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A New Approach to Understanding Divergent and Convergent Thinking

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A New Approach to Understanding Divergent and Convergent Thinking Redefining Creativity: A New Approach to Understanding Divergent and Convergent Thinking and Personality Ellis Heyen, Lucas Jasinski, Natalie Main, Rachel Thomas, Nathan Trice, and Lauryn Zinke Department of Psychology, Illinois State University Introduction Procedure Predicted Results Creativity has been of interest to researchers for over a Remote Associates Test (RAT) was used to measure We expect to find a significant positive correlation century (Weiss et al., 2020). Guilford (1967) proposed that convergent thinking processes (Mednick, 1962). between performance on the RAT and Unusual Uses Test creativity consisted of divergent and convergent thinking. • 12 stimuli sets were presented, varying from easy to (UUT), indicating that the RAT relies on divergent thinking. very hard Traditionally, convergent thinking (critical thinking • Participants were presented with sets of 3 words using logical steps to determine a single solution) is In contrast, we expect non-significant correlations for RAT that can be linked with a fourth word understood to be the performance on tasks where only one and UUT with vocabulary, a convergent thinking measure. • Sample: worm / shelf / end can be related by the solution is correct, whereas divergent thinking word book (creative thinking using strategies that deviate from We expect RAT and UUT to be positively correlated with • Asked participants to provide the related fourth word commonly used strategies) is the performance on tasks openness to experience from the personality inventory. • Responses scored for accuracy where many different solutions are needed (Gabora, 2018, 2019). Unusual Uses Test was used to measure divergent Conclusion Mednick’s (1962) Remote Associates Test (RAT) of thinking processes (Guilford, 1967). Our findings will provide important details about creativity, convergent thinking and Guilford’s (1967) Unusual Uses • Participants were asked to write down as many uses especially convergent and divergent thinking and their Test of divergent thinking are the most popular measures as they could think of for a brick and a paperclip relation to personality. The findings will display how of creativity. Recently, Gabora (2019) reclassified the RAT • Responses scored for fluency and originality definitions of convergent and divergent thinking are evolving to be a measure of divergent thinking due to the idea of and provide a better understanding of creative thinking “honing,” which requires the thinker to dial in on their Vocabulary consisted of 10 words. processes. creative process to make it more specific. • Participants were asked to provide definitions • Responses scored for accuracy The relationship between creativity and personality has Our findings also will provide converging evidence that often been studied, with openness to experience (being openness to experience is strongly related to creativity. is a brief open to new cultural, aesthetic, or intellectual experiences) Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) assessment of the Big Five personality factors (Gosling et showing the strongest relation (Puryear et al., 2017). These findings have implications for understanding al., 2003). creativity and for efforts to improve creativity. • 10 items (2 per facet: we focused on openness to Objective experience) • Sample: I see myself as open to new experiences, References To investigate the relationship between complex Gabora, L. (2018). The neural basis and evolution of divergent and • Participants rated responses 1 (disagree strongly) convergent thought. The Cambridge Handbook of the Neuroscience of divergent and convergent thinking and Creativity, 58-70. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316556238.005 personality, e.g., openness to experience. through 7 (agree strongly) Gabora, L. (2019). Reframing convergent and divergent thought for the 21st century. In A. Goel, C. Seifert, & C. Freska (Eds.), Proceedings of 41st Coding is underway, with results expected by the end of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 1794-1800. Cognitive Spring 2021 semester. Science Society Austin, TX. Gosling, S. D., Rentfrow, P. J., & Swann, W. B., Jr. (2003). A very brief measure of the Big Five personality domains. Journal of Research in Personality, 37, 504-528. Guilford, J. P. (1967) The nature of human intelligence. McGraw-Hill. Mednick, S. (1962). The associative basis of the creative process. Psychological Review, 69(3), 220– 232. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0048850 Puryear, J. S., Kettler, T., & Rinn, A. N. (2017). Relationships of personality Method to differential concepts of creativity: A systematic review. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 11(1), 59-68. Participants: 100 ISU students that were 18 years or http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/aca0000079 older participated in our online survey in Qualtrics. They Weiss, S., Steger, D., Kaur, Y., Hildebrant, A., Schroeders, U., & Wilhelm, O. were recruited through Sona and received credit in (2020). On the trail of creativity: Dimensionality of divergent thinking and its relation with cognitive abilities, personality, and insight. European psychology courses. Journal of Personality, Eur. J. Pers. 1-22. doi: 10.1002/per.2288.
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