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.

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Which Divergent Thinking Index is More Associated with Problem Construction Ability? The Role of Flexibility and Task Nature

10.31219/osf.io/r7m5c ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ahmed M. Abdulla Alabbasi

Keyword(s):

Divergent Thinking ◽

Sixth Graders ◽

Creative Potential ◽

Problem Construction ◽

Future Studies ◽

Verbal Tasks ◽

Highly Correlated ◽

Fertile Area ◽

And Task

Problem construction and divergent thinking (DT) are considered to be indicators of creative potential. Previous studies, with different goals, suggest a positive correlation between problem construction and DT. However, none of these works have explicitly examined which index of DT is more associated with problem construction. The current investigation examined the association between problem construction and three main indexes of DT: fluency, flexibility, and originality. It also tested whether such a relation differs based on task nature (verbal versus 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 problem construction test. Correlational analysis showed that flexibility was highly correlated with problem construction in the verbal DT test, whereas originality was highly correlated with problem construction in the figural test. The association between problem construction and verbal versus figural DT significantly differed in all DT indexes. This finding suggests that figural and verbal tasks assess DT in a different way, which was confirmed by a canonical correlation analysis. Finally, results of a multiple regression analysis showed that verbal DT significantly explained 59% of the variance in fluency scores in problem construction and 60% in originality scores in problem construction. Meanwhile, figural DT explained 8% to 9% of the variability in fluency and originality scores in problem construction. As suggested by experts in the field of problem construction, the role of flexibility in problem construction is a fertile area to be considered in future studies.

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