration. References to online platforms that allow for automatic assessments of originality in responses to divergent tests are provided. The issue of interpreting results obtained through large language models is discussed. A drawback of using these models is the lack of understanding of the basis on which judgments of the originality of creative products are made. The perspectives of applying explainable artificial intelligence for evaluating results of verbal and non-verbal tests of creative thinking are being discussed.

To Nap or to Rest? The Influence of a Sixty-Minute Intervention on Verbal and Figural Convergent and Divergent Thinking

Background: The relationship between sleep and creativity is a topic of much controversy. General benefits of napping have been described not only in sleep-deprived individuals and in shift workers, but also in people with sufficient night sleep. However, only few studies have investigated the relationship between nap and creativity. Methods: Forty-two native German speakers (29 females, mean age = 24 years, SD = 3.3 years) took part in two experimental sessions (i.e., baseline and intervention). In both sessions, divergent and convergent verbal and figural creativity tasks were administered at the same time of the day. While the baseline session was identical for all the participants, in the second session participants were randomized into either a sixty-minute nap or a sixty-minute rest group. Results: No significant group differences were found for neither divergent nor convergent creativity thinking tasks, suggesting that the interventions had similar effects in both groups. Interestingly, the analysis of the pooled data (i.e., pooled nap and rest groups) indicated differential effects of figural versus verbal creativity tasks, such that significant post-intervention improvements were found for the figural, but not for the verbal divergent and convergent thinking tasks. Conclusions: While further studies are needed to confirm these findings, to the best of our knowledge, such a dissociation between performance of verbal and figural creativity tasks after nap/rest interventions has not been described to date.

Latent Profile Analysis of Working Memory: Relations with Creativity and Academic Achievement

ABSTRACT Creative thinking is an important aspect of education. However, students differ widely in their ability to think creatively. Working memory might explain these differences. Therefore, this study focuses on how different aspects of WM can explain differences in divergent thinking, both separately and conjointly. To do so, latent profile analysis was used. Working memory profiles of 561 primary school students (Mage = 10.10 years) were investigated in relation to divergent thinking and as a moderator of the relationship between divergent thinking and academic achievement. Four profiles were identified: a low verbal – medium visual, a medium verbal-low visual, a medium verbal – medium visual, and a high verbal – high visual profile. Visual divergent thinking scores differed between three of the profiles. Furthermore, these profiles were analyzed as a moderator in the relationship between divergent thinking and academic achievement, given the inconsistent relationships found between the two in previous research. Working memory profiles did not moderate the relationship between divergent thinking and academic achievement. Verbal divergent thinking was related to mathematics and visual divergent thinking to reading comprehension. We discuss the need for educators to be aware of differences between children in working memory.

Measuring flexibility: A text-mining approach.

In creativity research, ideational flexibility, the ability to generate ideas by shifting between concepts, has long been the focus of investigation. However, psychometric work to develop measurement procedures for flexibility has generally lagged behind other creativity-relevant constructs such as fluency and originality. Here, we build from extant research to theoretically posit, and then empirically validate, a text-mining based method for measuring flexibility in verbal divergent thinking (DT) responses. The empirical validation of this method is accomplished in two studies. In the first study, we use the verbal form of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) to demonstrate that our novel flexibility scoring method strongly and positively correlates with traditionally used TTCT flexibility scores. In the second study, we conduct a confirmatory factor analysis using the Alternate Uses Task to show reliability and construct validity of our text-mining based flexibility scoring. In addition, we also examine the relationship between personality facets and flexibility of ideas to provide criterion validity of our scoring methodology. Given the psychometric evidence presented here and the practicality of automated scores, we recommend adopting this new method which provides a less labor-intensive and less costly objective measurement of flexibility.

What inspires us? An experimental analysis of the semantic meaning of irrelevant information in creative ideation

Past research showed that apparently irrelevant information for a creative task at hand can lead to higher creative performance, especially in open-minded individuals. Through two diverse experimental procedures, the present work investigated which type of irrelevance information can inspire (i.e., increase) the creative performance during a divergent thinking (DT) task and how open-minded individuals can be inspired by this kind of information. In Experiment 1, the attentional processing of information that was either apparently relevant or irrelevant for the execution of a verbal DT task was assessed by means of an eye-tracking methodology. In Experiment 2, creative performance was explored through a verbal priming paradigm, which forcedly introduced apparently irrelevant information during the DT task. In both experiments, the level of irrelevance was operationalized in terms of semantic distance between the different kind of information. Results from both experiments highlighted the role of the semantic meaning of the irrelevant information as one of the main determinants, along with Openness, of inspiration (i.e., enhancement) of the creative performance.

Leveraging divergent thinking to enhance the academic performance of engineering students with executive functioning difficulties

Executive functioning (EF) is a set of high-level cognitive skills, including planning, organizing, prioritizing, logical and contextual thinking, understanding, working memory, and self-monitoring. Though these skills are critical for academic success across fields, engineering education may be especially demanding for those with poor EF. One potential resource that may help to buffer against the negative effects of poor EF on academic achievement is divergent thinking. This study examined the role of divergent thinking as a moderating variable in the relationship between EF and academic achievement in engineering education. Undergraduate engineering students completed a self-report scale of EF and tests assessing figural and verbal divergent thinking, across multiple study sessions. Participants’ GPA was obtained from the university registrar's office. Participant data (N = 199) were analyzed using correlational analysis and a multiple moderation model. Results showed that EF scores and engineering GPA were significantly negatively correlated, and that figural (yet not verbal) divergent thinking moderated the association. A greater frequency of behaviors reflecting problems with overall daily EF was associated with lower GPA for those with relatively lower figural divergent thinking ability. Thus, figural divergent thinking may be one personal resource that can be leveraged to enhance academic achievement in engineering students with poor EF.

The interplay of ADHD characteristics and executive functioning with the GPA and divergent thinking of engineering students: A conceptual replication and extension.

Characteristics of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and executive functioning difficulties have been found to correspond with poorer academic outcomes on the one hand and enhanced divergent thinking on the other hand. The current study was conducted to better understand the relationship between ADHD characteristics, executive functioning difficulties, divergent thinking, and academic outcomes by conceptually replicating and expanding on a previous study. Undergraduate engineering students (N = 199) at a public university in the northeastern United States completed self-report measures of ADHD characteristics and daily executive functioning, as well as divergent thinking (figural and verbal) and intelligence quotient (IQ) tests. The results of a series of multiple regression models showed that (1) executive functioning difficulties negatively, and non-verbal IQ and figural divergent thinking positively, predicted engineering grade point average (GPA; obtained from the university registrar’s office), (2) GPA and verbal IQ positively predicted figural divergent thinking scores, and (3) verbal IQ positively predicted verbal divergent thinking scores. A series of multiple regression models testing the assertion that controlling for IQ would strengthen the relationship between divergent thinking and ADHD characteristics or executive functioning were not supported but did show associations between select components of characteristics and divergent thinking. Taken together, these results support previous conclusions that students with ADHD characteristics and executive functioning difficulties may struggle academically yet exhibit select enhanced divergent thinking abilities.

The Cognitive–Creative Profiles of Insightful Problem Solvers: A Person‐Centered Insight Study

AbstractThis study aimed to portray insightful problem solvers. Participants solved classic insight problems and rebuses and completed cognitive and creativity tasks. Grouping the participants based on their success in solving insight problems of different modalities revealed that 95% of the spatial problem solvers succeeded in solving verbal ones (spatial verbal solvers) but not vice versa. Verbal problem solvers were not necessarily able to solve spatial ones. A latent class analysis (LCA) based on relationships among the cognitive and creativity variables confirmed these two types of insightful solvers. It portrayed two compatible classes of experts and successful solvers alongside two classes of low‐level solvers. The former classes excelled in solving rebuses and verbal problems, yet the experts outperformed the others in spatial problems. Both classes scored higher in spatial divergent thinking measures than the low‐level solvers. However, the experts benefited additionally from verbal divergent thinking and associative combination ability. Seemingly, should retrieval of diverse ideas be insufficient to solve the problem, the experts combine ideas by a novel association, thereby generating an insight. Moreover, individual differences in working memory indicated that experts favor associative–automatic strategy, whereas successful solvers utilize analytic strategy. These profiles illuminate “insight” in terms of cognitive and creative styles.

Exploring Neural Signal Complexity as a Potential Link between Creative Thinking, Intelligence, and Cognitive Control.

Functional connectivity studies have demonstrated that creative thinking builds upon an interplay of multiple neural networks involving the cognitive control system. Theoretically, cognitive control has generally been discussed as the common basis underlying the positive relationship between creative thinking and intelligence. However, the literature still lacks a detailed investigation of the association patterns between cognitive control, the factors of creative thinking as measured by divergent thinking (DT) tasks, i.e., fluency and originality, and intelligence, both fluid and crystallized. In the present study, we explored these relationships at the behavioral and the neural level, based on N = 77 young adults. We focused on brain-signal complexity (BSC), parameterized by multi-scale entropy (MSE), as measured during a verbal DT and a cognitive control task. We demonstrated that MSE is a sensitive neural indicator of originality as well as inhibition. Then, we explore the relationships between MSE and factor scores indicating DT and intelligence. In a series of across-scalp analyses, we show that the overall MSE measured during a DT task, as well as MSE measured in cognitive control states, are associated with fluency and originality at specific scalp locations, but not with fluid and crystallized intelligence. The present explorative study broadens our understanding of the relationship between creative thinking, intelligence, and cognitive control from the perspective of BSC and has the potential to inspire future BSC-related theories of creative thinking.

Creativity in mathematics performance: The role of divergent and convergent thinking.

BackgroundCreativity requires both divergent and convergent thinking. Previous research established that divergent thinking relates to mathematics performance, but generally ignored the role of convergent thinking and, hence, leaves it unclear how both might interact when children work on mathematical tasks. This study addressed this paucity in the research literature, with the goal of improving our understanding of the role of creative thinking in primary school mathematics.AimsThis study examined how divergent and convergent thinking contribute to mathematics performance, both directly and jointly, on single‐ and multiple‐solution tasks.SampleThe study was conducted with 229 Dutch fifth graders of 12 primary schools.MethodDivergent and convergent thinking were measured with a visual and verbal task. Path analysis was used including verbal and visual divergent and convergent thinking tasks in relation to single‐ and multiple‐solution mathematics task performance. Working memory was included as a covariate.ResultsVerbal convergent thinking positively predicted single‐ and multiple‐solution task performance. Verbal divergent and convergent thinking interacted in relation to single‐solution task performance, while visual divergent and convergent thinking interacted in relation to multiple‐solution task performance.ConclusionsChildren’s mathematics performance mainly relies on convergent thinking. The role of divergent thinking is twofold: it complements convergent thinking on multiple‐solution tasks and compensates convergent thinking on single‐solution tasks.

Which Divergent Thinking Index Is More Associated With Problem Finding Ability? The Role of Flexibility and Task Nature.

Problem finding (PF) and divergent thinking (DT) are considered to be indicators of creative potential. Previous studies, with different goals, suggest a positive correlation between PF and DT. However, none of these works have explicitly examined which index of DT is more associated with PF. The current investigation examined the association between PF and three main indexes of DT: fluency, flexibility, and originality. It also tested whether such a relation differs based on task nature (verbal vs. figural). The sample consisted of 90 sixth graders who completed three tests: (a) a verbal DT test, (b) a figural DT test, and (c) a PF test. Correlational analysis showed that flexibility was highly correlated with PF in the verbal DT test, whereas originality was significantly correlated with PF in the figural test. Results of the path analysis confirmed the results from correlational analyses and showed that verbal flexibility strongly predicted PF fluency, flexibility, and originality more than any other variable. Likelihood ratio test showed that using 1 or 3% cutoff for scoring originality did not significantly altered the results in both figural and verbal DT (vs. PF), while the likelihood ratio test showed significant differences between the figural and verbal DT. Finally, predictor variables in the verbal DT accounted for 40–58% of the variance in PF skills, whereas predictor variables in the figural DT accounted for 28–37% of the variance in PF skills. As suggested by experts in the field of PF, the role of flexibility in PF is a fertile area to be considered in future studies.

Music Expertise and Gender Differences in Verbal and Visual Divergent Thinking. A Behavioral Study

ABSTRACT Research on creativity is a field of great relevance since it studies our capacity to create, the root of all innovation and problem solving. Some factors, like personality, motivation and artistic knowledge, are known to influence creativity. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of music expertise and gender on creativity and the interaction between these factors. One hundred and fifty-eight participants, aged between 18 and 50, were involved in the study. Eighty-seven of them were musicians (56 male and 31 female) and 71 non-musicians (30 male and 41 female). To evaluate creativity, two tasks, one verbal and one visual, were used, each lasting 2 minutes. Fluency, Flexibility, Originality, Elaboration, and General Creativity were the creative domains under evaluation. The results showed statistically significant differences in music expertise and, to a lesser extent, in gender, especially in the verbal task. Music expertise had a positive impact on creative performance, and women were found to be more creative in the verbal domain than men. This research extends previous work on the influence of biological and environmental factors on creativity.

Relationships between Parenting Behaviors and Adolescents’ Creativity in China: The Mediating Role of Autonomous Motivation

This study used a two-wave, longitudinal design to examine the relationships between parenting behaviors (parental autonomy support, parental behavioral control, and parental psychological control) and Chinese adolescents’ creativity, and the mechanism underlying the relationships. A total of 258 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 13.35, 48% girls) participated in the present study. The study measured the parenting behaviors received by the participants, their autonomous motivation, and creativity using the Parenting Scale, the Self-Regulatory Style Questionnaire-Academic, and the verbal and figural Divergent Thinking Tests, respectively. Structural equation models revealed that parental autonomy support and parental behavioral control had positive effects on Chinese adolescents’ creativity one year later, whereas the relationship between parental psychological control and creativity one year later was not significant. In addition, parental autonomy support and parental behavioral control contributed to adolescents’ creativity through the mediating effect of autonomous motivation. Findings from the present study help clarify developmental pathways linking parenting behaviors to adolescents’ creativity in Chinese culture.

The Nuanced Relationship Between Creative Cognition and the Interaction Between Executive Functioning and Intelligence

AbstractThe current study addresses gaps in our understanding of the relationship between creative cognition, intelligence (IQ), and executive functioning (EF). Undergraduate students completed an IQ test, verbal and figural divergent thinking (DT) tests, and a self‐assessment of EF, across four study sessions. Participant data (N = 199) were analyzed using linear regression and PROCESS moderation models. Results demonstrated that EF interacts with IQ to predict figural and verbal DT in distinct ways, with different patterns emerging from different methods of scoring DT. Using traditional DT scoring, Gf (but not Gc) significantly moderated the relationship between EF and scores on both verbal and figural DT tasks. Low EF was associated with diminished DT scores for those with low Gf scores, unrelated for those with relatively higher Gf, and enhanced scores for those with the highest Gf. Using originality ratio scores, low EF was associated with diminished originality in verbal DT responses for those with low IQ (both Gf and Gc), unrelated for those with relatively higher IQ, and enhanced originality for those with the highest Gc (but not Gf) scores. Thus, there are several nuances in the way that EF interacts with IQ to predict DT.

Gender differences in creativity: Examining the greater male variability hypothesis in different domains and tasks

The Greater Male Variability Hypothesis (GMVH) suggests that males demonstrate greater variability than females and are overrepresented in the lowest and highest ranges of cognitive ability. Several studies have found evidence for the GMVH in creative performance, yet nearly all have used the same task (i.e., Test of Creative Thinking Drawing-Production) limiting inference to a single domain and modality of creative ability. In two studies, we examine the GMVH in relation to performance by adults (Study 1; N = 120) on a creative writing task and by adolescents (Study 2; N = 529) on a creative drawing task, as well as figural and verbal divergent thinking tasks. The variability of scores did not differ substantively between males and females on any of the tasks in either study and the pattern of the proportions of males and females in different regions of the distribution of scores was inconsistent across tasks. Although males received significantly greater mean scores than females on the verbal divergent thinking task in Study 2, no significant mean differences were found for any other task. Overall, our results do not support the GMVH and suggest that, if any, gender differences in creative variability are likely inconsistent across domains and tasks.

Distant Temporal Distance and Creative Thinking: The Mediating Role of Promotion Motivation.

The present study examined the effect of distant temporal distance on creative thinking and the underlying motivation mechanism. We tested our hypotheses in four studies. In Studies 1–4, participants in the distant temporal distance opposed to the proximal temporal distance performed better on a series of creative thinking tasks: the Verbal Divergent Thinking Test (Study 1), the Chinese Remote Associates Test (Study 2), the Toy Design Task (Study 3) and the Ad Evaluation Task (Study 4). Moreover, Studies 2 and 3 found that promotion motivation mediated the beneficial effect of distant temporal distance on the performance of the two creative thinking tasks. In conclusion, distant temporal distance facilitated creative thinking, and promotion motivation mediated this beneficial effect.

P.633 So many formulations, so little concentration: how many modifications do we need until finding the optimal treatment for childhood ADHD?

This entry discusses the use of computers in creativity measurement and assessment. Special emphasis is placed on the use of algorithms for scoring the responses generated during divergent thinking tasks. These algorithms are rooted in various theories of semantics, the details of which are also reviewed. In addition, advances in the use of computers for electronic brainstorming and for domain-specific creativity measurement beyond verbal divergent thinking are also reviewed. The objective is to provide readers with information on the various methods that are available, and a brief discussion of computational semantics.

Can Concept Mapping Facilitate Verbal Divergent Thinking?

ABSTRACT It is well established that creativity can be stimulated by expanding the breadth of knowledge activation. In addition, some researchers have proposed that concept mapping can stimulate individuals into more flexible thinking processes. Based on the literature, three studies were conducted in the present research to systematically investigate whether concept mapping as a way of knowledge activation can increase individual performance in a widely used verbal divergent thinking task, the alternative uses task (AUT). As a first step, Study 1 investigated the relationship between individuals’ concept mapping ability and their AUT performance. Then, by means of experimental manipulation, Study 2 examined whether cross-links were an important element through which concept mapping facilitated AUT performance. Study 3 further examined whether dissociative ability (as an indicator of breadth of knowledge activation) mediated the relationship between cross-links and AUT performance. Taken together, the results indicated: 1) among the four indices of concept mapping ability (propositions, hierarchies, cross-links, and examples), propositions and cross-links showed positive associations with AUT performance; 2) cross-links were an important element through which concept mapping priming facilitated AUT performance; 3) dissociative ability fully mediated the relationship between cross-links and AUT fluency. Implications and future directions were discussed in detail.