TY - JOUR
T1 - Which Divergent Thinking Index Is More Associated With Problem Finding Ability? The Role of Flexibility and Task Nature
AU - Abdulla Alabbasi, Ahmed M.
AU - Reiter-Palmon, Roni
AU - Sultan, Zainab M.
AU - Ayoub, Alaa Eldin A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2021 Abdulla Alabbasi, Reiter-Palmon, Sultan and Ayoub.
PY - 2021/7/22
Y1 - 2021/7/22
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - creativity
KW - divergent thinking
KW - flexibility
KW - fluency
KW - ill-structured problems
KW - originality
KW - problem finding
KW - task nature
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U2 - 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.671146
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.671146
M3 - Article
C2 - 34366989
AN - SCOPUS:85112617088
SN - 1664-1078
VL - 12
JO - Frontiers in Psychology
JF - Frontiers in Psychology
M1 - 671146
ER -