The Bright and Dark Side Correlates of Creativity: Demographic, Ability, Personality Traits and Personality Disorders Associated with Divergent Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furnham, Adrian

2015-01-01

This research examined the personality trait and personality disorder correlates of creative potential, as assessed by a divergent thinking (DT) test. Over 4,000 adult managers attending an assessment center completed a battery of tests including a "bright side," normal personality trait measures (NEO Personality Inventory-Revised, or…

Divergent Thinking and Interview Ratings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Batey, Mark; Rawles, Richard; Furnham, Adrian

2009-01-01

This study examined divergent thinking (DT) test scores of applicants taking part in a selection procedure for an undergraduate psychology degree (N = 370). Interviewers made six specific (creative intelligence, motivation, work habits, emotional stability, sociability, and social responsibility) and one overall recommendation rating on each…

Language Mediated Concept Activation in Bilingual Memory Facilitates Cognitive Flexibility

PubMed Central

Kharkhurin, Anatoliy V.

2017-01-01

This is the first attempt of empirical investigation of language mediated concept activation (LMCA) in bilingual memory as a cognitive mechanism facilitating divergent thinking. Russian–English bilingual and Russian monolingual college students were tested on a battery of tests including among others Abbreviated Torrance Tests for Adults assessing divergent thinking traits and translingual priming (TLP) test assessing the LMCA. The latter was designed as a lexical decision priming test, in which a prime and a target were not related in Russian (language of testing), but were related through their translation equivalents in English (spoken only by bilinguals). Bilinguals outperformed their monolingual counterparts on divergent thinking trait of cognitive flexibility, and bilinguals’ performance on this trait could be explained by their TLP effect. Age of second language acquisition and proficiency in this language were found to relate to the TLP effect, and therefore were proposed to influence the directionality and strength of connections in bilingual memory. PMID:28701981

Differential influence of asynchrony in early and late chronotypes on convergent thinking.

PubMed

Simor, Péter; Polner, Bertalan

2017-01-01

Eveningness preference (late chronotype) was previously associated with different personality dimensions and thinking styles that were linked to creativity, suggesting that evening-type individuals tend to be more creative than the morning-types. Nevertheless, empirical data on the association between chronotype and creative performance is scarce and inconclusive. Moreover, cognitive processes related to creative thinking are influenced by other factors such as sleep and the time of testing. Therefore, our aim was to examine convergent and divergent thinking abilities in late and early chronotypes, taking into consideration the influence of asynchrony (optimal versus nonoptimal testing times) and sleep quality. We analyzed the data of 36 evening-type and 36 morning-type young, healthy adults who completed the Compound Remote Associates (CRAs) as a convergent and the Just suppose subtest of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking as a divergent thinking task within a time interval that did (n = 32) or did not (n = 40) overlap with their individually defined peak times. Chronotype was not directly associated with creative performance, but in case of the convergent thinking task an interaction between chronotype and asynchrony emerged. Late chronotypes who completed the test at subjectively nonoptimal times showed better performance than late chronotypes tested during their "peak" and early chronotypes tested at their peak or off-peak times. Although insomniac symptoms predicted lower scores in the convergent thinking task, the interaction between chronotype and asynchrony was independent of the effects of sleep quality or the general testing time. Divergent thinking was not predicted by chronotype, asynchrony or their interaction. Our findings indicate that asynchrony might have a beneficial influence on convergent thinking, especially in late chronotypes.

Influence of divergent and convergent thinking on visuomotor adaptation in young and older adults.

PubMed

Simon, Anja; Bock, Otmar

2016-04-01

Visuomotor adaptation declines in older age. This has been attributed to cognitive impairments. One relevant cognitive function could be creativity, since creativity is implicated as mediator of early learning. The present study therefore evaluates whether two aspects of creativity, divergent and convergent thinking, are differentially involved in the age-dependent decline of visuomotor adaptation. In 25 young and 24 older volunteers, divergent thinking was assessed by the alternative-uses-task (AUT), convergent thinking by the Intelligenz-Struktur-Test-2000 (IST), and sensorimotor-adaptation by a pointing task with 60° rotated visual feedback. Young participants outperformed older participants in all three tasks. AUT scores were positively associated with young but not older participants' adaptive performance, whereas IST scores were negatively associated with older but not young participants' adaptive performance. This pattern of findings could be attributed to a consistent relationship between AUT, IST and adaptation; taking this into account, adaptation deficits of older participants were no longer significant. We conclude that divergent thinking supports workaround-strategies during adaptation, but doesn't influence visuomotor recalibration. Furthermore, the decay of divergent thinking in older adults may explain most of age-related decline of adaptive strategies. When the age-related decay of divergent thinking coincides with well-preserved convergent thinking, adaptation suffers most. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Inter-relationships between Personality, Divergent Thinking and School Attainment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Entwistle, Noel J.; Bennett, S. Neville

1977-01-01

Overall correlations between personality/motivation and verbal reasoning, divergent thinking, and creative writing in 1,416 children, aged 10-13 were low, suggesting that classroom climate and teaching methods may affect this relationship. (Tests are appended.) (Available in microfiche from: Carfax Publishing Company, Haddon House,…

Training in the adolescent brain: An fMRI training study on divergent thinking.

PubMed

Kleibeuker, Sietske W; Stevenson, Claire E; van der Aar, Laura; Overgaauw, Sandy; van Duijvenvoorde, Anna C; Crone, Eveline A

2017-02-01

Prior research suggests that adolescence is a time of enhanced sensitivity for practice and learning. In this study we tested the neural correlates of divergent thinking training in 15- to 16-year-old adolescents relative to an age-matched active control group. All participants performed an alternative uses task, a valid measure to test divergent thinking, while functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) images were acquired before and after a training program. In between the 2 scanning sessions the experimental group completed 2 weeks of divergent thinking training (8 sessions) and the control group completed 2 weeks of rule switching training (8 session). A Group × Time interaction demonstrated stable divergent thinking performance for the experimental group, whereas in the control group performance declined. Generating alternative uses (experimental task condition) relative to generating ordinary characteristics of objects (control task condition) was associated with increased activation in the supramarginal gyrus (SMG), angular gyrus (AG), and middle temporal gyrus (MTG). Test-retest analyses showed that within-individuals-activation in these regions was stable over time in both groups. Changes in alternative uses fluency over time, however, were positively associated with changes in superior lateral PFC activation over time. Together, the results indicate that core brain regions for creativity (SMG, AG, and MTG) are consistently recruited in adolescence, and that changes in performance are associated with changes in activation in lateral PFC. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Neural Mechanisms of Episodic Retrieval Support Divergent Creative Thinking.

PubMed

Madore, Kevin P; Thakral, Preston P; Beaty, Roger E; Addis, Donna Rose; Schacter, Daniel L

2017-11-17

Prior research has indicated that brain regions and networks that support semantic memory, top-down and bottom-up attention, and cognitive control are all involved in divergent creative thinking. Kernels of evidence suggest that neural processes supporting episodic memory-the retrieval of particular elements of prior experiences-may also be involved in divergent thinking, but such processes have typically been characterized as not very relevant for, or even a hindrance to, creative output. In the present study, we combine functional magnetic resonance imaging with an experimental manipulation to test formally, for the first time, episodic memory's involvement in divergent thinking. Following a manipulation that facilitates detailed episodic retrieval, we observed greater neural activity in the hippocampus and stronger connectivity between a core brain network linked to episodic processing and a frontoparietal brain network linked to cognitive control during divergent thinking relative to an object association control task that requires little divergent thinking. Stronger coupling following the retrieval manipulation extended to a subsequent resting-state scan. Neural effects of the episodic manipulation were consistent with behavioral effects of enhanced idea production on divergent thinking but not object association. The results indicate that conceptual frameworks should accommodate the idea that episodic retrieval can function as a component process of creative idea generation, and highlight how the brain flexibly utilizes the retrieval of episodic details for tasks beyond simple remembering. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The Divergent Thinking of Basic Skills of Sciences Process Skills of Life Aspects on Natural Sciences Subject in Indonesian Elementary School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Subali, Bambang; Paidi; Mariyam, Siti

2016-01-01

This research aims at measuring the divergent thinking of basic skills of science process skills (SPS) of life aspects in Natural Sciences subjects on Elementary School. The test instruments used in this research have been standardized through the development of instruments. In this case, the tests were tried out to 3070 students. The results of…

Flexible or leaky attention in creative people? Distinct patterns of attention for different types of creative thinking.

PubMed

Zabelina, Darya; Saporta, Arielle; Beeman, Mark

2016-04-01

Creativity has been putatively linked to distinct forms of attention, but which aspects of creativity and which components of attention remains unclear. Two experiments examined how divergent thinking and creative achievement relate to visual attention. In both experiments, participants identified target letters (S or H) within hierarchical stimuli (global letters made of local letters), after being cued to either the local or global level. In Experiment 1, participants identified the targets more quickly following valid cues (80% of trials) than following invalid cues. However, this smaller validity effect was associated with higher divergent thinking, suggesting that divergent thinking was related to quicker overcoming of invalid cues, and thus to flexible attention. Creative achievement was unrelated to the validity effect. Experiment 2 examined whether divergent thinking (or creative achievement) is related to "leaky attention," so that when cued to one level of a stimulus, some information is still processed, or leaks in, from the non-cued level. In this case, the cued stimulus level always contained a target, and the non-cued level was congruent, neutral, or incongruent with the target. Divergent thinking did not relate to stimulus congruency. In contrast, high creative achievement was related to quicker responses to the congruent than to the incongruent stimuli, suggesting that real-world creative achievement is indeed associated with leaky attention, whereas standard laboratory tests of divergent thinking are not. Together, these results elucidate distinct patterns of attention for different measures of creativity. Specifically, creative achievers may have leaky attention, as suggested by previous literature, whereas divergent thinkers have selective yet flexible attention.

Does the Eye of the Beholder Construct Beauty? Contributions of Self-Efficacy Factors to Divergent Thinking Traits

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kharkhurin, Anatoliy V.

2017-01-01

The study initiated a project exploring a contribution of creative perception to creative behavior. This study investigated the factors in creative self-perception contributing to creative potential. Creative potential was operationalized as divergent thinking and measured by the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults. Creative self-perception was…

Is Age Just a Number? Cognitive Reserve as a Predictor of Divergent Thinking in Late Adulthood

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Meléndez, Juan C.; Alfonso-Benlliure, Vicente; Mayordomo, Teresa; Sales, Alicia

2016-01-01

The purpose of the study was to test a model of causal relationships among cognitive reserve (CR), personality variables such as Neuroticism and Openness to experience, and divergent thinking (DT), independently evaluating performance in different domains (verbal and graphic). It was hypothesized that CR, Openness, and Neuroticism would each…

The Effect of Linguistic Proficiency, Age of Second Language Acquisition, and Length of Exposure to a New Cultural Environment on Bilinguals' Divergent Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kharkhurin, Anatoliy V.

2008-01-01

The study argues that, in addition to advantages in conscious attention-demanding processing, bilinguals may also exhibit enhanced unconscious divergent thinking. To investigate this issue, the performance of Russian-English bilingual immigrants and English monolingual native speakers was compared on the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults, which…

Divergent Thinking and Constructing Episodic Simulations

PubMed Central

Addis, Donna Rose; Pan, Ling; Musicaro, Regina; Schacter, Daniel L.

2014-01-01

Divergent thinking likely plays an important role in simulating autobiographical events. We investigated whether divergent thinking is differentially associated with the ability to construct detailed imagined future and imagined past events as opposed to recalling past events. We also examined whether age differences in divergent thinking might underlie the reduced episodic detail generated by older adults. The richness of episodic detail comprising autobiographical events in young and older adults was assessed using the Autobiographical Interview. Divergent thinking abilities were measured using the Alternate Uses Task. Divergent thinking was significantly associated with the amount of episodic detail for imagined future events. Moreover, while age was significantly associated with imagined episodic detail, this effect was strongly related to age-related changes in episodic retrieval rather than divergent thinking. PMID:25483132

Divergent thinking and constructing episodic simulations.

PubMed

Addis, Donna Rose; Pan, Ling; Musicaro, Regina; Schacter, Daniel L

2016-01-01

Divergent thinking likely plays an important role in simulating autobiographical events. We investigated whether divergent thinking is differentially associated with the ability to construct detailed imagined future and imagined past events as opposed to recalling past events. We also examined whether age differences in divergent thinking might underlie the reduced episodic detail generated by older adults. The richness of episodic detail comprising autobiographical events in young and older adults was assessed using the Autobiographical Interview. Divergent thinking abilities were measured using the Alternative Uses Task. Divergent thinking was significantly associated with the amount of episodic detail for imagined future events. Moreover, while age was significantly associated with imagined episodic detail, this effect was strongly related to age-related changes in episodic retrieval rather than divergent thinking.

Give Your Ideas Some Legs: The Positive Effect of Walking on Creative Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oppezzo, Marily; Schwartz, Daniel L.

2014-01-01

Four experiments demonstrate that walking boosts creative ideation in real time and shortly after. In Experiment 1, while seated and then when walking on a treadmill, adults completed Guilford's alternate uses (GAU) test of creative divergent thinking and the compound remote associates (CRA) test of convergent thinking. Walking increased 81% of…

Quantity yields quality when it comes to creativity: a brain and behavioral test of the equal-odds rule

PubMed Central

Jung, Rex E.; Wertz, Christopher J.; Meadows, Christine A.; Ryman, Sephira G.; Vakhtin, Andrei A.; Flores, Ranee A.

2015-01-01

The creativity research community is in search of a viable cognitive measure providing support for behavioral observations that higher ideational output is often associated with higher creativity (known as the equal-odds rule). One such measure has included divergent thinking: the production of many examples or uses for a common or single object or image. We sought to test the equal-odds rule using a measure of divergent thinking, and applied the consensual assessment technique to determine creative responses as opposed to merely original responses. We also sought to determine structural brain correlates of both ideational fluency and ideational creativity. Two-hundred forty-six subjects were subjected to a broad battery of behavioral measures, including a core measure of divergent thinking (Foresight), and measures of intelligence, creative achievement, and personality (i.e., Openness to Experience). Cortical thickness and subcortical volumes (e.g., thalamus) were measured using automated techniques (FreeSurfer). We found that higher number of responses on the divergent thinking task was significantly associated with higher creativity (r = 0.73) as independently assessed by three judges. Moreover, we found that creativity was predicted by cortical thickness in regions including the left frontal pole and left parahippocampal gyrus. These results support the equal-odds rule, and provide neuronal evidence implicating brain regions involved with “thinking about the future” and “extracting future prospects.” PMID:26161075

Structural correlates of creative thinking in patients with bipolar disorder and healthy controls-a voxel-based morphometry study.

PubMed

Tu, Pei-Chi; Kuan, Yi-Hsuan; Li, Cheng-Ta; Su, Tung-Ping

2017-06-01

This study investigated the structural correlates of creative thinking in patients with bipolar disorder (BD) to understand the possible neural mechanism of creative thinking in BD. We recruited 59 patients with BD I or BD II (35.3±8.5 y) and 56 age- and sex-matched controls (HCs; 34±7.4 y). Each participant underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging and evaluation of creative thinking, which was assessed using two validated tools: the Chinese version of the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults for divergent thinking and the Chinese Word Remote Associates Test for remote association. Voxel-based morphometry was performed using SPM12. In patients with BD, divergent thinking positively correlated with the gray matter volume (GMV) in right medial frontal gyrus (Brodmann area [BA] 9), and remote association positively correlated with the GMV in the medial prefrontal gyrus (BA 10). In the HCs, divergent thinking negatively correlated with the GMV in left superior frontal gyrus (BA 8) and positively correlated with the GMV in the precuneus and occipital regions, and remote association positively correlated with the GMV in the hippocampus. Patients with BD were receiving various dosages of antipsychotics, antidepressants and mood stabilizer. These medications may confound the GMV-creative thinking relationship in patients with BD. Our findings indicate that medial prefrontal cortex plays a major and positive role in creative thinking in patients with BD. By contrary, creative thinking involves more diverse structures, and the prefrontal cortex may have an opposite effect in HCs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Residents' performance before and after night call as evaluated by an indicator of creative thought.

PubMed

Nelson, C S; Dell'Angela, K; Jellish, W S; Brown, I E; Skaredoff, M

1995-10-01

The effects of sleep deprivation on medical personnel have received much attention. This study evaluates the effects of sleep loss on divergent-thinking (creative or innovative) processes as measured by the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT). Anesthesia residents who had approximately 30 minutes sleep while being on-call were evaluated. These physicians had similar caffeine and nicotine consumption before and after the test. The results reported here demonstrate that postcall residents had TTCT scores that were appreciably below those scores of rested residents. Postcall verbal fluency was less among the on-call group than among the rested group (94.0 +/- 9.7 vs 101.8 +/- 9.8) as was figural originality (89.9 +/- 22.1 vs 113.3 +/- 20.3). These study results suggest that sleep deprivation affects divergent, or creative, thinking. Divergent-thinking processes are usually innovative and are used during complex problem-solving tasks. Further studies are needed on the effects of sleep deprivation. This information can then be used to help improve residents' working conditions and patient care.

Affective Induction and Creative Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fernández-Abascal, Enrique G.; Díaz, María D. Martín

2013-01-01

Three studies explored the relation between affect and production of creative divergent thinking, assessed with the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (Figural TTCT). In the first study, general, positive, and negative affect, assessed with the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) were compared with creative production. In the second study,…

Divergent creative thinking in young and older adults: Extending the effects of an episodic specificity induction.

PubMed

Madore, Kevin P; Jing, Helen G; Schacter, Daniel L

2016-08-01

Recent research has suggested that an episodic specificity induction-brief training in recollecting the details of a past experience-enhances divergent creative thinking on the alternate uses task (AUT) in young adults, without affecting performance on tasks thought to involve little divergent thinking; however, the generalizability of these results to other populations and tasks is unknown. In the present experiments, we examined whether the effects of an episodic specificity induction would extend to older adults and a different index of divergent thinking, the consequences task. In Experiment 1, the specificity induction significantly enhanced divergent thinking on the AUT in both young and older adults, as compared with a control induction not requiring specific episodic retrieval; performance on a task involving little divergent thinking (generating associates for common objects) did not vary as a function of induction. No overall age-related differences were observed on either task. In Experiment 2, the specificity induction significantly enhanced divergent thinking (in terms of generating consequences of novel scenarios) in young adults, relative to another control induction not requiring episodic retrieval. To examine the types of creative ideas affected by the induction, the participants in both experiments also labeled each of their divergent-thinking responses as an "old idea" from memory or a "new idea" from imagination. New, and to some extent old, ideas were significantly boosted following the specificity induction relative to the control. These experiments provide novel evidence that an episodic specificity induction can boost divergent thinking in young and older adults, and indicate that episodic memory is involved in multiple divergent-thinking tasks.

Divergent creative thinking in young and older adults: Extending the effects of an episodic specificity induction

PubMed Central

Madore, Kevin P.; Jing, Helen G.; Schacter, Daniel L.

2016-01-01

Recent research has suggested that an episodic specificity induction- brief training in recollecting the details of a past experience- enhances divergent creative thinking on the Alternate Uses Task (AUT) in young adults without affecting performance on tasks thought to involve little divergent thinking, but the generalizability of these results to other populations and tasks is unknown. The present experiments examined whether effects of an episodic specificity induction extend to older adults and a different index of divergent thinking, the Consequences Task. In Experiment 1, the specificity induction significantly enhanced divergent thinking on the AUT in both young and older adults compared with a control induction not requiring specific episodic retrieval; performance on a task involving little divergent thinking did not vary as a function of induction (generating associates for common objects). No overall age-related differences were observed on either task. In Experiment 2, the specificity induction significantly enhanced divergent thinking (generating consequences of novel scenarios) in young adults compared with another control induction not requiring episodic retrieval. To examine the types of creative ideas affected by the induction, participants in both experiments also labeled each of their divergent thinking responses as an old idea from memory or new idea from imagination. New and to some extent old ideas were significantly boosted following the specificity induction compared with the control. These experiments provide novel evidence that an episodic specificity induction can boost divergent thinking in young and older adults, and indicate that episodic memory is involved in multiple divergent thinking tasks. PMID:27001170

Verbal and visual divergent thinking in aging.

PubMed

Palmiero, Massimiliano; Nori, Raffaella; Piccardi, Laura

2017-04-01

According to the peak and decline model divergent thinking declines at a specific age (in or after middle age). However, if divergent thinking declines steadily in aging still has to be clarified. In order to explore the age-related changes in verbal and visual divergent thinking, in the present study a sample of 159 participants was divided in five age groups: young adults (18-35 years), middle-aged adults (36-55), young old (56-74), old (75-85) and the oldest-old (86-98). Two divergent thinking tasks were administered: the alternative uses for cardboard boxes, aimed at assessing verbal ideational fluency, flexibility and originality; the completion drawing task, aimed at assessing visual ideational fluency, flexibility and originality. Results showed that after peaking in the young adult group (20-35 years) all components of verbal and visual divergent thinking stabilized in the middle-aged adult group (36-55 years) and then started declining in the young old group (56-75). Interestingly, all components were found to be preserved after declining. Yet, verbal and visual divergent thinking were found at the same extent across age groups, with the exception of visual ideational fluency, that was higher in the young old group, the old group and the oldest-old group than verbal ideational fluency. These results support the idea that divergent thinking does not decline steadily in the elderly. Given that older people can preserve to some extent verbal and visual divergent thinking, these findings have important implications for active aging, that is, divergent thinking might be fostered in aging in order to prevent the cognitive decline.

Identifying and Assessing Creativity as a Component of Giftedness

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaufman, James C.; Plucker, Jonathan A.; Russell, Christina M.

2012-01-01

Most theories of giftedness include creativity as a central component. Creativity assessment has a key role, therefore, in measuring giftedness. This article reviews the state of the creativity assessment, from divergent thinking tests (including the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking) to the consensual assessment technique to rating scales and…

Creativity. Education Today Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cropley, A. J.

The relationship between creativity and intelligence is discussed; and the position that intellect is not synonymous with the ability to respond in the usual logical way to a standard test item is developed. This logical (convergent) way of thinking, measured by IQ tests, is contrasted with the creative (divergent) way of thinking, measured by…

Creativity and Memory: Effects of an Episodic Specificity Induction on Divergent Thinking

PubMed Central

Madore, Kevin P.; Addis, Donna Rose; Schacter, Daniel L.

2015-01-01

After receiving an episodic specificity induction - brief training in recollecting details of a recent event - people produce more episodic details when imagining future events and solving means-end problems than after receiving a control induction not focused on episodic retrieval. Here we show for the first time that an episodic specificity induction also enhances divergent creative thinking. In Experiment 1, participants exhibited a selective boost on a divergent thinking task that involves generating unusual uses of common objects after a specificity induction compared with a control induction; by contrast, performance was similar on an object association task thought to involve little divergent thinking. In Experiment 2, we replicated the specificity induction effect on divergent thinking using a different control induction, and also found that participants performed similarly on a convergent thinking task following both inductions. These experiments provide novel evidence that episodic memory is involved in divergent creative thinking. PMID:26205963

Creative Cognition in Secondary Science: An exploration of divergent thinking in science among adolescents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antink-Meyer, Allison; Lederman, Norman G.

2015-07-01

The divergent thinking skills in science of 282 US high school students were investigated across 16 weeks of instruction in order to determine whether typical academic time periods can significantly influence changes in thinking skills. Students' from 6 high school science classrooms completed the Scientific Structures Creativity Measure (SSCM) before and after a semester of instruction. Even the short time frame of a typical academic term was found to be sufficient to promote both improvements in divergent thinking skills as well as declining divergent thinking. Declining divergent thinking skills were more common in this time frame than were improvements. The nature of student performance on the SSCM and implications are discussed.

Cultivating Divergent Thinking: Conceptualization as a Critical Component of Artmaking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chin, Christina

2013-01-01

Discussing various perspectives of artists' influences and experiences can develop students' divergent thinking skills. Fostering students' divergent thinking skills is integral to developing creativity, and the Arts are a ripe forum for this. In contrast to convergent thinking, which focuses in on one "correct"…

Don't wait to incubate: immediate versus delayed incubation in divergent thinking.

PubMed

Gilhooly, Kenneth J; Georgiou, George J; Garrison, Jane; Reston, Jon D; Sirota, Miroslav

2012-08-01

Previous evidence for the effectiveness of immediate incubation in divergent creative tasks has been weak, because earlier studies exhibited a range of methodological problems. This issue is theoretically important, as a demonstration of the effects of immediate incubation would strengthen the case for the involvement of unconscious work in incubation effects. For the present experiment, we used a creative divergent-thinking task (alternative uses) in which separate experimental groups had incubation periods that were either delayed or immediate and that consisted of either spatial or verbal tasks. Control groups were tested without incubation periods, and we carried out checks for intermittent conscious work on the target task during the incubation periods. The results showed significant incubation effects that were stronger for immediate than for delayed incubation. Performance was not different between the verbal and spatial incubation conditions, and we found no evidence for intermittent conscious working during the incubation periods. These results support a role for unconscious work in creative divergent thinking, particularly in the case of immediate incubation.

Bilingualism and Creativity: Benefits in Convergent Thinking Come with Losses in Divergent Thinking

PubMed Central

Hommel, Bernhard; Colzato, Lorenza S.; Fischer, Rico; Christoffels, Ingrid K.

2011-01-01

Bilingualism is commonly assumed to improve creativity but the mechanisms underlying creative acts, and the way these mechanisms are affected by bilingualism, are not very well understood. We hypothesize that learning to master multiple languages drives individuals toward a relatively focused cognitive-control state that exerts strong top-down impact on information processing and creates strong local competition for selection between cognitive codes. Considering the control requirements posed by creativity tasks tapping into convergent and divergent thinking, this predicts that high-proficient bilinguals should outperform low-proficient bilinguals in convergent thinking, while low-proficient bilinguals might be better in divergent thinking. Comparing low- and high-proficient bilinguals on convergent-thinking and divergent-thinking tasks indeed showed a high-proficient bilingual advantage for convergent thinking but a low-proficient bilingual advantage for fluency in divergent thinking. These findings suggest that bilingualism should not be related to “creativity” as a unitary concept but, rather, to the specific processes and mechanisms that underlie creativity. PMID:22084634

Creativity and Memory: Effects of an Episodic-Specificity Induction on Divergent Thinking.

PubMed

Madore, Kevin P; Addis, Donna Rose; Schacter, Daniel L

2015-09-01

People produce more episodic details when imagining future events and solving means-end problems after receiving an episodic-specificity induction-brief training in recollecting details of a recent event-than after receiving a control induction not focused on episodic retrieval. Here we show for the first time that an episodic-specificity induction also enhances divergent creative thinking. In Experiment 1, participants exhibited a selective boost on a divergent-thinking task (generating unusual uses of common objects) after a specificity induction compared with a control induction; by contrast, performance following the two inductions was similar on an object association task thought to involve little divergent thinking. In Experiment 2, we replicated the specificity-induction effect on divergent thinking using a different control induction, and also found that participants performed similarly on a convergent-thinking task following the two inductions. These experiments provide novel evidence that episodic memory is involved in divergent creative thinking. © The Author(s) 2015.

Creativity and Cognitive Skills among Millennials: Thinking Too Much and Creating Too Little.

PubMed

Corgnet, Brice; Espín, Antonio M; Hernán-González, Roberto

2016-01-01

Organizations crucially need the creative talent of millennials but are reluctant to hire them because of their supposed lack of diligence. Recent studies have shown that hiring diligent millennials requires selecting those who score high on the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) and thus rely on effortful thinking rather than intuition. A central question is to assess whether the push for recruiting diligent millennials using criteria such as cognitive reflection can ultimately hamper the recruitment of creative workers. To answer this question, we study the relationship between millennials' creativity and their performance on fluid intelligence (Raven) and cognitive reflection (CRT) tests. The good news for recruiters is that we report, in line with previous research, evidence of a positive relationship of fluid intelligence, and to a lesser extent cognitive reflection, with convergent creative thinking . In addition, we observe a positive effect of fluid intelligence on originality and elaboration measures of divergent creative thinking . The bad news for recruiters is the inverted U-shape relationship between cognitive reflection and fluency and flexibility measures of divergent creative thinking . This suggests that thinking too much may hinder important dimensions of creative thinking. Diligent and creative workers may thus be a rare find.

Creativity and Cognitive Skills among Millennials: Thinking Too Much and Creating Too Little

PubMed Central

Corgnet, Brice; Espín, Antonio M.; Hernán-González, Roberto

2016-01-01

Organizations crucially need the creative talent of millennials but are reluctant to hire them because of their supposed lack of diligence. Recent studies have shown that hiring diligent millennials requires selecting those who score high on the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) and thus rely on effortful thinking rather than intuition. A central question is to assess whether the push for recruiting diligent millennials using criteria such as cognitive reflection can ultimately hamper the recruitment of creative workers. To answer this question, we study the relationship between millennials' creativity and their performance on fluid intelligence (Raven) and cognitive reflection (CRT) tests. The good news for recruiters is that we report, in line with previous research, evidence of a positive relationship of fluid intelligence, and to a lesser extent cognitive reflection, with convergent creative thinking. In addition, we observe a positive effect of fluid intelligence on originality and elaboration measures of divergent creative thinking. The bad news for recruiters is the inverted U-shape relationship between cognitive reflection and fluency and flexibility measures of divergent creative thinking. This suggests that thinking too much may hinder important dimensions of creative thinking. Diligent and creative workers may thus be a rare find. PMID:27826268

Linkographic Evidence for Concurrent Divergent and Convergent Thinking in Creative Design

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldschmidt, Gabriela

2016-01-01

For a long time, the creativity literature has stressed the role of divergent thinking in creative endeavor. More recently, it has been recognized that convergent thinking also has a role in creativity, and the design literature, which sees design as a creative activity a priori, has largely adopted this view: Divergent and convergent thinking are…

Tracking the dynamics of divergent thinking via semantic distance: Analytic methods and theoretical implications.

PubMed

Hass, Richard W

2017-02-01

Divergent thinking has often been used as a proxy measure of creative thinking, but this practice lacks a foundation in modern cognitive psychological theory. This article addresses several issues with the classic divergent-thinking methodology and presents a new theoretical and methodological framework for cognitive divergent-thinking studies. A secondary analysis of a large dataset of divergent-thinking responses is presented. Latent semantic analysis was used to examine the potential changes in semantic distance between responses and the concept represented by the divergent-thinking prompt across successive response iterations. The results of linear growth modeling showed that although there is some linear increase in semantic distance across response iterations, participants high in fluid intelligence tended to give more distant initial responses than those with lower fluid intelligence. Additional analyses showed that the semantic distance of responses significantly predicted the average creativity rating given to the response, with significant variation in average levels of creativity across participants. Finally, semantic distance does not seem to be related to participants' choices of their own most creative responses. Implications for cognitive theories of creativity are discussed, along with the limitations of the methodology and directions for future research.

Divergent Thinking and Creative Ideation of High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ramzan, Shaikh Imran; Perveen, Shaheen

2011-01-01

Divergent thinking is an integral process in creativity. Openness to experience is a personality trait that relates to divergent thinking and, therefore, is hypothesized to be related to creative performance among the students. The effects of openness to experience are likely to be partially mediated by an individual's attitude toward divergent…

Divergent Thinking and Evaluation Skills: Do They Always Go Together?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grohman, Magdalena; Wodniecka, Zofia; Klusak, Marcin

2006-01-01

The aim of the present study was to explore the hypothesized relationship between divergent thinking (DT) and two types of evaluation: interpersonal (judgments about others' ideas) and intrapersonal (judgments about one's own ideas). Divergent thinking and evaluation skills were measured by means of a GenEva (Generation and Evaluation) task. There…

The Genetic Components of Verbal Divergent Thinking and Short Term Memory.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pezzullo, Thomas R.; Madaus, George F.

A study of twins was conducted to determine the presence of an hereditary component in short term memory and in three aspects of verbal divergent thinking--flexibility, fluency, and originality. Results showed the existence of a significant genetic component in the trait of short term memory, while none was found in verbal divergent thinking. (AG)

Typing Speed as a Confounding Variable and the Measurement of Quality in Divergent Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Forthmann, Boris; Holling, Heinz; Çelik, Pinar; Storme, Martin; Lubart, Todd

2017-01-01

The need to control for writing or typing speed when assessing divergent-thinking performance has been recognized since the early '90s. An even longer tradition in divergent-thinking research has the issue of scoring the responses for quality. This research addressed both issues within structural equation modeling. Three dimensions of…

Effects of menstrual cycle on creativity.

PubMed

Krug, R; Stamm, U; Pietrowsky, R; Fehm, H L; Born, J

1994-01-01

Seventeen healthy women (21-31 years) not taking oral contraceptives were tested at three phases of the menstrual cycle distinctly differing in hormonal patterns (menses, preovulatory phase, and midluteal phase). Phase detection was assured by determination of blood hormone concentrations. Another 17 women taking oral contraceptives (combined preparation of estrogen and progestin) served as age-matched controls, and were tested during menses and during phases corresponding to preovulatory and midluteal phase. On each test occasion, aspects of creativity were assessed by a battery of six tests measuring "semantic" and "figural" abilities of divergent thinking. Additionally, a test of motor perseveration (Mittenecker-Zeigeversuch) was presented. During the preovulatory phase, creativity was in general improved when serum concentrations of estrogen (E2) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were highest whereas motor perseveration decreased. In control women, there was no preovulatory improvement of divergent thinking and no preovulatory decrease in motor perseveration.

How does emotion influence different creative performances? The mediating role of cognitive flexibility.

PubMed

Lin, Wei-Lun; Tsai, Ping-Hsun; Lin, Hung-Yu; Chen, Hsueh-Chih

2014-01-01

Cognitive flexibility is proposed to be one of the factors underlying how positive emotions can improve creativity. However, previous works have seldom set up or empirically measured an independent index to demonstrate its mediating effect, nor have they investigated its mediating role on different types of creative performances, which involve distinct processes. In this study, 120 participants were randomly assigned to positive, neutral or negative affect conditions. Their levels of cognitive flexibility were then measured by a switch task. Finally, their creative performances were calibrated by either an open-ended divergent thinking test or a closed-ended insight problem-solving task. The results showed that positive emotional states could reduce switch costs and enhance both types of creative performances. However, cognitive flexibility exhibited a full mediating effect only on the relationship between positive emotion and insight problem solving, but not between positive emotion and divergent thinking. Divergent thinking was instead more associated with arousal level. These results suggest that emotions might influence different creative performances through distinct mechanisms.

Investigating the interaction between schizotypy, divergent thinking and cannabis use

PubMed Central

Schafer, Gráinne; Feilding, Amanda; Morgan, Celia J.A.; Agathangelou, Maria; Freeman, Tom P.; Valerie Curran, H.

2012-01-01

Cannabis acutely increases schizotypy and chronic use is associated with elevated rates of psychosis. Creative individuals have higher levels of schizotypy, however links between cannabis use, schizotypy and creativity have not been investigated. We investigated the effects of cannabis smoked naturalistically on schizotypy and divergent thinking, a measure of creativity. One hundred and sixty cannabis users were tested on 1 day when sober and another day when intoxicated with cannabis. State and trait measures of both schizotypy and creativity were administered. Quartile splits compared those lowest (n = 47) and highest (n = 43) in trait creativity. Cannabis increased verbal fluency in low creatives to the same level as that of high creatives. Cannabis increased state psychosis-like symptoms in both groups and the high creativity group were significantly higher in trait schizotypy, but this does not appear to be linked to the verbal fluency change. Acute cannabis use increases divergent thinking as indexed by verbal fluency in low creatives. PMID:22230356

The Profiles of Creative Potential and Personality Characteristics of Adult Professionals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Seon-Young; Min, Jiyeon

2016-01-01

Using 5 divergent thinking indices of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, this study examined the creative profiles of 236 adult professionals and relationships between their creative characteristics and personality types. All these adults were in their middle or late stage of professional development in…

Differential Modulation of Performance in Insight and Divergent Thinking Tasks with tDCS

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goel, Vinod; Eimontaite, Iveta; Goel, Amit; Schindler, Igor

2015-01-01

While both insight and divergent thinking tasks are used to study creativity, there are reasons to believe that the two may call upon very different mechanisms. To explore this hypothesis, we administered a verbal insight task (riddles) and a divergent thinking task (verbal fluency) to 16 native English speakers and 16 non-native English speakers…

Is There Life Outside of Standard Deviations? Measuring Creativity in a Tests and Measurements Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Demetrulias, Diana Mayer

1980-01-01

Even in an educational tests and measurements classroom it is possible to stimulate student creativity and divergent thinking. Examples of projects and test constructions are given to provide food for thought for the creative teacher. (JN)

Leveling Students' Creative Thinking in Solving and Posing Mathematical Problem

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siswono, Tatag Yuli Eko

2010-01-01

Many researchers assume that people are creative, but their degree of creativity is different. The notion of creative thinking level has been discussed .by experts. The perspective of mathematics creative thinking refers to a combination of logical and divergent thinking which is based on intuition but has a conscious aim. The divergent thinking…

On Counter-Stereotypes and Creative Cognition: When Interventions for Reducing Prejudice Can Boost Divergent Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goclowska, Malgorzata A.; Crisp, Richard J.

2013-01-01

School-based psychological interventions which require students and pupils to think of counter-stereotypic individuals (e.g., a female mechanic, a Black President) have been shown to reduce stereotyping and prejudice. But while these interventions are increasingly popular, no one has tested whether tasks like this can have benefits beyond…

Does Problem Solving = Prior Knowledge + Reasoning Skills in Earth Science? An Exploratory Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Chun-Yen

2010-01-01

This study examined the interrelationship between tenth-grade students' problem solving ability (PSA) and their domain-specific knowledge (DSK) as well as reasoning skills (RS) in a secondary school of Taiwan. The PSA test was designed to emphasize students' divergent-thinking ability (DTA) and convergent-thinking ability (CTA) subscales in the…

One-Year-Olds Think Creatively, Just Like Their Parents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoicka, Elena; Mowat, Rachael; Kirkwood, Joanne; Kerr, Tiffany; Carberry, Megan; Bijvoet-van den Berg, Simone

2016-01-01

Creativity is an essential human ability, allowing adaptation and survival. Twenty-nine 1-year-olds and their parents were tested on divergent thinking (DT), a measure of creative potential counting how many ideas one can generate. Toddlers' and parents' DT was moderately to highly correlated. Toddlers showed a wide range of DT scores, which were…

Widespread neural oscillations in the delta band dissociate rule convergence from rule divergence during creative idea generation.

PubMed

Boot, Nathalie; Baas, Matthijs; Mühlfeld, Elisabeth; de Dreu, Carsten K W; van Gaal, Simon

2017-09-01

Critical to creative cognition and performance is both the generation of multiple alternative solutions in response to open-ended problems (divergent thinking) and a series of cognitive operations that converges on the correct or best possible answer (convergent thinking). Although the neural underpinnings of divergent and convergent thinking are still poorly understood, several electroencephalography (EEG) studies point to differences in alpha-band oscillations between these thinking modes. We reason that, because most previous studies employed typical block designs, these pioneering findings may mainly reflect the more sustained aspects of creative processes that extend over longer time periods, and that still much is unknown about the faster-acting neural mechanisms that dissociate divergent from convergent thinking during idea generation. To this end, we developed a new event-related paradigm, in which we measured participants' tendency to implicitly follow a rule set by examples, versus breaking that rule, during the generation of novel names for specific categories (e.g., pasta, planets). This approach allowed us to compare the oscillatory dynamics of rule convergent and rule divergent idea generation and at the same time enabled us to measure spontaneous switching between these thinking modes on a trial-to-trial basis. We found that, relative to more systematic, rule convergent thinking, rule divergent thinking was associated with widespread decreases in delta band activity. Therefore, this study contributes to advancing our understanding of the neural underpinnings of creativity by addressing some methodological challenges that neuroscientific creativity research faces. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Relationship Between Subthreshold Autistic Traits, Ambiguous Figure Perception and Divergent Thinking.

PubMed

Best, Catherine; Arora, Shruti; Porter, Fiona; Doherty, Martin

2015-12-01

This research investigates the paradox of creativity in autism. That is, whether people with subclinical autistic traits have cognitive styles conducive to creativity or whether they are disadvantaged by the implied cognitive and behavioural rigidity of the autism phenotype. The relationship between divergent thinking (a cognitive component of creativity), perception of ambiguous figures, and self-reported autistic traits was evaluated in 312 individuals in a non-clinical sample. High levels of autistic traits were significantly associated with lower fluency scores on the divergent thinking tasks. However autistic traits were associated with high numbers of unusual responses on the divergent thinking tasks. Generation of novel ideas is a prerequisite for creative problem solving and may be an adaptive advantage associated with autistic traits.

Zooming into creativity: individual differences in attentional global-local biases are linked to creative thinking.

PubMed

Zmigrod, Sharon; Zmigrod, Leor; Hommel, Bernhard

2015-01-01

While recent studies have investigated how processes underlying human creativity are affected by particular visual-attentional states, we tested the impact of more stable attention-related preferences. These were assessed by means of Navon's global-local task, in which participants respond to the global or local features of large letters constructed from smaller letters. Three standard measures were derived from this task: the sizes of the global precedence effect, the global interference effect (i.e., the impact of incongruent letters at the global level on local processing), and the local interference effect (i.e., the impact of incongruent letters at the local level on global processing). These measures were correlated with performance in a convergent-thinking creativity task (the Remote Associates Task), a divergent-thinking creativity task (the Alternate Uses Task), and a measure of fluid intelligence (Raven's matrices). Flexibility in divergent thinking was predicted by the local interference effect while convergent thinking was predicted by intelligence only. We conclude that a stronger attentional bias to visual information about the "bigger picture" promotes cognitive flexibility in searching for multiple solutions.

The development of creative cognition across adolescence: distinct trajectories for insight and divergent thinking.

PubMed

Kleibeuker, Sietske W; De Dreu, Carsten K W; Crone, Eveline A

2013-01-01

We examined developmental trajectories of creative cognition across adolescence. Participants (N = 98), divided into four age groups (12/13 yrs, 15/16 yrs, 18/19 yrs, and 25-30 yrs), were subjected to a battery of tasks gauging creative insight (visual; verbal) and divergent thinking (verbal; visuo-spatial). The two older age groups outperformed the two younger age groups on insight tasks. The 25-30-year-olds outperformed the two youngest age groups on the originality measure of verbal divergent thinking. No age-group differences were observed for verbal divergent thinking fluency and flexibility. On divergent thinking in the visuo-spatial domain, however, only 15/16-year-olds outperformed 12/13-year-olds; a model with peak performance for 15/16-years-old showed the best fit. The results for the different creativity processes are discussed in relation to cognitive and related neurobiological models. We conclude that mid-adolescence is a period of not only immaturities but also of creative potentials in the visuo-spatial domain, possibly related to developing control functions and explorative behavior. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Relationship between Playfulness and Motor Creativity in Preschool Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trevlas, Efthimios; Matsouka, Ourania; Zachopoulou, Evridiki

2003-01-01

Previous research has noted a corresponding relationship between young children's play and divergent thinking ability. This study examined how far fluency and flexibility in movement patterns' production, as indicatory elements of divergent thinking and critical thinking, are related to a variety of psychological elements (physical spontaneity,…

Convergent and Divergent Thinking in the Context of Narrative Mysteries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wenzel, William G.; Gerrig, Richard J.

2015-01-01

This project demonstrates how narrative mysteries provide a context in which readers engage in creative cognition. Drawing on the concepts of convergent and divergent thinking, we wrote stories that had either convergent or divergent outcomes. For example, one story had a character give his girlfriend a ring (a convergent outcome), whereas the…

A Developmental Perspective of Divergent Movement Ability in Early Young Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zachopoulou, Evridiki; Makri, Anastasia

2005-01-01

Movement responses to a stimulus could be either quantitative or qualitative, or could also be the answer to a pre-established problem. This process activates both divergent thinking and critical thinking. Divergent movement ability generates both quantitative and qualitative movement responses to a stimulus. The aim of this study was to examine…

One-Year-Olds Think Creatively, Just Like Their Parents.

PubMed

Hoicka, Elena; Mowat, Rachael; Kirkwood, Joanne; Kerr, Tiffany; Carberry, Megan; Bijvoet-van den Berg, Simone

2016-07-01

Creativity is an essential human ability, allowing adaptation and survival. Twenty-nine 1-year-olds and their parents were tested on divergent thinking (DT), a measure of creative potential counting how many ideas one can generate. Toddlers' and parents' DT was moderately to highly correlated. Toddlers showed a wide range of DT scores, which were reliable on retesting. This is the first study to show children think divergently as early as 1 year. This research also suggests 1-year-olds' DT is related to parents', opening up future research into whether this relationship is due to genetics and/or social learning at its emergence. Understanding DT at its emergence could allow for interventions while neurological development is most plastic, which could improve DT across the life span. © 2016 The Authors. Child Development © 2016 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.

Divergent Task Performance in Older Adults: Declarative Memory or Creative Potential?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leon, Susan A.; Altmann, Lori J. P.; Abrams, Lise; Gonzalez Rothi, Leslie J.; Heilman, Kenneth M.

2014-01-01

Divergent thinking is a process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions or responses, and is a critical element of creativity. Lesion and imaging studies have shown that the frontal lobes are important in mediating divergent thinking, and frontal lobe function is highly dependent on white matter connections…

Default and Executive Network Coupling Supports Creative Idea Production

PubMed Central

Beaty, Roger E.; Benedek, Mathias; Barry Kaufman, Scott; Silvia, Paul J.

2015-01-01

The role of attention in creative cognition remains controversial. Neuroimaging studies have reported activation of brain regions linked to both cognitive control and spontaneous imaginative processes, raising questions about how these regions interact to support creative thought. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we explored this question by examining dynamic interactions between brain regions during a divergent thinking task. Multivariate pattern analysis revealed a distributed network associated with divergent thinking, including several core hubs of the default (posterior cingulate) and executive (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) networks. The resting-state network affiliation of these regions was confirmed using data from an independent sample of participants. Graph theory analysis assessed global efficiency of the divergent thinking network, and network efficiency was found to increase as a function of individual differences in divergent thinking ability. Moreover, temporal connectivity analysis revealed increased coupling between default and salience network regions (bilateral insula) at the beginning of the task, followed by increased coupling between default and executive network regions at later stages. Such dynamic coupling suggests that divergent thinking involves cooperation between brain networks linked to cognitive control and spontaneous thought, which may reflect focused internal attention and the top-down control of spontaneous cognition during creative idea production. PMID:26084037

Creative Cognition in Secondary Science: An Exploration of Divergent Thinking in Science among Adolescents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Antink-Meyer, Allison; Lederman, Norman G.

2015-01-01

The divergent thinking skills in science of 282 US high school students were investigated across 16 weeks of instruction in order to determine whether typical academic time periods can significantly influence changes in thinking skills. Students' from 6 high school science classrooms completed the Scientific Structures Creativity Measure (SSCM)…

Designing Spaces for Creativity and Divergent Thinking: Pre-Service Teachers Creating Stop Motion Animation on Tablets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Byrne, W. Ian; Radakovic, Nenad; Hunter-Doniger, Tracey; Fox, Madison; Kern, Reggie; Parnell, Stephanie

2018-01-01

In recent years, tablets have been shown to serve as incredible teaching tools in classrooms around the world. In mathematics education, divergent thinking, creativity, and play may play a key role in formation of adaptive thinking and math achievement. This qualitative, participatory action research investigated the use of an instructional model…

Stimulating Creativity: Modulation of Convergent and Divergent Thinking by Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zmigrod, Sharon; Colzato, Lorenza S.; Hommel, Bernhard

2015-01-01

Creativity has been conceptualized as involving 2 distinct components; divergent thinking, the search for multiple solutions to a single problem, and convergent thinking, the quest for a single solution either through an analytical process or the experience of insight. Studies have demonstrated that these abilities can be improved by cognitive…

Short Term Intervention Model for Enhancing Divergent Thinking among School Aged Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Doron, Eyal

2016-01-01

Creative ability can be developed and improved through intervention and training. This study presents a unique and innovative intervention program for enhancing creative thinking among children, focusing on divergent thinking skills. The program was designed as a short-term (10 weeks) training and conducted with 150 school students ranging in age…

Working Memory Capacity, Mind Wandering, and Creative Cognition: An Individual-Differences Investigation into the Benefits of Controlled Versus Spontaneous Thought.

PubMed

Smeekens, Bridget A; Kane, Michael J

2016-11-01

Should executive control, as indicated by working memory capacity (WMC) and mind-wandering propensity, help or hinder creativity? Sustained and focused attention should help guide a selective search of solution-relevant information in memory and help inhibit uncreative, yet accessible, ideas. However, unfocused attention and daydreaming should allow mental access to more loosely relevant concepts, remotely linked to commonplace solutions. Three individual-differences studies inserted incubation periods into one or two divergent thinking tasks and tested whether WMC (assessed by complex span tasks) and incubation-period mind wandering (assessed as probed reports of task-unrelated thought [TUT]) predicted post-incubation performance. Retrospective self-reports of Openness (Experiment 2) and mind-wandering and daydreaming propensity (Experiment 3) complemented our thought-probe assessments of TUT. WMC did not correlate with creativity in divergent thinking, whereas only the questionnaire measure of daydreaming, but not probed thought reports, weakly predicted creativity; the fact that in-the-moment TUTs did not correlate divergent creativity is especially problematic for claims that mind-wandering processes contribute to creative cognition. Moreover, the fact that WMC tends to strongly predict analytical problem solving and reasoning, but may not correlate with divergent thinking, provides a useful boundary condition for defining WMC's nomological net. On balance, our data provide no support for either benefits or costs of executive control for at least one component of creativity.

Zooming into creativity: individual differences in attentional global-local biases are linked to creative thinking

PubMed Central

Zmigrod, Sharon; Zmigrod, Leor; Hommel, Bernhard

2015-01-01

While recent studies have investigated how processes underlying human creativity are affected by particular visual-attentional states, we tested the impact of more stable attention-related preferences. These were assessed by means of Navon’s global-local task, in which participants respond to the global or local features of large letters constructed from smaller letters. Three standard measures were derived from this task: the sizes of the global precedence effect, the global interference effect (i.e., the impact of incongruent letters at the global level on local processing), and the local interference effect (i.e., the impact of incongruent letters at the local level on global processing). These measures were correlated with performance in a convergent-thinking creativity task (the Remote Associates Task), a divergent-thinking creativity task (the Alternate Uses Task), and a measure of fluid intelligence (Raven’s matrices). Flexibility in divergent thinking was predicted by the local interference effect while convergent thinking was predicted by intelligence only. We conclude that a stronger attentional bias to visual information about the “bigger picture” promotes cognitive flexibility in searching for multiple solutions. PMID:26579030

The (B)link Between Creativity and Dopamine: Spontaneous Eye Blink Rates Predict and Dissociate Divergent and Convergent Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chermahini, Soghra Akbari; Hommel, Bernhard

2010-01-01

Human creativity has been claimed to rely on the neurotransmitter dopamine, but evidence is still sparse. We studied whether individual performance (N=117) in divergent thinking (alternative uses task) and convergent thinking (remote association task) can be predicted by the individual spontaneous eye blink rate (EBR), a clinical marker of…

An Innovative Thinking-Based Intelligent Information Fusion Algorithm

PubMed Central

Hu, Liang; Liu, Gang; Zhou, Jin

2013-01-01

This study proposes an intelligent algorithm that can realize information fusion in reference to the relative research achievements in brain cognitive theory and innovative computation. This algorithm treats knowledge as core and information fusion as a knowledge-based innovative thinking process. Furthermore, the five key parts of this algorithm including information sense and perception, memory storage, divergent thinking, convergent thinking, and evaluation system are simulated and modeled. This algorithm fully develops innovative thinking skills of knowledge in information fusion and is a try to converse the abstract conception of brain cognitive science to specific and operable research routes and strategies. Furthermore, the influences of each parameter of this algorithm on algorithm performance are analyzed and compared with those of classical intelligent algorithms trough test. Test results suggest that the algorithm proposed in this study can obtain the optimum problem solution by less target evaluation times, improve optimization effectiveness, and achieve the effective fusion of information. PMID:23956699

An innovative thinking-based intelligent information fusion algorithm.

PubMed

Lu, Huimin; Hu, Liang; Liu, Gang; Zhou, Jin

2013-01-01

This study proposes an intelligent algorithm that can realize information fusion in reference to the relative research achievements in brain cognitive theory and innovative computation. This algorithm treats knowledge as core and information fusion as a knowledge-based innovative thinking process. Furthermore, the five key parts of this algorithm including information sense and perception, memory storage, divergent thinking, convergent thinking, and evaluation system are simulated and modeled. This algorithm fully develops innovative thinking skills of knowledge in information fusion and is a try to converse the abstract conception of brain cognitive science to specific and operable research routes and strategies. Furthermore, the influences of each parameter of this algorithm on algorithm performance are analyzed and compared with those of classical intelligent algorithms trough test. Test results suggest that the algorithm proposed in this study can obtain the optimum problem solution by less target evaluation times, improve optimization effectiveness, and achieve the effective fusion of information.

25 CFR 39.114 - What characteristics may qualify a student as gifted and talented for purposes of supplemental...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-04-01

... intellectual ability. (b) Creativity/Divergent Thinking means scoring in the top 5 percent of performance on a statistically valid and reliable measurement tool of creativity/divergent thinking. (c) Academic Aptitude...

25 CFR 39.114 - What characteristics may qualify a student as gifted and talented for purposes of supplemental...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-04-01

... intellectual ability. (b) Creativity/Divergent Thinking means scoring in the top 5 percent of performance on a statistically valid and reliable measurement tool of creativity/divergent thinking. (c) Academic Aptitude...

25 CFR 39.114 - What characteristics may qualify a student as gifted and talented for purposes of supplemental...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-04-01

... intellectual ability. (b) Creativity/Divergent Thinking means scoring in the top 5 percent of performance on a statistically valid and reliable measurement tool of creativity/divergent thinking. (c) Academic Aptitude...

25 CFR 39.114 - What characteristics may qualify a student as gifted and talented for purposes of supplemental...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-04-01

... intellectual ability. (b) Creativity/Divergent Thinking means scoring in the top 5 percent of performance on a statistically valid and reliable measurement tool of creativity/divergent thinking. (c) Academic Aptitude...

Creative mood swings: divergent and convergent thinking affect mood in opposite ways.

PubMed

Akbari Chermahini, Soghra; Hommel, Bernhard

2012-09-01

Increasing evidence suggests that emotions affect cognitive processes. Recent approaches have also considered the opposite: that cognitive processes might affect people's mood. Here we show that performing and, to a lesser degree, preparing for a creative thinking task induce systematic mood swings: Divergent thinking led to a more positive mood, whereas convergent thinking had the opposite effect. This pattern suggests that thought processes and mood are systematically related but the type of relationship is process-specific.

The combined effects of neurostimulation and priming on creative thinking. A preliminary tDCS study on dorsolateral prefrontal cortex

PubMed Central

Colombo, Barbara; Bartesaghi, Noemi; Simonelli, Luisa; Antonietti, Alessandro

2015-01-01

The role of prefrontal cortex (PFC) in influencing creative thinking has been investigated by many researchers who, while succeeding in proving an effective involvement of PFC, reported suggestive but sometimes conflicting results. In order to better understand the relationships between creative thinking and brain activation in a more specific area of the PFC, we explored the role of dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC). We devised an experimental protocol using transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS). The study was based on a 3 (kind of stimulation: anodal vs. cathodal vs. sham) × 2 (priming: divergent vs. convergent) design. Forty-five healthy adults were randomly assigned to one stimulation condition. Participants’ creativity skills were assessed using the Product Improvement subtest from the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). After 20 min of tDCS stimulation, participants were presented with visual images of common objects. Half of the participants were instructed to visualize themselves using the object in an unusual way (divergent priming), whereas the other half were asked to visualize themselves while using the object in a common way (convergent priming). Priming was aimed at inducing participants to adopt different attitudes toward the creative task. Afterwards, participants were asked to describe all of the possible uses of the objects that were presented. Participants’ physiological activation was recorded using a biofeedback equipment. Results showed a significant effect of anodal stimulation that enhanced creative performance, but only after divergent priming. Participants showed lower skin temperature values after cathodal stimulation, a finding which is coherent with studies reporting that, when a task is not creative or creative thinking is not prompted, people show lower levels of arousal. Differences in individual levels of creativity as assessed by the Product Improvement test were not influential. The involvement of DLPFC in creativity has been supported, presumably in association to shift of attention modulated by priming. PMID:26236219

The combined effects of neurostimulation and priming on creative thinking. A preliminary tDCS study on dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

PubMed

Colombo, Barbara; Bartesaghi, Noemi; Simonelli, Luisa; Antonietti, Alessandro

2015-01-01

The role of prefrontal cortex (PFC) in influencing creative thinking has been investigated by many researchers who, while succeeding in proving an effective involvement of PFC, reported suggestive but sometimes conflicting results. In order to better understand the relationships between creative thinking and brain activation in a more specific area of the PFC, we explored the role of dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC). We devised an experimental protocol using transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS). The study was based on a 3 (kind of stimulation: anodal vs. cathodal vs. sham) × 2 (priming: divergent vs. convergent) design. Forty-five healthy adults were randomly assigned to one stimulation condition. Participants' creativity skills were assessed using the Product Improvement subtest from the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). After 20 min of tDCS stimulation, participants were presented with visual images of common objects. Half of the participants were instructed to visualize themselves using the object in an unusual way (divergent priming), whereas the other half were asked to visualize themselves while using the object in a common way (convergent priming). Priming was aimed at inducing participants to adopt different attitudes toward the creative task. Afterwards, participants were asked to describe all of the possible uses of the objects that were presented. Participants' physiological activation was recorded using a biofeedback equipment. Results showed a significant effect of anodal stimulation that enhanced creative performance, but only after divergent priming. Participants showed lower skin temperature values after cathodal stimulation, a finding which is coherent with studies reporting that, when a task is not creative or creative thinking is not prompted, people show lower levels of arousal. Differences in individual levels of creativity as assessed by the Product Improvement test were not influential. The involvement of DLPFC in creativity has been supported, presumably in association to shift of attention modulated by priming.

The Influence of Building Block Play on Mathematics Achievement and Logical and Divergent Thinking in Italian Primary School Mathematics Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pirrone, Concetta; Tienken, Christopher H.; Pagano, Tatiana; Di Nuovo, Santo

2018-01-01

In an experimental study to explain the effect of structured Building Block Play with LEGO™ bricks on 6-year-old student mathematics achievement and in the areas of logical thinking, divergent thinking, nonverbal reasoning, and mental imagery, students in the experimental group scored significantly higher (p = 0.05) in mathematics achievement and…

Mental Abilities and School Achievement: A Test of a Mediation Hypothesis

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vock, Miriam; Preckel, Franzis; Holling, Heinz

2011-01-01

This study analyzes the interplay of four cognitive abilities--reasoning, divergent thinking, mental speed, and short-term memory--and their impact on academic achievement in school in a sample of adolescents in grades seven to 10 (N = 1135). Based on information processing approaches to intelligence, we tested a mediation hypothesis, which states…

Unraveling Effects of Novelty on Creativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillebaart, Marleen; Förster, Jens; Rotteveel, Mark; Jehle, Astrid C. M.

2013-01-01

Novelty is inherent to creative processes. A positive effect of novelty on creative task performance was therefore predicted. However, creativity can benefit from divergent, as well as convergent thinking. Subsequently, novelty may benefit creative performance when divergent thinking is required, but it could inhibit creative performance when…

Creativity: Educational Necessity for Modern Society.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennett, Keith F.

1984-01-01

Examines biological and environmental determinants of creative/divergent thinking in light of two studies--one showing an inverse relationship between serum uric acid and divergent thinking and one showing a positive correlation between family size and creativity in upper socioeconomic status groups. Outlines classroom practices that promote…

Cannabis and creativity: highly potent cannabis impairs divergent thinking in regular cannabis users.

PubMed

Kowal, Mikael A; Hazekamp, Arno; Colzato, Lorenza S; van Steenbergen, Henk; van der Wee, Nic J A; Durieux, Jeffrey; Manai, Meriem; Hommel, Bernhard

2015-03-01

Cannabis users often claim that cannabis has the potential to enhance their creativity. Research suggests that aspects of creative performance might be improved when intoxicated with cannabis; however, the evidence is not conclusive. The aim of this study was to investigate the acute effects of cannabis on creativity. We examined the effects of administering a low (5.5 mg delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol [THC]) or high (22 mg THC) dose of vaporized cannabis vs. placebo on creativity tasks tapping into divergent (Alternate Uses Task) and convergent (Remote Associates Task) thinking, in a population of regular cannabis users. The study used a randomized, double-blind, between-groups design. Participants in the high-dose group (n = 18) displayed significantly worse performance on the divergent thinking task, compared to individuals in both the low-dose (n = 18) and placebo (n = 18) groups. The findings suggest that cannabis with low potency does not have any impact on creativity, while highly potent cannabis actually impairs divergent thinking.

Working Memory Capacity, Mind Wandering, and Creative Cognition: An Individual-Differences Investigation into the Benefits of Controlled Versus Spontaneous Thought

PubMed Central

Smeekens, Bridget A.; Kane, Michael J.

2015-01-01

Should executive control, as indicated by working memory capacity (WMC) and mind-wandering propensity, help or hinder creativity? Sustained and focused attention should help guide a selective search of solution-relevant information in memory and help inhibit uncreative, yet accessible, ideas. However, unfocused attention and daydreaming should allow mental access to more loosely relevant concepts, remotely linked to commonplace solutions. Three individual-differences studies inserted incubation periods into one or two divergent thinking tasks and tested whether WMC (assessed by complex span tasks) and incubation-period mind wandering (assessed as probed reports of task-unrelated thought [TUT]) predicted post-incubation performance. Retrospective self-reports of Openness (Experiment 2) and mind-wandering and daydreaming propensity (Experiment 3) complemented our thought-probe assessments of TUT. WMC did not correlate with creativity in divergent thinking, whereas only the questionnaire measure of daydreaming, but not probed thought reports, weakly predicted creativity; the fact that in-the-moment TUTs did not correlate divergent creativity is especially problematic for claims that mind-wandering processes contribute to creative cognition. Moreover, the fact that WMC tends to strongly predict analytical problem solving and reasoning, but may not correlate with divergent thinking, provides a useful boundary condition for defining WMC’s nomological net. On balance, our data provide no support for either benefits or costs of executive control for at least one component of creativity. PMID:28458764

Food for creativity: tyrosine promotes deep thinking.

PubMed

Colzato, Lorenza S; de Haan, Annelies M; Hommel, Bernhard

2015-09-01

Anecdotal evidence suggests that creative people sometimes use food to overcome mental blocks and lack of inspiration, but empirical support for this possibility is still lacking. In this study, we investigated whether creativity in convergent- and divergent-thinking tasks is promoted by the food supplement L-Tyrosine (TYR)-a biochemical precursor of dopamine, which is assumed to drive cognitive control and creativity. We found no evidence for an impact of TYR on divergent thinking ("brainstorming") but it did promote convergent ("deep") thinking. As convergent thinking arguably requires more cognitive top-down control, this finding suggests that TYR can facilitate control-hungry creative operations. Hence, the food we eat may affect the way we think.

Benefits of Incubation on Divergent Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chiang, Noelle C.; Chen, Meng-Liang

2017-01-01

Studies on whether fixation cues provided in the first episode of divergent thinking tasks influence creative outcomes after incubation, as they do for convergent problem-solving tasks, remain limited. This research examined the beneficial effects of incubation using the delayed- and immediate-incubation paradigms. Participants in Experiment 1…

Creativity Development in Adolescence: Insight from Behavior, Brain, and Training Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kleibeuker, Sietske W.; De Dreu, Carsten K. W.; Crone, Eveline A.

2016-01-01

Creativity is a multifaceted construct that recruits different cognitive processes. Here, we summarize studies that show that creativity develops considerably during adolescence with different developmental trajectories for insight, verbal divergent thinking, and visuospatial divergent thinking. Next, these developmental time courses are mapped to…

Cumulative and proximal influences on the social environment and children's creative potential.

PubMed

Dudek, S Z; Strobel, M G; Runco, M A

1993-12-01

The influences of socioeconomic status (SES), maturation, school, and sex on creative potential were examined by administering the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking to 1,445 children. Comparisons of means indicated that scores increased with SES, sixth-grade children scored slightly higher than fifth-grade children, and girls in general earned higher scores than boys. Additionally, the school setting and in particular the classroom atmosphere seemed to be far more important to creative potential than has been previously acknowledged. Implications for the concept of creativity and the adequacy of tests as indicators of divergent thinking are discussed.

The Effect of Repetitive Saccade Execution on the Attention Network Test: Enhancing Executive Function with a Flick of the Eyes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edlin, James M.; Lyle, Keith B.

2013-01-01

The simple act of repeatedly looking left and right can enhance subsequent cognition, including divergent thinking, detection of matching letters from visual arrays, and memory retrieval. One hypothesis is that saccade execution enhances subsequent cognition by altering attentional control. To test this hypothesis, we compared performance…

THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN CERTAIN TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS AND ACHIEVEMENT AND CREATIVITY OF GIFTED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS. FINAL REPORT SUMMARY.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MCNARY, SHIRLEY R.

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS AND THE DEGREE OF CHANGE SHOWN BY GIFTED ELEMENTARY PUPILS IN CONVERGENT AND DIVERGENT THINKING AREAS WAS INVESTIGATED. CHARACTERISTICS WERE ASSESSED BY MEASURES OF INTELLIGENCE, PERSONALITY FACTORS, AND A PERSONAL INFORMATION QUESTIONNAIRE. SIX PRE- AND POST-TESTS OF CONVERGENT AND 4 TESTS OF…

Investigation of effective strategies for developing creative science thinking

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Kuay-Keng; Lee, Ling; Hong, Zuway-R.; Lin, Huann-shyang

2016-09-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of the creative inquiry-based science teaching on students' creative science thinking and science inquiry performance. A quasi-experimental design consisting one experimental group (N = 20) and one comparison group (N = 24) with pretest and post-test was conducted. The framework of the intervention focused on potential strategies such as promoting divergent and convergent thinking and providing an open, inquiry-based learning environment that are recommended by the literature. Results revealed that the experimental group students outperformed their counterparts in the comparison group on the performances of science inquiry and convergent thinking. Additional qualitative data analyses from classroom observations and case teacher interviews identified supportive teaching strategies (e.g. facilitating associative thinking, sharing impressive ideas, encouraging evidence-based conclusions, and reviewing and commenting on group presentations) for developing students' creative science thinking.

Stimulating Divergent Thinking in Junior High Career Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ranke, Charlotte; Champoux, Ellen M.

1981-01-01

Describes a middle school career-oriented teaching unit with emphasis on teaching for divergent thinking. The unit provides hands-on opportunities for eighth-grade students to explore careers using the knowledge and skills developed in their home economics class. The careers are restaurant management, hospitality service, and interior design. (CT)

Becoming Original: Effects of Strategy Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van de Kamp, Marie-Thérèse; Admiraal, Wilfried; Rijlaarsdam, Gert

2016-01-01

Visual arts education focuses on creating original visual art products. A means to improve originality is enhancement of divergent thinking, indicated by fluency, flexibility and originality of ideas. In regular arts lessons, divergent thinking is mostly promoted through brainstorming. In a previous study, we found positive effects of an explicit…

Enhanced Divergent Thinking and Creativity in Musicians: A Behavioral and Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gibson, Crystal; Folley, Bradley S.; Park, Sohee

2009-01-01

Empirical studies of creativity have focused on the importance of divergent thinking, which supports generating novel solutions to loosely defined problems. The present study examined creativity and frontal cortical activity in an externally-validated group of creative individuals (trained musicians) and demographically matched control…

Assessing aspects of creativity in deaf and hearing high school students.

PubMed

Stanzione, Christopher M; Perez, Susan M; Lederberg, Amy R

2013-04-01

To address the paucity of current research on the development of creativity in deaf students, and to extend existing research to adolescents, the present study investigated divergent thinking, a method of assessing creativity, in both deaf and hearing adolescents. We assessed divergent thinking in two domains, figural and verbal, while also adjusting the instructional method in written format, sign language, or spoken English. Deaf students' performance was equal to, or more creative than, hearing students on the figural assessment of divergent thinking, but less creative on the verbal assessment. Additional studies should be conducted to determine whether this was an anomalous finding or one that might contribute to hypotheses yielding effective interventions.

Meditate to Create: The Impact of Focused-Attention and Open-Monitoring Training on Convergent and Divergent Thinking

PubMed Central

Colzato, Lorenza S.; Ozturk, Ayca; Hommel, Bernhard

2012-01-01

The practice of meditation has seen a tremendous increase in the western world since the 60s. Scientific interest in meditation has also significantly grown in the past years; however, so far, it has neglected the idea that different type of meditations may drive specific cognitive-control states. In this study we investigate the possible impact of meditation based on focused-attention (FA) and meditation based on open-monitoring (OM) on creativity tasks tapping into convergent and divergent thinking. We show that FA meditation and OM meditation exert specific effect on creativity. First, OM meditation induces a control state that promotes divergent thinking, a style of thinking that allows many new ideas of being generated. Second, FA meditation does not sustain convergent thinking, the process of generating one possible solution to a particular problem. We suggest that the enhancement of positive mood induced by meditating has boosted the effect in the first case and counteracted in the second case. PMID:22529832

If Constructively Creative Divergent Thinking Equals Entrepreneur...How Can We Help Create More of Them?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lipper, Arthur, III

1987-01-01

The early training of children in divergent thinking skills can help foster entrepreneurship. Such training would include activities to develop natural creativity, activities allowing children to win, activities which accept different solutions, teachers who recognize and encourage creative children, and an understanding of basic business…

Convergent and Divergent Thinking in Task Modification: A Case of Korean Prospective Mathematics Teachers' Exploration

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Kyeong-Hwa

2017-01-01

This study investigated how 38 secondary mathematics prospective teachers modified textbook tasks for convergent and divergent thinking while learning to teach mathematics during university coursework. The coursework focused prospective teachers' attention on their analyses of textbook tasks in terms of potential affordances and constraints for…

Assessing Aspects of Creativity in Deaf and Hearing High School Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanzione, Christopher M.; Perez, Susan M.; Lederberg, Amy R.

2013-01-01

To address the paucity of current research on the development of creativity in deaf students, and to extend existing research to adolescents, the present study investigated divergent thinking, a method of assessing creativity, in both deaf and hearing adolescents. We assessed divergent thinking in two domains, figural and verbal, while also…

Uniqueness, Integration or Separation? Exploring the Nature of Creativity through Creative Writing by Elementary School Students in Taiwan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chu, Tsai-Ling; Lin, Wei-Wen

2013-01-01

The primary goal of our study was to investigate the importance of originality in divergent thinking (DT) tests and to determine whether originality is the best reflection of creativity. To accomplish this, we cross-validated the DT test and creative writing task rating by consensual assessment technique (CAT). Thirty-seven elementary school…

Increasing interpersonal trust through divergent thinking.

PubMed

Sellaro, Roberta; Hommel, Bernhard; de Kwaadsteniet, Erik W; van de Groep, Suzanne; Colzato, Lorenza S

2014-01-01

Interpersonal trust is an essential ingredient of many social relationships but how stable is it actually, and how is it controlled? There is evidence that the degree of trust into others might be rather volatile and can be affected by manipulations like drawing attention to personal interdependence or independence. Here we investigated whether the degree of interpersonal trust can be biased by inducing either a more integrative or a more focused/exclusive cognitive control mode by means of a creativity task requiring divergent or convergent thinking, respectively. Participants then performed the trust game, which provides an index of interpersonal trust by assessing the money units one participant (the trustor) transfers to another (the trustee). As expected, trustors transferred significantly more money to trustees after engaging in divergent thinking as compared to convergent thinking. This observation provides support for the idea that interpersonal trust is controlled by domain-general (i.e., not socially dedicated) cognitive states.

Increasing interpersonal trust through divergent thinking

PubMed Central

Sellaro, Roberta; Hommel, Bernhard; de Kwaadsteniet, Erik W.; van de Groep, Suzanne; Colzato, Lorenza S.

2014-01-01

Interpersonal trust is an essential ingredient of many social relationships but how stable is it actually, and how is it controlled? There is evidence that the degree of trust into others might be rather volatile and can be affected by manipulations like drawing attention to personal interdependence or independence. Here we investigated whether the degree of interpersonal trust can be biased by inducing either a more integrative or a more focused/exclusive cognitive control mode by means of a creativity task requiring divergent or convergent thinking, respectively. Participants then performed the trust game, which provides an index of interpersonal trust by assessing the money units one participant (the trustor) transfers to another (the trustee). As expected, trustors transferred significantly more money to trustees after engaging in divergent thinking as compared to convergent thinking. This observation provides support for the idea that interpersonal trust is controlled by domain-general (i.e., not socially dedicated) cognitive states. PMID:24936194

Functional magnetic resonance imaging of divergent and convergent thinking in Big-C creativity.

PubMed

Japardi, Kevin; Bookheimer, Susan; Knudsen, Kendra; Ghahremani, Dara G; Bilder, Robert M

2018-02-15

The cognitive and physiological processes underlying creativity remain unclear, and very few studies to date have attempted to identify the behavioral and brain characteristics that distinguish exceptional ("Big-C") from everyday ("little-c") creativity. The Big-C Project examined functional brain responses during tasks demanding divergent and convergent thinking in 35 Big-C Visual Artists (VIS), 41 Big-C Scientists (SCI), and 31 individuals in a "smart comparison group" (SCG) matched to the Big-C groups on parental educational attainment and estimated IQ. Functional MRI (fMRI) scans included two activation paradigms widely used in prior creativity research, the Alternate Uses Task (AUT) and Remote Associates Task (RAT), to assess brain function during divergent and convergent thinking, respectively. Task performance did not differ between groups. Functional MRI activation in Big-C and SCG groups differed during the divergent thinking task. No differences in activation were seen during the convergent thinking task. Big-C groups had less activation than SCG in frontal pole, right frontal operculum, left middle frontal gyrus, and bilaterally in occipital cortex. SCI displayed lower frontal and parietal activation relative to the SCG when generating alternate uses in the AUT, while VIS displayed lower frontal activation than SCI and SCG when generating typical qualities (the control condition in the AUT). VIS showed more activation in right inferior frontal gyrus and left supramarginal gyrus relative to SCI. All groups displayed considerable overlapping activation during the RAT. The results confirm substantial overlap in functional activation across groups, but suggest that exceptionally creative individuals may depend less on task-positive networks during tasks that demand divergent thinking. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Intelligence, General Knowledge and Personality as Predictors of Creativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Batey, Mark; Furnham, Adrian; Safiullina, Xeniya

2010-01-01

This study sought to examine the contribution of fluid intelligence, general knowledge and Big Five personality traits in predicting four indices of creativity: Divergent Thinking (DT) fluency, Rated DT, Creative Achievement and Self-Rated creativity and a combined Total Creativity variable. When creativity was assessed by DT test, the consistent…

Intelligence and Personality as Predictors of Divergent Thinking: The Role of General, Fluid and Crystallised Intelligence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Batey, Mark; Chamorro-Premuzic, Tomas; Furnham, Adrian

2009-01-01

Two studies examined the relationships between measures of intelligence, personality and divergent thinking (DT) in student samples. Study one investigated the incremental validity of measures of IQ and fluid intelligence with the Big Five Personality Inventory with regards to DT. Significant relationships of DT to fluid intelligence, Extraversion…

The Effects of Modafinil on Convergent and Divergent Thinking of Creativity: A Randomized Controlled Trial

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohamed, Ahmed Dahir

2016-01-01

Modafinil is a drug licensed for the treatment of narcolepsy and sleep apnea. Recently, modafinil has been reported to be used as a pharmacological cognitive enhancer by healthy individuals with no psychiatric disorders. This paper reports on a study that investigated the effects of modafinil on divergent and convergent thinking tasks of…

Creative Self-Efficacy: The Influence of Affective States and Social Persuasion as Antecedents and Imagination and Divergent Thinking as Consequences

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Puente-Díaz, Rogelio; Cavazos-Arroyo, Judith

2017-01-01

Two studies examined the influence of encouragement for creativity, curiosity, harmonious passion, and autonomy support as antecedents of creative self-efficacy and imagination and divergent thinking as consequences. College students completed a battery of questionnaires. Structural equation modeling treating the variables as latent and not…

The Relationship Between Kindergarten Children's Fantasy Play Behavior and Divergent Thinking Ability.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Waldon, Mary Ann

The purposes of the present study were (1) to determine if there were significant differences in the divergent thinking ability of kindergarten children who engage in much fantasy play behavior as opposed to those who engage in little fantasy play behavior, and (2) to determine the effect of sex, socioeconomic status, and previous preschool group…

Enhancing creative cognition with a rapid right-parietal neurofeedback procedure.

PubMed

Agnoli, Sergio; Zanon, Marco; Mastria, Serena; Avenanti, Alessio; Corazza, Giovanni Emanuele

2018-02-14

The present article describes an innovative neurofeedback training (NFT) procedure aimed at increasing creative cognition through the enhancement of specific brain activities previously associated with divergent thinking. We designed and tested two NFT protocols based on training alpha and beta EEG oscillations selectively measured over the right parietal region. A total of 80 participants were involved, 40 in the alpha NFT protocol and 40 in the beta NFT protocol. The NFT loop was closed on a video stream that would advance only when oscillation power exceeded a normalized threshold. The total duration of the protocol was two hours in a single day, hence its classification as rapid. Changes in ideational fluency and originality, measured with a divergent thinking task, were compared between participants receiving real video feedback and participants receiving sham feedback. We controlled for individual differences in creative achievement level. Results showed that the protocols were effective at enhancing alpha and beta activities in the targeted area. Differences between the two protocols emerged in their effectiveness at promoting divergent thinking. While no significant changes in originality resulted from the rapid alpha NFT, increases in both originality and fluency emerged as a consequence of the rapid beta NFT. These results were particularly evident in participants starting with a low creative achievement level. Possible interpretations and future directions are proposed and discussed. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Idea Storming Cube: Evaluating the Effects of Using Game and Computer Agent to Support Divergent Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Chun-Chieh; Yeh, Ting-Kuang; Li, Tsai-Yen; Chang, Chun-Yen

2010-01-01

The objective of this article is to evaluate the effectiveness of a collaborative and online brainstorming game, Idea Storming Cube (ISC), which provides users with a competitive game-based environment and a peer-like intelligent agent. The program seeks to promote students' divergent thinking to aid in the process of problem solving. The…

Enhancing Divergent Thinking in Visual Arts Education: Effects of Explicit Instruction of Meta-Cognition

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

van de Kamp, Marie-Thérèse; Admiraal, Wilfried; van Drie, Jannet; Rijlaarsdam, Gert

2015-01-01

Background: The main purposes of visual arts education concern the enhancement of students' creative processes and the originality of their art products. Divergent thinking is crucial for finding original ideas in the initial phase of a creative process that aims to result in an original product. Aims: This study aims to examine the effects…

Creative Self-Efficacy: The Role of Self-Regulation for Schoolwork and Boredom as Antecedents, and Divergent Thinking as a Consequence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Puente-Díaz, Rogelio; Cavazos-Arroyo, Judith

2017-01-01

The purpose of our investigation was to examine the role of intrinsic and extrinsic regulation and boredom as antecedents of creative self-efficacy. In addition, we also assessed the effect of creative self-efficacy on divergent thinking among children. A battery of questionnaires assessing regulation for schoolwork, creative self-efficacy,…

Comments on Where the Creativity Research Has Been and Where Is It Going

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Runco, Mark A.

2017-01-01

This Commentary examines where the creativity research has been and where it is going. They key points include evolving definitions of creativity, interdisciplinarity in the creativity research, divergent thinking as a reliable index of creative potential, improvements in testing, the impact of technology, the inclusion of political, moral, and…

Preference-Inconsistent Recommendations: An Effective Approach for Reducing Confirmation Bias and Stimulating Divergent Thinking?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schwind, Christina; Buder, Jurgen; Cress, Ulrike; Hesse, Friedrich W.

2012-01-01

The Web is a perfect backdrop for opinion formation as a multitude of different opinions is publicly available. However, the different opinions often remain unexploited: Learners prefer preference-consistent over preference-inconsistent information, a phenomenon called confirmation bias. Two experiments were designed to test whether technologies…

The Impact of Overcoming Fixation and Gender on Divergent Thinking in Solving Maths Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kandemir, Mehmet Ali

2007-01-01

The impact of fixation in solving math problems and that of gender on divergent thinking has been studied in this paper. The study was made in the academic year of 2006-2007, Fall Semester, at Necatibey Faculty of Education, Balikesir University. 229 first and second-year students at the Dept of Primary Math Teaching have been participated in the…

The Effects of Age on Divergent Thinking and Creative Objects Production: A Cross-Sectional Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Massimiliano, Palmiero

2015-01-01

Age-related changes in divergent thinking and creative objects production were investigated in 150 native Italian speakers, divided into six age groups, each one comprised 25 participants: young (20-29), young adult (30-39), middle aged (40-49), adult-old (50-59), old (60-69), and old-old (70-80). Two tasks were used: the alternative uses task,…

An Evaluation of Five Critical/Creative Thinking Strategies for Secondary Science Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zielinski, Edward J.; Sarachine, D. Michael

1994-01-01

Critical and creative thinking lessons were designed and presented to 20 biology students in a rural high school. Student attitudes toward critical thinking activities improved significantly after activities involving experimentation, discrepant events, student questioning, ethical dilemmas, and divergent and critical thinking. Includes examples…

Identifying Talent and Giftedness Part II.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Male, Robert A.; Perrone, Philip

1979-01-01

The second article in a three-part series focuses on the GIFTS Identification Instrument for selecting talented children in six areas: convergent thinking and behavior, divergent/creative thinking and behavior, goal-related thinking and behavior, social skills and behavior, physical skills and behavior, and affective thinking and behavior. (SBH)

EEG alpha synchronization is related to top-down processing in convergent and divergent thinking

PubMed Central

Benedek, Mathias; Bergner, Sabine; Könen, Tanja; Fink, Andreas; Neubauer, Aljoscha C.

2011-01-01

Synchronization of EEG alpha activity has been referred to as being indicative of cortical idling, but according to more recent evidence it has also been associated with active internal processing and creative thinking. The main objective of this study was to investigate to what extent EEG alpha synchronization is related to internal processing demands and to specific cognitive process involved in creative thinking. To this end, EEG was measured during a convergent and a divergent thinking task (i.e., creativity-related task) which once were processed involving low and once involving high internal processing demands. High internal processing demands were established by masking the stimulus (after encoding) and thus preventing further bottom-up processing. Frontal alpha synchronization was observed during convergent and divergent thinking only under exclusive top-down control (high internal processing demands), but not when bottom-up processing was allowed (low internal processing demands). We conclude that frontal alpha synchronization is related to top-down control rather than to specific creativity-related cognitive processes. Frontal alpha synchronization, which has been observed in a variety of different creativity tasks, thus may not reflect a brain state that is specific for creative cognition but can probably be attributed to high internal processing demands which are typically involved in creative thinking. PMID:21925520

A meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies on divergent thinking using activation likelihood estimation.

PubMed

Wu, Xin; Yang, Wenjing; Tong, Dandan; Sun, Jiangzhou; Chen, Qunlin; Wei, Dongtao; Zhang, Qinglin; Zhang, Meng; Qiu, Jiang

2015-07-01

In this study, an activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis was used to conduct a quantitative investigation of neuroimaging studies on divergent thinking. Based on the ALE results, the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies showed that distributed brain regions were more active under divergent thinking tasks (DTTs) than those under control tasks, but a large portion of the brain regions were deactivated. The ALE results indicated that the brain networks of the creative idea generation in DTTs may be composed of the lateral prefrontal cortex, posterior parietal cortex [such as the inferior parietal lobule (BA 40) and precuneus (BA 7)], anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (BA 32), and several regions in the temporal cortex [such as the left middle temporal gyrus (BA 39), and left fusiform gyrus (BA 37)]. The left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA 46) was related to selecting the loosely and remotely associated concepts and organizing them into creative ideas, whereas the ACC (BA 32) was related to observing and forming distant semantic associations in performing DTTs. The posterior parietal cortex may be involved in the semantic information related to the retrieval and buffering of the formed creative ideas, and several regions in the temporal cortex may be related to the stored long-term memory. In addition, the ALE results of the structural studies showed that divergent thinking was related to the dopaminergic system (e.g., left caudate and claustrum). Based on the ALE results, both fMRI and structural MRI studies could uncover the neural basis of divergent thinking from different aspects (e.g., specific cognitive processing and stable individual difference of cognitive capability). © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Scope of Semantic Activation and Innovative Thinking in College Students with ADHD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Holly A.; Shah, Priti

2016-01-01

Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show high divergent thinking on standardized laboratory measures. This study assessed innovative thinking in adults with ADHD using a realistic task and investigated a possible cognitive mechanism for ADHD-related advantages in innovative thinking. College students with and without ADHD…

A measure of state persecutory ideation for experimental studies.

PubMed

Freeman, Daniel; Pugh, Katherine; Green, Catherine; Valmaggia, Lucia; Dunn, Graham; Garety, Philippa

2007-09-01

Experimental research is increasingly important in developing the understanding of paranoid thinking. An assessment measure of persecutory ideation is necessary for such work. We report the reliability and validity of the first state measure of paranoia: The State Social Paranoia Scale. The items in the measure conform to a recent definition in which persecutory thinking has the 2 elements of feared harm and perpetrator intent. The measure was tested with 164 nonclinical participants and 21 individuals at high risk of psychosis with attenuated positive symptoms. The participants experienced a social situation presented in virtual reality and completed the new measure. The State Social Paranoia Scale was found to have excellent internal reliability, adequate test-retest reliability, clear convergent validity as assessed by both independent interviewer ratings and self-report measures, and showed divergent validity with measures of positive and neutral thinking. The measure of paranoia in a recent social situation has good psychometric properties.

Android-assisted physics mobile learning to improve senior high school students' divergent thinking skills and physics HOTS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mardiana, Nana; Kuswanto, Heru

2017-08-01

The aims of the research concerned here were to reveal (1) the characteristics of Android-assisted PML (physics mobile learning) to improve SMA (sekolah menengah atas, Indonesian senior high school) students' divergent thinking skills and physics HOTS (higher order thinking skills); (2) the feasibility of the Android-assisted PML; and (3) the influence of using the Android-assisted PML on improvement in SMA students' divergent thinking skills and physics HOTS. The7 research was of the R&D (research and development) type, adapted from theBorg-&-Gall development model. The research data were analyzed by means of MANOVA with the significance level of 5%. The results are as follows. (1) The product of the development, a learning media in software form with the android package(apk) format, is named PML (to refer to Physics Mobile Learning), which has such characterictics as being operable with use of Android devicesand being very good in quality in the aspect oflearning, material, software technology, and audiovisual appearance. 2) The developed learning media referred to as PML is appropriate for learning activity according to evaluation by a material expert, a media expert, peer reviewers, and physics teachers as well as according to results of students' tryouts. (3) The use of the Android-assisted PML media product could improve SMA students' divergent thinking skillsand physics HOTS with the respective high-category gain scores of 0.701 and 0.759.

Dopamine and the Creative Mind: Individual Differences in Creativity Are Predicted by Interactions between Dopamine Genes DAT and COMT.

PubMed

Zabelina, Darya L; Colzato, Lorenza; Beeman, Mark; Hommel, Bernhard

2016-01-01

The dopaminergic (DA) system may be involved in creativity, however results of past studies are mixed. We attempted to clarify this putative relation by considering the mediofrontal and the nigrostriatal DA pathways, uniquely and in combination, and their contribution to two different measures of creativity--an abbreviated version of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, assessing divergent thinking, and a real-world creative achievement index. We found that creativity can be predicted from interactions between genetic polymorphisms related to frontal (COMT) and striatal (DAT) DA pathways. Importantly, the Torrance test and the real-world creative achievement index related to different genetic patterns, suggesting that these two measures tap into different aspects of creativity, and depend on distinct, but interacting, DA sub-systems. Specifically, we report that successful performance on the Torrance test is linked with dopaminergic polymorphisms associated with good cognitive flexibility and medium top-down control, or with weak cognitive flexibility and strong top-down control. The latter is particularly true for the originality factor of divergent thinking. High real-world creative achievement, on the other hand, as assessed by the Creative Achievement Questionnaire, is linked with dopaminergic polymorphisms associated with weak cognitive flexibility and weak top-down control. Taken altogether, our findings support the idea that human creativity relies on dopamine, and on the interaction between frontal and striatal dopaminergic pathways in particular. This interaction may help clarify some apparent inconsistencies in the prior literature, especially if the genes and/or creativity measures were analyzed separately.

Dopamine and the Creative Mind: Individual Differences in Creativity Are Predicted by Interactions between Dopamine Genes DAT and COMT

PubMed Central

Zabelina, Darya L.; Colzato, Lorenza; Beeman, Mark; Hommel, Bernhard

2016-01-01

The dopaminergic (DA) system may be involved in creativity, however results of past studies are mixed. We attempted to clarify this putative relation by considering the mediofrontal and the nigrostriatal DA pathways, uniquely and in combination, and their contribution to two different measures of creativity–an abbreviated version of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking, assessing divergent thinking, and a real-world creative achievement index. We found that creativity can be predicted from interactions between genetic polymorphisms related to frontal (COMT) and striatal (DAT) DA pathways. Importantly, the Torrance test and the real-world creative achievement index related to different genetic patterns, suggesting that these two measures tap into different aspects of creativity, and depend on distinct, but interacting, DA sub-systems. Specifically, we report that successful performance on the Torrance test is linked with dopaminergic polymorphisms associated with good cognitive flexibility and medium top-down control, or with weak cognitive flexibility and strong top-down control. The latter is particularly true for the originality factor of divergent thinking. High real-world creative achievement, on the other hand, as assessed by the Creative Achievement Questionnaire, is linked with dopaminergic polymorphisms associated with weak cognitive flexibility and weak top-down control. Taken altogether, our findings support the idea that human creativity relies on dopamine, and on the interaction between frontal and striatal dopaminergic pathways in particular. This interaction may help clarify some apparent inconsistencies in the prior literature, especially if the genes and/or creativity measures were analyzed separately. PMID:26783754

Creativity and personality in classical, jazz and folk musicians.

PubMed

Benedek, Mathias; Borovnjak, Barbara; Neubauer, Aljoscha C; Kruse-Weber, Silke

2014-06-01

The music genre of jazz is commonly associated with creativity. However, this association has hardly been formally tested. Therefore, this study aimed at examining whether jazz musicians actually differ in creativity and personality from musicians of other music genres. We compared students of classical music, jazz music, and folk music with respect to their musical activities, psychometric creativity and different aspects of personality. In line with expectations, jazz musicians are more frequently engaged in extracurricular musical activities, and also complete a higher number of creative musical achievements. Additionally, jazz musicians show higher ideational creativity as measured by divergent thinking tasks, and tend to be more open to new experiences than classical musicians. This study provides first empirical evidence that jazz musicians show particularly high creativity with respect to domain-specific musical accomplishments but also in terms of domain-general indicators of divergent thinking ability that may be relevant for musical improvisation. The findings are further discussed with respect to differences in formal and informal learning approaches between music genres.

Creativity and personality in classical, jazz and folk musicians

PubMed Central

Benedek, Mathias; Borovnjak, Barbara; Neubauer, Aljoscha C.; Kruse-Weber, Silke

2014-01-01

The music genre of jazz is commonly associated with creativity. However, this association has hardly been formally tested. Therefore, this study aimed at examining whether jazz musicians actually differ in creativity and personality from musicians of other music genres. We compared students of classical music, jazz music, and folk music with respect to their musical activities, psychometric creativity and different aspects of personality. In line with expectations, jazz musicians are more frequently engaged in extracurricular musical activities, and also complete a higher number of creative musical achievements. Additionally, jazz musicians show higher ideational creativity as measured by divergent thinking tasks, and tend to be more open to new experiences than classical musicians. This study provides first empirical evidence that jazz musicians show particularly high creativity with respect to domain-specific musical accomplishments but also in terms of domain-general indicators of divergent thinking ability that may be relevant for musical improvisation. The findings are further discussed with respect to differences in formal and informal learning approaches between music genres. PMID:24895472

Level of Student's Creative Thinking in Classroom Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siswono, Tatag Yuli Eko

2011-01-01

It is reasonable to assume that people are creative, but the degree of creativity is different. The Idea of the level of student's creative thinking has been expressed by experts, such as Gotoh (2004), and Krulik and Rudnick (1999). The perspective of the mathematics creative thinking refers to a combination of logical and divergent thinking which…

Do dimensional psychopathology measures relate to creative achievement or divergent thinking?

PubMed Central

Zabelina, Darya L.; Condon, David; Beeman, Mark

2014-01-01

Previous research provides disparate accounts of the putative association between creativity and psychopathology, including schizotypy, psychoticism, hypomania, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorders. To examine these association, healthy, non-clinical participants completed several psychopathology-spectrum measures, often postulated to associate with creativity: the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire, the Psychoticism scale, the Personality Inventory for DSM-5, the Hypomanic Personality Scale, the Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Autism-Spectrum Quotient. The goal of Study 1 was to evaluate the factor structure of these dimensional psychopathology measures and, in particular, to evaluate the case for a strong general factor(s). None of the factor solutions between 1 and 10 factors provided a strong fit with the data based on the most commonly used metrics. The goal of Study 2 was to determine whether these psychopathology scales predict, independently, two measures of creativity: 1. a measure of participants' real-world creative achievements, and 2. divergent thinking, a laboratory measure of creative cognition. After controlling for academic achievement, psychoticism and hypomania reliably predicted real-world creative achievement and divergent thinking scored with the consensual assessment technique. None of the psychopathology-spectrum scales reliably predicted divergent thinking scored with the manual scoring method. Implications for the potential links between several putative creative processes and risk factors for psychopathology are discussed. PMID:25278919

Do dimensional psychopathology measures relate to creative achievement or divergent thinking?

PubMed

Zabelina, Darya L; Condon, David; Beeman, Mark

2014-01-01

Previous research provides disparate accounts of the putative association between creativity and psychopathology, including schizotypy, psychoticism, hypomania, bipolar disorder, ADHD, and autism spectrum disorders. To examine these association, healthy, non-clinical participants completed several psychopathology-spectrum measures, often postulated to associate with creativity: the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire, the Psychoticism scale, the Personality Inventory for DSM-5, the Hypomanic Personality Scale, the Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder scale, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Autism-Spectrum Quotient. The goal of Study 1 was to evaluate the factor structure of these dimensional psychopathology measures and, in particular, to evaluate the case for a strong general factor(s). None of the factor solutions between 1 and 10 factors provided a strong fit with the data based on the most commonly used metrics. The goal of Study 2 was to determine whether these psychopathology scales predict, independently, two measures of creativity: 1. a measure of participants' real-world creative achievements, and 2. divergent thinking, a laboratory measure of creative cognition. After controlling for academic achievement, psychoticism and hypomania reliably predicted real-world creative achievement and divergent thinking scored with the consensual assessment technique. None of the psychopathology-spectrum scales reliably predicted divergent thinking scored with the manual scoring method. Implications for the potential links between several putative creative processes and risk factors for psychopathology are discussed.

Intelligence and Creativity in Problem Solving: The Importance of Test Features in Cognition Research

PubMed Central

Jaarsveld, Saskia; Lachmann, Thomas

2017-01-01

This paper discusses the importance of three features of psychometric tests for cognition research: construct definition, problem space, and knowledge domain. Definition of constructs, e.g., intelligence or creativity, forms the theoretical basis for test construction. Problem space, being well or ill-defined, is determined by the cognitive abilities considered to belong to the constructs, e.g., convergent thinking to intelligence, divergent thinking to creativity. Knowledge domain and the possibilities it offers cognition are reflected in test results. We argue that (a) comparing results of tests with different problem spaces is more informative when cognition operates in both tests on an identical knowledge domain, and (b) intertwining of abilities related to both constructs can only be expected in tests developed to instigate such a process. Test features should guarantee that abilities can contribute to self-generated and goal-directed processes bringing forth solutions that are both new and applicable. We propose and discuss a test example that was developed to address these issues. PMID:28220098

Ramifications of Giftedness for Girls.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lovecky, Deirdre V.

1995-01-01

Gifted girls (n=30) who participated in psychotherapy tended to focus on either social relationships or achievement. Girls who focused on achievement tended to be the brightest and exhibited the cognitive styles of divergent thinking, integrative thinking, or perceptive thinking. These girls also tended to exhibit problems dealing with peers and…

Creativity, Overinclusion, and Everyday Tasks

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ottemiller, Dylan D.; Elliott, Colette Seter; Giovannetti, Tania

2014-01-01

This study examined relations between creative thinking and performance on routine, everyday tasks. Results were considered in light of past research on the putative relation between creativity and schizophrenia/psychotic thinking. Thirty healthy undergraduates completed the Alternative Uses Task, a measure of divergent thinking, and the 2 × 3…

Jews, Creativity and the Genius of Disobedience.

PubMed

Heilman, Kenneth M

2016-02-01

Jews comprise less than one percent of the world’s population; however, in the second half of the twentieth century and in the twenty-first century Jews have been awarded more than 25 % of the Nobel Prizes. Why are Jews so creative? Some have claimed, they are genetically more intelligent as determined by IQ tests. Whereas there is an intelligence threshold people must reach before being highly creative after this threshold is reached there is no strong relationship between creativity and intelligence. Creative innovation is heavily dependent upon disengagement and divergent thinking as well as subsequent convergent thinking and productivity. The mean by which a person’s brain functions is dependent upon both nature (genetically determined) and nature (learned). In regard to nature, from their earliest age many Jewish children are encouraged to question as well as taught that disobedience in the pursuit of truth and justice is not only justified but is also desirable. Thus, disobedience in this regard is not the cultivation of insolence, but rather gives rise to disengagement and divergent thinking, the critical elements of creativity.Training can also alter the brain, and the Jewish people success in creativity may not be related to their genetically determined IQ, but rather the learned propensity to earnestly question and seek better alternatives.

The Different Role of Working Memory in Open-Ended versus Closed-Ended Creative Problem Solving: A Dual-Process Theory Account

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Wei-Lun; Lien, Yunn-Wen

2013-01-01

This study examined how working memory plays different roles in open-ended versus closed-ended creative problem-solving processes, as represented by divergent thinking tests and insight problem-solving tasks. With respect to the analysis of different task demands and the framework of dual-process theories, the hypothesis was that the idea…

The Creative Stereotype Effect.

PubMed

Dumas, Denis; Dunbar, Kevin N

2016-01-01

Because of its fundamental relevance to scientific innovation, artistic expression, and human ingenuity, creativity has long been the subject of systematic psychological investigation. Concomitantly, the far-reaching effects of stereotypes on various cognitive and social processes have been widely researched. Bridging these two literatures, we show in a series of two studies that stereotypes related to creativity can both enhance and diminish individuals' performance on a divergent thinking task. Specifically, Study 1 demonstrated that participants asked to take on a stereotypically uninhibited perspective performed significantly better on a divergent thinking task than those participants who took on a stereotypically inhibited perspective, and a control group. Relatedly, Study 2 showed that the same effect is found within-subjects, with divergent thinking significantly improving when participants invoke an uninhibited stereotype. Moreover, we demonstrate the efficacy of Latent Semantic Analysis as an objective measure of the originality of ideas, and discuss implications of our findings for the nature of creativity. Namely, that creativity may not be best described as a stable individual trait, but as a malleable product of context and perspective.

Enhancement of Productive Thinking in Institutionalized Mental Retardates. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ladner, Judith L.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a supplementary program of 30 lessons to increase the productive thinking abilities (divergent thinking) of educable mentally handicapped students. An experimental group of 30 institutionalized children were given the supplementary lessons at a rate of three per week. The lessons, based…

Action Learning for Strategic Innovation in Mature Organizations: Key Cognitive, Design and Contextual Considerations

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuhn, Jeffrey S.; Marsick, Victoria J.

2005-01-01

This article lays out a model of action learning for catalyzing strategic innovation in mature organizations that are faced with a new competitive playing field. Central to this model is the development of a set of sophisticated cognitive capabilities--sensemaking, strategic thinking, critical thinking, divergent thinking, conceptual capacity and…

The roles of associative and executive processes in creative cognition.

PubMed

Beaty, Roger E; Silvia, Paul J; Nusbaum, Emily C; Jauk, Emanuel; Benedek, Mathias

2014-10-01

How does the mind produce creative ideas? Past research has pointed to important roles of both executive and associative processes in creative cognition. But such work has largely focused on the influence of one ability or the other-executive or associative-so the extent to which both abilities may jointly affect creative thought remains unclear. Using multivariate structural equation modeling, we conducted two studies to determine the relative influences of executive and associative processes in domain-general creative cognition (i.e., divergent thinking). Participants completed a series of verbal fluency tasks, and their responses were analyzed by means of latent semantic analysis (LSA) and scored for semantic distance as a measure of associative ability. Participants also completed several measures of executive function-including broad retrieval ability (Gr) and fluid intelligence (Gf). Across both studies, we found substantial effects of both associative and executive abilities: As the average semantic distance between verbal fluency responses and cues increased, so did the creative quality of divergent-thinking responses (Study 1 and Study 2). Moreover, the creative quality of divergent-thinking responses was predicted by the executive variables-Gr (Study 1) and Gf (Study 2). Importantly, the effects of semantic distance and the executive function variables remained robust in the same structural equation model predicting divergent thinking, suggesting unique contributions of both constructs. The present research extends recent applications of LSA in creativity research and provides support for the notion that both associative and executive processes underlie the production of novel ideas.

Creativity and Criticism. The Components of Scientific Thought.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zielinski, Edward J.; Sarachine, D. Michael

1990-01-01

Presented are six activities that help to promote critical and creative student thinking. Activities include discrepant events and questioning, divergent thinking, dilemma discussions, and drawing objects from symbols. Activities can be adapted to any science discipline. (KR)

Increasing self-other integration through divergent thinking.

PubMed

Colzato, Lorenza S; van den Wildenberg, Wery P M; Hommel, Bernhard

2013-10-01

Increasing evidence suggests that people may cognitively represent themselves and others just like any other, nonsocial event. Here, we provide evidence that the degree of self-other integration (as reflected by the joint Simon effect; JSE) is systematically affected by the control characteristics of temporally overlapping but unrelated and nonsocial creativity tasks. In particular, the JSE was found to be larger in the context of a divergent-thinking task (alternate uses task) than in the context of a convergent-thinking task (remote association task). This suggests that self-other integration and action corepresentation are controlled by domain-general cognitive-control parameters that regulate the integrativeness (strong vs. weak top-down control and a resulting narrow vs. broad attentional focus) of information processing irrespective of its social implications.

Futures Thinking, Learning, and Leading: Applying Multiple Intelligences to Success and Innovation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buchen, Irving H.

2006-01-01

The focus of this book is to explore the extent to which our thinking, learning, and leading is influenced and shaped by the future. In the process, professionals and organizations are classified into three basic types: future-oriented, future-poised, and future-driven. The last typically employs divergent and convergent thinking and planning; and…

Math Thinking Motivators. A Good Apple Math Activity Book for Grades 2-7.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bernstein, Bob

In this booklet are 43 mathematical games and activities to stimulate creative thinking in grades 2-7. The goal of teaching divergent thinking is stressed, as well as the need to encourage positive self-image, motivation, and creativity. For each activity, the mathematical skills addressed in the activity are listed; topics span the elementary…

Television and Creativity; The Effect of Viewing Certain Categories of Commercial Television Broadcasting on the Divergent Thinking Abilities of Intellectually Gifted Elementary Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stern, Stanley Lawrence

Research sought to determine what effect viewing increased amounts of specific types of televised material would have upon the creative performance of highly intelligent children. Gifted students in grades 4, 5, and 6 of a suburban district were given Guilford's tests of creativity and then divided into seven groups. Six of these watched a…

APTITUDES AND PERSONALITY MEASURES RELATED TO CREATIVITY IN SEVENTH-GRADE CHILDREN. STUDIES OF APTITUDES OF HIGH-LEVEL PERSONNEL.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

MERRIFIELD, P.R.; AND OTHERS

SEVENTH GRADE PUPILS IN THE LOS ANGELES AREA WERE INCLUDED IN A STUDY OF THE RELATIONSHIPS OF APTITUDE AND TRAIT MEASURES TO TEACHER RATINGS OF BEHAVIORAL ASPECTS OF CREATIVITY. ALL 443 CHILDREN HAD AN IQ OF 90 OR GREATER. EIGHT APTITUDE SCORES WERE USED AS MEASURES OF DIVERGENT THINKING IN SEMANTIC CONTENT. A SERIES OF TESTS WAS DEVISED TO…

Creativity and the default network: A functional connectivity analysis of the creative brain at rest☆

PubMed Central

Beaty, Roger E.; Benedek, Mathias; Wilkins, Robin W.; Jauk, Emanuel; Fink, Andreas; Silvia, Paul J.; Hodges, Donald A.; Koschutnig, Karl; Neubauer, Aljoscha C.

2014-01-01

The present research used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine whether the ability to generate creative ideas corresponds to differences in the intrinsic organization of functional networks in the brain. We examined the functional connectivity between regions commonly implicated in neuroimaging studies of divergent thinking, including the inferior prefrontal cortex and the core hubs of the default network. Participants were prescreened on a battery of divergent thinking tests and assigned to high- and low-creative groups based on task performance. Seed-based functional connectivity analysis revealed greater connectivity between the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the entire default mode network in the high-creative group. The right IFG also showed greater functional connectivity with bilateral inferior parietal cortex and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the high-creative group. The results suggest that the ability to generate creative ideas is characterized by increased functional connectivity between the inferior prefrontal cortex and the default network, pointing to a greater cooperation between brain regions associated with cognitive control and low-level imaginative processes. PMID:25245940

Sex differences in the relationship between white matter connectivity and creativity.

PubMed

Ryman, Sephira G; van den Heuvel, Martijn P; Yeo, Ronald A; Caprihan, Arvind; Carrasco, Jessica; Vakhtin, Andrei A; Flores, Ranee A; Wertz, Christopher; Jung, Rex E

2014-11-01

Creative cognition emerges from a complex network of interacting brain regions. This study investigated the relationship between the structural organization of the human brain and aspects of creative cognition tapped by divergent thinking tasks. Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) was used to obtain fiber tracts from 83 segmented cortical regions. This information was represented as a network and metrics of connectivity organization, including connectivity strength, clustering and communication efficiency were computed, and their relationship to individual levels of creativity was examined. Permutation testing identified significant sex differences in the relationship between global connectivity and creativity as measured by divergent thinking tests. Females demonstrated significant inverse relationships between global connectivity and creative cognition, whereas there were no significant relationships observed in males. Node specific analyses revealed inverse relationships across measures of connectivity, efficiency, clustering and creative cognition in widespread regions in females. Our findings suggest that females involve more regions of the brain in processing to produce novel ideas to solutions, perhaps at the expense of efficiency (greater path lengths). Males, in contrast, exhibited few, relatively weak positive relationships across these measures. Extending recent observations of sex differences in connectome structure, our findings of sexually dimorphic relationships suggest a unique topological organization of connectivity underlying the generation of novel ideas in males and females. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Out of the box: A psychedelic model to study the creative mind.

PubMed

Kuypers, K P C

2018-06-01

Our creativity is challenged daily when facing new situations asking for novel solutions. Creativity, a multicomponent construct includes flexible divergent and rigid convergent thinking. Psychedelic drugs like psilocybin can enhance creativity and affect state of mind (mood, empathy, openness). Of note, flexible thinking is disturbed in psychopathological conditions like anxiety disorders and depression and preliminary findings have shown psychedelics to be efficacious in the treatment of those conditions. The question how psychedelics induce this state of enhanced flexible thinking remains to be answered and investigating the neurobiology underlying this phenomenon will not only help in understanding why psychedelics are of use in the therapeutic setting but also in other settings where flexible thinking is challenged. A model including neuronal networks, neurotransmitters and personal factors playing a role in this process will be proposed which can be put to the test by means of placebo-controlled pharmaco-imaging studies in healthy volunteers. Copyright © 2018 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Creativity and cognitive control: Behavioral and ERP evidence that divergent thinking, but not real-life creative achievement, relates to better cognitive control.

PubMed

Zabelina, Darya L; Ganis, Giorgio

2018-02-13

Two studies used event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine whether and how divergent thinking and creative achievement are linked to attentional flexibility and cognitive control as indexed by response times and by the amplitude of the anterior N2 ERP component. Both experiments used an oddball paradigm in which participants viewed hierarchical letter stimuli and identified target letters in frequent and rare target trials. The successful identification of targets required attentional flexibility when switching levels of attention (from the frequent global to the rare local attentional level, or vice-versa). Divergent thinkers showed smaller switching times on rare target trials, indicating higher levels of attentional flexibility. Furthermore, divergent thinkers engaged cognitive control processes more strongly at the moment of the attentional switch (and before the response), as indicated by a larger N2 difference between frequent and rare targets. In contrast, creative achievement was associated neither with the switching times on rare target trials, nor with a larger N2 difference between frequent and rare targets. All results held when controlling for general intelligence. Results from these studies provide evidence that divergent thinking is associated with higher attentional flexibility and that such attentional flexibility relies on cognitive control processes required when disengaging from one level of attention (e.g., global), and shifting to the other level of attention (e.g., local). Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Happy creativity: Listening to happy music facilitates divergent thinking.

PubMed

Ritter, Simone M; Ferguson, Sam

2017-01-01

Creativity can be considered one of the key competencies for the twenty-first century. It provides us with the capacity to deal with the opportunities and challenges that are part of our complex and fast-changing world. The question as to what facilitates creative cognition-the ability to come up with creative ideas, problem solutions and products-is as old as the human sciences, and various means to enhance creative cognition have been studied. Despite earlier scientific studies demonstrating a beneficial effect of music on cognition, the effect of music listening on creative cognition has remained largely unexplored. The current study experimentally tests whether listening to specific types of music (four classical music excerpts systematically varying on valance and arousal), as compared to a silence control condition, facilitates divergent and convergent creativity. Creativity was higher for participants who listened to 'happy music' (i.e., classical music high on arousal and positive mood) while performing the divergent creativity task, than for participants who performed the task in silence. No effect of music was found for convergent creativity. In addition to the scientific contribution, the current findings may have important practical implications. Music listening can be easily integrated into daily life and may provide an innovative means to facilitate creative cognition in an efficient way in various scientific, educational and organizational settings when creative thinking is needed.

Happy creativity: Listening to happy music facilitates divergent thinking

PubMed Central

Ferguson, Sam

2017-01-01

Creativity can be considered one of the key competencies for the twenty-first century. It provides us with the capacity to deal with the opportunities and challenges that are part of our complex and fast-changing world. The question as to what facilitates creative cognition—the ability to come up with creative ideas, problem solutions and products—is as old as the human sciences, and various means to enhance creative cognition have been studied. Despite earlier scientific studies demonstrating a beneficial effect of music on cognition, the effect of music listening on creative cognition has remained largely unexplored. The current study experimentally tests whether listening to specific types of music (four classical music excerpts systematically varying on valance and arousal), as compared to a silence control condition, facilitates divergent and convergent creativity. Creativity was higher for participants who listened to ‘happy music’ (i.e., classical music high on arousal and positive mood) while performing the divergent creativity task, than for participants who performed the task in silence. No effect of music was found for convergent creativity. In addition to the scientific contribution, the current findings may have important practical implications. Music listening can be easily integrated into daily life and may provide an innovative means to facilitate creative cognition in an efficient way in various scientific, educational and organizational settings when creative thinking is needed. PMID:28877176

The Relationship between Diverse Components of Intelligence and Creativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cho, Sun Hee; Nijenhuis, Jan Te; van Vianen, Annelies E. M.; Kim, Heui Baik; Lee, Kun Ho

2010-01-01

Intelligence and creativity are accounted for in terms of two different mental operations referred to as "convergent thinking" and "divergent thinking", respectively. Nevertheless, psychometric evidence on the relationship between intelligence and creativity has been controversial. To clarify their relationship, we…

A review of EEG, ERP, and neuroimaging studies of creativity and insight.

PubMed

Dietrich, Arne; Kanso, Riam

2010-09-01

Creativity is a cornerstone of what makes us human, yet the neural mechanisms underlying creative thinking are poorly understood. A recent surge of interest into the neural underpinnings of creative behavior has produced a banquet of data that is tantalizing but, considered as a whole, deeply self-contradictory. We review the emerging literature and take stock of several long-standing theories and widely held beliefs about creativity. A total of 72 experiments, reported in 63 articles, make up the core of the review. They broadly fall into 3 categories: divergent thinking, artistic creativity, and insight. Electroencephalographic studies of divergent thinking yield highly variegated results. Neuroimaging studies of this paradigm also indicate no reliable changes above and beyond diffuse prefrontal activation. These findings call into question the usefulness of the divergent thinking construct in the search for the neural basis of creativity. A similarly inconclusive picture emerges for studies of artistic performance, except that this paradigm also often yields activation of motor and temporoparietal regions. Neuroelectric and imaging studies of insight are more consistent, reflecting changes in anterior cingulate cortex and prefrontal areas. Taken together, creative thinking does not appear to critically depend on any single mental process or brain region, and it is not especially associated with right brains, defocused attention, low arousal, or alpha synchronization, as sometimes hypothesized. To make creativity tractable in the brain, it must be further subdivided into different types that can be meaningfully associated with specific neurocognitive processes.

The Creative Stereotype Effect

PubMed Central

Dumas, Denis; Dunbar, Kevin N.

2016-01-01

Because of its fundamental relevance to scientific innovation, artistic expression, and human ingenuity, creativity has long been the subject of systematic psychological investigation. Concomitantly, the far-reaching effects of stereotypes on various cognitive and social processes have been widely researched. Bridging these two literatures, we show in a series of two studies that stereotypes related to creativity can both enhance and diminish individuals’ performance on a divergent thinking task. Specifically, Study 1 demonstrated that participants asked to take on a stereotypically uninhibited perspective performed significantly better on a divergent thinking task than those participants who took on a stereotypically inhibited perspective, and a control group. Relatedly, Study 2 showed that the same effect is found within-subjects, with divergent thinking significantly improving when participants invoke an uninhibited stereotype. Moreover, we demonstrate the efficacy of Latent Semantic Analysis as an objective measure of the originality of ideas, and discuss implications of our findings for the nature of creativity. Namely, that creativity may not be best described as a stable individual trait, but as a malleable product of context and perspective. PMID:26863143

Visual Culture in the Elementary-School Classroom: Moving from Box-Store Commodities to Out-of-the-Box Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fattal, Laura Felleman

2017-01-01

The goal of the action research project on visual culture is to contribute to the dialogue on the exploratory ecology vs commodity culture of the elementary school classroom. Exploratory culture, unlike commodity culture, applauds open-ended thinking, inchoate imaginings, and critical thinking with its attachment to divergent paths to resolving…

Convergent Creativity: From Arthur Cropley (1935-) Onwards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tan, Ai-Girl

2015-01-01

Arthur Cropley's view on convergent thinking is reviewed, with reflections on the relations of divergent and convergent processes and the roles of knowledge and convergent creativity. While divergence is about considering and generating multiplicity, possibility, difference, originality, and so on; convergence is about relating, associating,…

Give your ideas some legs: the positive effect of walking on creative thinking.

PubMed

Oppezzo, Marily; Schwartz, Daniel L

2014-07-01

Four experiments demonstrate that walking boosts creative ideation in real time and shortly after. In Experiment 1, while seated and then when walking on a treadmill, adults completed Guilford's alternate uses (GAU) test of creative divergent thinking and the compound remote associates (CRA) test of convergent thinking. Walking increased 81% of participants' creativity on the GAU, but only increased 23% of participants' scores for the CRA. In Experiment 2, participants completed the GAU when seated and then walking, when walking and then seated, or when seated twice. Again, walking led to higher GAU scores. Moreover, when seated after walking, participants exhibited a residual creative boost. Experiment 3 generalized the prior effects to outdoor walking. Experiment 4 tested the effect of walking on creative analogy generation. Participants sat inside, walked on a treadmill inside, walked outside, or were rolled outside in a wheelchair. Walking outside produced the most novel and highest quality analogies. The effects of outdoor stimulation and walking were separable. Walking opens up the free flow of ideas, and it is a simple and robust solution to the goals of increasing creativity and increasing physical activity. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

[Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT): elements for construct validity in Portuguese adolescents].

PubMed

Oliveira, Ema; Almeida, Leandro; Ferrándiz, Carmen; Ferrando, Mercedes; Sainz, Marta; Prieto, María Dolores

2009-11-01

The aim of this work is to study the unidimensional and multidimensional nature of creativity when assessed through divergent thinking tasks, as proposed in Torrance's battery (Torrance Creative Thinking Test, TTCT). This battery is made up of various tasks with verbal and figurative content, aimed at estimating the level of creativity according to the dimensions or cognitive functions of fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration of the individuals' ideas. This work used a sample of 595 Portuguese students from 5th and 6th grade. The results of confirmatory factor analysis reveals that the unidimensional model (a general factor of creativity) and the model of factors as a function of the cognitive dimensions of creativity, based on task content, do not fit well. The model with the best fit has a hierarchical factor structure, in which the first level comprises the factors for each of the subtests applied and the second level includes verbal or figurative content. The difficulty to verify the structural validity of the TTCT is noted, and the need for further studies to achieve, in practice, better individual creativity scores.

Magazine Mania Gets Kids Writing and Thinking.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gozzi, Joan Daniels

1987-01-01

Magazine Mania is a series of seven reproducible self-motivating activities involving magazines such as "National Geographic" and "Ranger Rick." While enjoying the activities pupils will be increasing their self awareness, appreciation of foreign cultures, divergent thinking skills, skimming, research skills, creative writing skills, vocabulary,…

Engineering Design Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lammi, Matthew; Becker, Kurt

2013-01-01

Engineering design thinking is "a complex cognitive process" including divergence-convergence, a systems perspective, ambiguity, and collaboration (Dym, Agogino, Eris, Frey, & Leifer, 2005, p. 104). Design is often complex, involving multiple levels of interacting components within a system that may be nested within or connected to other systems.…

Enhanced creative thinking under dopaminergic therapy in Parkinson disease.

PubMed

Faust-Socher, Achinoam; Kenett, Yoed N; Cohen, Oren S; Hassin-Baer, Sharon; Inzelberg, Rivka

2014-06-01

Creative thinking requires a combination of originality, flexibility, and usefulness. Several reports described enhanced artistic creativity in Parkinson disease (PD) patients treated with dopaminergic agents. We aimed to examine PD patients' ability to perform creativity tasks compared to healthy controls and to verify whether creativity is related to an impulse control disorder (ICD) as a complication of dopaminergic therapy. Right-handed PD patients treated with dopamine agonists and/or levodopa, and age- and education- matched neurologically healthy controls were assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, semantic verbal fluency, Beck Depression Inventory, and Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders in Parkinson Disease Rating Scale (QUIP-RS). Creativity assessment included Comprehension of Novel Metaphors (CNM), Remote Association Test, and Tel Aviv Creativity Test (TACT). Groups were compared using analyses of variance, t tests, and correlation analyses. Twenty-seven PD patients (age, mean ± standard deviation = 62 ± 7 years; education = 16 ± 3 years; disease duration = 5.8 ± 3.9 years) and 27 controls (age = 59 ± 9 years; education 17 ± 3 years) participated. PD patients performed significantly better than controls in divergent thinking tasks; specifically, the TACT-Visual for both fluency (33.48 ± 11.83 vs 25.59 ± 10.27, p = 0.034) and quality (15.78 ± 7.6 vs 11.19 ± 6.22, p = 0.025). Comprehension of Novel Metaphors was better in PD patients vs controls (0.71 ± 0.23 vs 0.55 ± 0.29, p = 0.04). QUIP-RS scores did not correlate with creativity measures. PD patients treated with dopaminergic drugs demonstrated enhanced verbal and visual creativity as compared to neurologically healthy controls. This feature was unrelated to ICD. Dopaminergic agents might act through the reduction of latent inhibition, resulting in widening of the associative network and enriched divergent thinking. © 2014 American Neurological Association.

The Effect of Logical Thinking and Two Cognitive Styles on Understanding the Structure of Matter: An Analysis with the Random Walk Method

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stamovlasis, Dimitrios; Tsitsipis, Georgios; Papageorgiou, George

2010-01-01

This work uses the concepts and tools of complexity theory to examine the effect of logical thinking and two cognitive styles, such as, the degree of field dependence/independence and the convergent/divergent thinking on students' understanding of the structure of matter. Students were categorized according to the model they adopted for the…

Experimental effects of acute exercise and music listening on cognitive creativity.

PubMed

Frith, Emily; Loprinzi, Paul D

2018-07-01

The purpose of this study was to extend previous experimental work suggesting that both exercise and music-based interventions may influence creativity processes, by investigating the independent influences of exercise or music stimuli on verbal creative performances in the laboratory environment. 32 students at the University of Mississippi participated in this within-subject intervention, which included three laboratory visits per participant. Individuals participated in three 15-min, randomized experimental conditions: Treadmill walking, self-selected music, or a seated control period, and subsequently completed four creativity assessments during each visit (three tests of divergent thinking, and one test of convergent thinking), with the order of divergent thinking tasks counterbalanced. Creativity task performance was independently scored across four dependent parameters, which included fluency (i.e., total number of ideas), flexibility (i.e., total number of categories), originality (i.e., responses thought of by <5% of the sample), and elaboration (i.e., degree of supplementary detail included per idea). Repeated Measures ANOVAs indicated that creativity scores for fluency (F(2, 60) = 0.63, p = 0.94), flexibility (F(2, 60) = 0.64, p = 0.53), originality (F(2, 60 = 0.23, p = 0.78), and elaboration (F(2, 60) = 2.74, p = 0.07), were not statistically significant across the visits. These findings add to the equivocal body of creativity research, uniquely assessing the effects of exercise and music on verbal creativity performance. The present study further highlights the critical need for improvement in the assessment and evaluation of laboratory-assessed cognitive creativity. Methodological strategies must be examined and refined for the meaningful and credible measurement and interpretation of experimental creativity. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Gender differences in creative thinking: behavioral and fMRI findings.

PubMed

Abraham, Anna; Thybusch, Kristin; Pieritz, Karoline; Hermann, Christiane

2014-03-01

Gender differences in creativity have been widely studied in behavioral investigations, but this topic has rarely been the focus of neuroscientific research. The current paper presents follow-up analyses of a previous fMRI study (Abraham et al., Neuropsychologia 50(8):1906-1917, 2012b), in which behavioral and brain function during creative conceptual expansion as well as general divergent thinking were explored. Here, we focus on gender differences within the same sample. Conceptual expansion was assessed with the alternate uses task relative to the object location task, whereas divergent thinking was assessed in terms of responses across both the alternate uses and object location tasks relative to n-back working memory tasks. While men and women were indistinguishable in terms of behavioral performance across all tasks, the pattern of brain activity while engaged in the tasks in question was indicative of strategy differences between the genders. Brain areas related to semantic cognition, rule learning and decision making were preferentially engaged in men during conceptual expansion, whereas women displayed higher activity in regions related to speech processing and social perception. During divergent thinking, declarative memory related regions were strongly activated in men, while regions involved in theory of mind and self-referential processing were more engaged in women. The implications of gender differences in adopted strategies or cognitive style when faced with generative tasks are discussed.

Training of verbal creativity modulates brain activity in regions associated with language- and memory-related demands.

PubMed

Fink, Andreas; Benedek, Mathias; Koschutnig, Karl; Pirker, Eva; Berger, Elisabeth; Meister, Sabrina; Neubauer, Aljoscha C; Papousek, Ilona; Weiss, Elisabeth M

2015-10-01

This functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) study was designed to investigate changes in functional patterns of brain activity during creative ideation as a result of a computerized, 3-week verbal creativity training. The training was composed of various verbal divergent thinking exercises requiring participants to train approximately 20 min per day. Fifty-three participants were tested three times (psychometric tests and fMRI assessment) with an intertest-interval of 4 weeks each. Participants were randomly assigned to two different training groups, which received the training time-delayed: The first training group was trained between the first and the second test, while the second group accomplished the training between the second and the third test session. At the behavioral level, only one training group showed improvements in different facets of verbal creativity right after the training. Yet, functional patterns of brain activity during creative ideation were strikingly similar across both training groups. Whole-brain voxel-wise analyses (along with supplementary region of interest analyses) revealed that the training was associated with activity changes in well-known creativity-related brain regions such as the left inferior parietal cortex and the left middle temporal gyrus, which have been shown as being particularly sensitive to the originality facet of creativity in previous research. Taken together, this study demonstrates that continuous engagement in a specific complex cognitive task like divergent thinking is associated with reliable changes of activity patterns in relevant brain areas, suggesting more effective search, retrieval, and integration from internal memory representations as a result of the training. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Relationship between Divergent Thinking and Intelligence: An Empirical Study of the Threshold Hypothesis with Chinese Children

PubMed Central

Shi, Baoguo; Wang, Lijing; Yang, Jiahui; Zhang, Mengpin; Xu, Li

2017-01-01

The threshold hypothesis is a classical and notable explanation for the relationship between creativity and intelligence. However, few empirical examinations of this theory exist, and the results are inconsistent. To test this hypothesis, this study investigated the relationship between divergent thinking (DT) and intelligence with a sample of 568 Chinese children aged between 11 and 13 years old using testing and questionnaire methods. The study focused on the breakpoint of intelligence and the moderation effect of openness on the relationship between intelligence and DT. The findings were as follows: (1) a breakpoint at the intelligence quotient (IQ) of 109.20 when investigating the relationship between either DT fluency or DT flexibility and intelligence. Another breakpoint was detected at the IQ of 116.80 concerning the correlation between originality and intelligence. The breakpoint of the relation between the composite score of creativity and intelligence occurred at the IQ of 110.10. (2) Openness to experience had a moderating effect on the correlation between the indicators of creativity and intelligence under the breakpoint. Above this point, however, the effect was not significant. The results suggested a relationship between DT and intelligence among Chinese children, which conforms to the threshold hypothesis. Besides, it remains necessary to explore the personality factors accounting for individual differences in the relationship between DT and intelligence. PMID:28275361

Customers First: Using Process Improvement To Improve Service Quality and Efficiency.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larson, Catherine A.

1998-01-01

Describes steps in a process-improvement project for reserve book services at the University of Arizona Library: (1) plan--identify process boundaries and customer requirements, gather/analyze data, prioritize problems; (2) do--encourage divergent thinking, reach convergent thinking, find solutions; (3) check--pilot solutions, compare costs; and…

Idle minds are the devil's tools? Coping, depressed mood and divergent thinking in older adults.

PubMed

Mélendez, Juan Carlos; Alfonso-Benlliure, Vicente; Mayordomo, Teresa

2017-10-20

The main aim was to test a causal relations model of the problem-focused and emotion-focused coping styles, depressed mood, and divergent thinking (DT) in older adults. It was hypothesized that both forms of coping would have a significant effect on predicting depressed mood, and that problem-focused coping and depressed mood would have a significant effect on DT. Participants were 135 subjects with ages ranging between 55 and 84 years old, who took part in a personal interview and filled out several questionnaires. The statistical analysis included structural equations models (SEM). The initial model led to a final model endorsed by the goodness of fit, composite reliability, and discriminant validity indexes. This model confirms a direct relationship between the two types of coping strategies and depressed mood (with the opposite sign), but not between rational coping and DT. Finally, depressed mood was also confirmed as a mediator variable between coping and DT. The type of coping is a clear predictor of mood in older adults. Advanced age decline is not necessarily translated into inefficacy in everyday problem solving especially in those who, through proble-focused coping, avoid depressed moods and maintain good levels of DT.

Creativity and the default network: A functional connectivity analysis of the creative brain at rest.

PubMed

Beaty, Roger E; Benedek, Mathias; Wilkins, Robin W; Jauk, Emanuel; Fink, Andreas; Silvia, Paul J; Hodges, Donald A; Koschutnig, Karl; Neubauer, Aljoscha C

2014-11-01

The present research used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine whether the ability to generate creative ideas corresponds to differences in the intrinsic organization of functional networks in the brain. We examined the functional connectivity between regions commonly implicated in neuroimaging studies of divergent thinking, including the inferior prefrontal cortex and the core hubs of the default network. Participants were prescreened on a battery of divergent thinking tests and assigned to high- and low-creative groups based on task performance. Seed-based functional connectivity analysis revealed greater connectivity between the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the entire default mode network in the high-creative group. The right IFG also showed greater functional connectivity with bilateral inferior parietal cortex and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the high-creative group. The results suggest that the ability to generate creative ideas is characterized by increased functional connectivity between the inferior prefrontal cortex and the default network, pointing to a greater cooperation between brain regions associated with cognitive control and low-level imaginative processes. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The effects of a single night of sleep deprivation on fluency and prefrontal cortex function during divergent thinking

PubMed Central

Vartanian, Oshin; Bouak, Fethi; Caldwell, J. L.; Cheung, Bob; Cupchik, Gerald; Jobidon, Marie-Eve; Lam, Quan; Nakashima, Ann; Paul, Michel; Peng, Henry; Silvia, Paul J.; Smith, Ingrid

2014-01-01

The dorsal and ventral aspects of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are the two regions most consistently recruited in divergent thinking tasks. Given that frontal tasks have been shown to be vulnerable to sleep loss, we explored the impact of a single night of sleep deprivation on fluency (i.e., number of generated responses) and PFC function during divergent thinking. Participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning twice while engaged in the Alternate Uses Task (AUT) – once following a single night of sleep deprivation and once following a night of normal sleep. They also wore wrist activity monitors, which enabled us to quantify daily sleep and model cognitive effectiveness. The intervention was effective, producing greater levels of fatigue and sleepiness. Modeled cognitive effectiveness and fluency were impaired following sleep deprivation, and sleep deprivation was associated with greater activation in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) during AUT. The results suggest that an intervention known to temporarily compromise frontal function can impair fluency, and that this effect is instantiated in the form of an increased hemodynamic response in the left IFG. PMID:24795594

Generating Testable Questions in the Science Classroom: The BDC Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tseng, ChingMei; Chen, Shu-Bi Shu-Bi; Chang, Wen-Hua

2015-01-01

Guiding students to generate testable scientific questions is essential in the inquiry classroom, but it is not easy. The purpose of the BDC ("Big Idea, Divergent Thinking, and Convergent Thinking") instructional model is to to scaffold students' inquiry learning. We illustrate the use of this model with an example lesson, designed…

Heuristics as a Basis for Assessing Creative Potential: Measures, Methods, and Contingencies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vessey, William B.; Mumford, Michael D.

2012-01-01

Studies of creative thinking skills have generally measured a single aspect of creativity, divergent thinking. A number of other processes involved in creative thought have been identified. Effective execution of these processes is held to depend on the strategies applied in process execution, or heuristics. In this article, we review prior…

Through the Skylight with Foreign Languages: Providing All Students with Challenging Elementary School Curriculum

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caccavale, Therese Sullivan

2003-01-01

Foreign language instruction is known to develop better critical thinking skills in children. Therefore, the teaching of foreign languages should be promoted so that "all" students may attain better creative, divergent, critical, and analytical thinking skills. Research done in past years on cooperative learning models has consistently shown that…

Symbols and the Bifurcation between Procedural and Conceptual Thinking.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tall, David; Gray, Eddie; Bin Ali, Maselan; Crowley, Lillie; DeMarois, Phil; McGowen, Mercedes; Pitta, Demetra; Pinto, Marcia; Thomas, Michael; Yusof, Yudariah

Symbols occupy a pivotal position between processes to be carried out and concepts to be thought about. They allow us both to do mathematical problems and to think about mathematical relationships. In this presentation, the discontinuities that occur in the learning path taken by different students, leading to a divergence between conceptual and…

Validation of Predictive Relationship of Creative Problem-Solving Attrubutes with Math Creativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pham, Linh Hung

2014-01-01

This study was designed to investigate the predictive relationships of creative problem-solving attributes, which comprise divergent thinking, convergent thinking, motivation, general and domain knowledge and skills, and environment, with mathematical creativity of sixth grade students in Thai Nguyen City, Viet Nam. The study also aims to revise…

Early Childhood Creativity: Challenging Educators in Their Role to Intentionally Develop Creative Thinking in Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leggett, Nicole

2017-01-01

Creativity is a topic of wide global interest, often discussed in fields such as education, psychology and business (Runco, "Divergent thinking and creative potential," Hampton Press, New York, 2013; Yoruk and Runco, "Journal for Neurocognitive Research" 56:1-16, 2014). However, the relationship of pedagogical practices in…

The impact of binaural beats on creativity

PubMed Central

Reedijk, Susan A.; Bolders, Anne; Hommel, Bernhard

2013-01-01

Human creativity relies on a multitude of cognitive processes, some of which are influenced by the neurotransmitter dopamine. This suggests that creativity could be enhanced by interventions that either modulate the production or transmission of dopamine directly, or affect dopamine-driven processes. In the current study we hypothesized that creativity can be influenced by means of binaural beats, an auditory illusion that is considered a form of cognitive entrainment that operates through stimulating neuronal phase locking. We aimed to investigate whether binaural beats affect creative performance at all, whether they affect divergent thinking, convergent thinking, or both, and whether possible effects may be mediated by the individual striatal dopamine level. Binaural beats were presented at alpha and gamma frequency. Participants completed a divergent and a convergent thinking task to assess two important functions of creativity, and filled out the Positive And Negative Affect Scale—mood State questionnaire (PANAS-S) and an affect grid to measure current mood. Dopamine levels in the striatum were estimated using spontaneous eye blink rates (EBRs). Results showed that binaural beats, regardless of the presented frequency, can affect divergent but not convergent thinking. Individuals with low EBRs mostly benefitted from alpha binaural beat stimulation, while individuals with high EBRs were unaffected or even impaired by both alpha and gamma binaural beats. This suggests that binaural beats, and possibly other forms of cognitive entrainment, are not suited for a one-size-fits-all approach, and that individual cognitive-control systems need to be taken into account when studying cognitive enhancement methods. PMID:24294202

The impact of binaural beats on creativity.

PubMed

Reedijk, Susan A; Bolders, Anne; Hommel, Bernhard

2013-01-01

Human creativity relies on a multitude of cognitive processes, some of which are influenced by the neurotransmitter dopamine. This suggests that creativity could be enhanced by interventions that either modulate the production or transmission of dopamine directly, or affect dopamine-driven processes. In the current study we hypothesized that creativity can be influenced by means of binaural beats, an auditory illusion that is considered a form of cognitive entrainment that operates through stimulating neuronal phase locking. We aimed to investigate whether binaural beats affect creative performance at all, whether they affect divergent thinking, convergent thinking, or both, and whether possible effects may be mediated by the individual striatal dopamine level. Binaural beats were presented at alpha and gamma frequency. Participants completed a divergent and a convergent thinking task to assess two important functions of creativity, and filled out the Positive And Negative Affect Scale-mood State questionnaire (PANAS-S) and an affect grid to measure current mood. Dopamine levels in the striatum were estimated using spontaneous eye blink rates (EBRs). Results showed that binaural beats, regardless of the presented frequency, can affect divergent but not convergent thinking. Individuals with low EBRs mostly benefitted from alpha binaural beat stimulation, while individuals with high EBRs were unaffected or even impaired by both alpha and gamma binaural beats. This suggests that binaural beats, and possibly other forms of cognitive entrainment, are not suited for a one-size-fits-all approach, and that individual cognitive-control systems need to be taken into account when studying cognitive enhancement methods.

[Intelligence and creativity changes induced by pathological growth of space-occupying cerebral lesion].

PubMed

Perfil'ev, A M; Razumnikova, O M; Stupak, V V

2013-01-01

Creativity and intelligence changes depending on tumor localization in frontal or parietal cortex before surgical procedure in 24 patients in comparison with control group are studied. Brain damage-induced intelligence impairment and a decrease of fluency, flexibility of figural divergent thinking, and originality of verbal one without specificity of tumor localization were found. Intelligence decrease was more presented while performing of figural tasks and least of all in verbal ones. The left prefrontal brain damage induced a decrease of all components of intelligence and a trend to a decrease of verbal creativity and figural fluency. The right parietal brain lesion was more associated with a decline of divergent thinking originality.

Training of verbal creativity modulates brain activity in regions associated with language‐ and memory‐related demands

PubMed Central

Benedek, Mathias; Koschutnig, Karl; Pirker, Eva; Berger, Elisabeth; Meister, Sabrina; Neubauer, Aljoscha C.; Papousek, Ilona; Weiss, Elisabeth M.

2015-01-01

Abstract This functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) study was designed to investigate changes in functional patterns of brain activity during creative ideation as a result of a computerized, 3‐week verbal creativity training. The training was composed of various verbal divergent thinking exercises requiring participants to train approximately 20 min per day. Fifty‐three participants were tested three times (psychometric tests and fMRI assessment) with an intertest‐interval of 4 weeks each. Participants were randomly assigned to two different training groups, which received the training time‐delayed: The first training group was trained between the first and the second test, while the second group accomplished the training between the second and the third test session. At the behavioral level, only one training group showed improvements in different facets of verbal creativity right after the training. Yet, functional patterns of brain activity during creative ideation were strikingly similar across both training groups. Whole‐brain voxel‐wise analyses (along with supplementary region of interest analyses) revealed that the training was associated with activity changes in well‐known creativity‐related brain regions such as the left inferior parietal cortex and the left middle temporal gyrus, which have been shown as being particularly sensitive to the originality facet of creativity in previous research. Taken together, this study demonstrates that continuous engagement in a specific complex cognitive task like divergent thinking is associated with reliable changes of activity patterns in relevant brain areas, suggesting more effective search, retrieval, and integration from internal memory representations as a result of the training. Hum Brain Mapp 36:4104–4115, 2015. © 2015 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:26178653

Training your brain to be more creative: brain functional and structural changes induced by divergent thinking training.

PubMed

Sun, Jiangzhou; Chen, Qunlin; Zhang, Qinglin; Li, Yadan; Li, Haijiang; Wei, Dongtao; Yang, Wenjing; Qiu, Jiang

2016-10-01

Creativity is commonly defined as the ability to produce something both novel and useful. Stimulating creativity has great significance for both individual success and social improvement. Although increasing creative capacity has been confirmed to be possible and effective at the behavioral level, few longitudinal studies have examined the extent to which the brain function and structure underlying creativity are plastic. A cognitive stimulation (20 sessions) method was used in the present study to train subjects and to explore the neuroplasticity induced by training. The behavioral results revealed that both the originality and the fluency of divergent thinking were significantly improved by training. Furthermore, functional changes induced by training were observed in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), and posterior brain regions. Moreover, the gray matter volume (GMV) was significantly increased in the dACC after divergent thinking training. These results suggest that the enhancement of creativity may rely not only on the posterior brain regions that are related to the fundamental cognitive processes of creativity (e.g., semantic processing, generating novel associations), but also on areas that are involved in top-down cognitive control, such as the dACC and DLPFC. Hum Brain Mapp 37:3375-3387, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The neural coding of creative idea generation across adolescence and early adulthood

PubMed Central

Kleibeuker, Sietske W.; Koolschijn, P. Cédric M. P.; Jolles, Dietsje D.; De Dreu, Carsten K. W.; Crone, Eveline A.

2013-01-01

Creativity is considered key to human prosperity, yet the neurocognitive principles underlying creative performance, and their development, are still poorly understood. To fill this void, we examined the neural correlates of divergent thinking in adults (25–30 years) and adolescents (15–17 years). Participants generated alternative uses (AU) or ordinary characteristics (OC) for common objects while brain activity was assessed using fMRI. Adults outperformed adolescents on the number of solutions for AU and OC trials. Contrasting neural activity for AU with OC trials revealed increased recruitment of left angular gyrus, left supramarginal gyrus, and bilateral middle temporal gyrus in both adults and adolescents. When only trials with multiple AU were included in the analysis, participants showed additional left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG)/middle frontal gyrus (MFG) activation for AU compared to OC trials. Correspondingly, individual difference analyses showed a positive correlation between activations for AU relative to OC trials in left IFG/MFG and divergent thinking performance and activations were more pronounced in adults than in adolescents. Taken together, the results of this study demonstrated that creative idea generation involves recruitment of mainly left lateralized parietal and temporal brain regions. Generating multiple creative ideas, a hallmark of divergent thinking, shows additional lateral PFC activation that is not yet optimized in adolescence. PMID:24416008

EEG Alpha Synchronization Is Related to Top-Down Processing in Convergent and Divergent Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benedek, Mathias; Bergner, Sabine; Konen, Tanja; Fink, Andreas; Neubauer, Aljoscha C.

2011-01-01

Synchronization of EEG alpha activity has been referred to as being indicative of cortical idling, but according to more recent evidence it has also been associated with active internal processing and creative thinking. The main objective of this study was to investigate to what extent EEG alpha synchronization is related to internal processing…

Applying the neuroscience of creativity to creativity training

PubMed Central

Onarheim, Balder; Friis-Olivarius, Morten

2013-01-01

This article investigates how neuroscience in general, and neuroscience of creativity in particular, can be used in teaching “applied creativity” and the usefulness of this approach to creativity training. The article is based on empirical data and our experiences from the Applied NeuroCreativity (ANC) program, taught at business schools in Denmark and Canada. In line with previous studies of successful creativity training programs the ANC participants are first introduced to cognitive concepts of creativity, before applying these concepts to a relevant real world creative problem. The novelty in the ANC program is that the conceptualization of creativity is built on neuroscience, and a crucial aspect of the course is giving the students a thorough understanding of the neuroscience of creativity. Previous studies have reported that the conceptualization of creativity used in such training is of major importance for the success of the training, and we believe that the neuroscience of creativity offers a novel conceptualization for creativity training. Here we present pre/post-training tests showing that ANC students gained more fluency in divergent thinking (a traditional measure of trait creativity) than those in highly similar courses without the neuroscience component, suggesting that principles from neuroscience can contribute effectively to creativity training and produce measurable results on creativity tests. The evidence presented indicates that the inclusion of neuroscience principles in a creativity course can in 8 weeks increase divergent thinking skills with an individual relative average of 28.5%. PMID:24137120

Divergent Task Performance in Older Adults: Declarative Memory or Creative Potential?

PubMed Central

Leon, Susan A; Altmann, Lori JP; Abrams, Lise; Rothi, Leslie J Gonzalez; Heilman, Kenneth M

2016-01-01

Divergent thinking is the ability to produce a range of responses or solutions and is an element of creative processing. Divergent thinking requires disengagement, the ability to associate between words or ideas, and the production of responses. Lesion and imaging studies have shown frontal-lobe involvement for these activities, and frontal lobe function is highly dependent on white matter pathways. Normal aging often results in deficits in functions controlled by the frontal lobes as well as decrements in white matter connectivity. The objectives of this study were to compare non time-constrained tasks of verbal divergent processing in young adults (YAs) and older adults (OAs) and correlate performance with tasks of working memory, language ability, and disengagement/inhibition. Participants were 30 YAs and 30 OAs. Contrary to the a priori hypothesis, OAs produced significantly more unique responses than YAs, although total fluency was not significantly different. Correlational analyses examining the groups together and separately revealed a number of differences suggesting that the groups were utilizing different underlying cognitive abilities to complete these tasks. The authors propose that the primary factor resulting in higher uniqueness scores for the OAs was a greater wealth of experience as well as longer exposure to language use. PMID:28446859

Jazz musicians reveal role of expectancy in human creativity.

PubMed

Przysinda, Emily; Zeng, Tima; Maves, Kellyn; Arkin, Cameron; Loui, Psyche

2017-12-01

Creativity has been defined as the ability to produce work that is novel, high in quality, and appropriate to an audience. While the nature of the creative process is under debate, many believe that creativity relies on real-time combinations of known neural and cognitive processes. One useful model of creativity comes from musical improvisation, such as in jazz, in which musicians spontaneously create novel sound sequences. Here we use jazz musicians to test the hypothesis that individuals with training in musical improvisation, which entails creative generation of musical ideas, might process expectancy differently. We compare jazz improvisers, non-improvising musicians, and non-musicians in the domain-general task of divergent thinking, as well as the musical task of preference ratings for chord progressions that vary in expectation while EEGs were recorded. Behavioral results showed for the first time that jazz musicians preferred unexpected chord progressions. ERP results showed that unexpected stimuli elicited larger early and mid-latency ERP responses (ERAN and P3b), followed by smaller long-latency responses (Late Positivity Potential) in jazz musicians. The amplitudes of these ERP components were significantly correlated with behavioral measures of fluency and originality on the divergent thinking task. Together, results highlight the role of expectancy in creativity. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Expecting innovation: psychoactive drug primes and the generation of creative solutions.

PubMed

Hicks, Joshua A; Pedersen, Sarah L; Pederson, Sarah L; Friedman, Ronald S; McCarthy, Denis M

2011-08-01

Many individuals expect that alcohol and drug consumption will enhance creativity. The present studies tested whether substance related primes would influence creative performance for individuals who possessed creativity-related substance expectancies. Participants (n = 566) were briefly exposed to stimuli related to psychoactive substances (alcohol, for Study 1, Sample 1, and Study 2; and marijuana, for Study 1, Sample 2) or neutral stimuli. Participants in Study 1 then completed a creative problem-solving task, while participants in Study 2 completed a divergent thinking task or a task unrelated to creative problem solving. The results of Study 1 revealed that exposure to the experimental stimuli enhanced performance on the creative problem-solving task for those who expected the corresponding substance would trigger creative functioning. In a conceptual replication, Study 2 showed that participants exposed to alcohol cues performed better on a divergent thinking task if they expected alcohol to enhance creativity. It is important to note that this same interaction did not influence performance on measures unrelated to creative problem solving, suggesting that the activation of creativity-related expectancies influenced creative performance, specifically. These findings highlight the importance of assessing expectancies when examining pharmacological effects of alcohol and marijuana. Future directions and implications for substance-related interventions are discussed. (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved.

Disentangling the Impact of Artistic Creativity on Creative Thinking, Working Memory, Attention, and Intelligence: Evidence for Domain-Specific Relationships with a New Self-Report Questionnaire

PubMed Central

Lunke, Katrin; Meier, Beat

2016-01-01

The goal of the present study was to take a new look at the relationship between creativity and cognitive functioning. Based on models that have postulated domain- and sub-domain-structures for different forms of creativity, like scientific, technical or artistic creativity with cognitive functions as important basis, we developed a new questionnaire. The Artistic Creativity Domains Compendium (ACDC) assesses interest, ability and performance in a distinct way for different domains of artistic creativity. We present the data of 270 adults tested with the ACDC, standard tests of divergent and convergent thinking, and tests of cognitive functions. We present fine-grained analyses on the internal and external validity of the ACDC and on the relationships between creativity, working memory, attention, and intelligence. Our results indicate domain-specific associations between creativity and attention as well as working memory. We conclude that the ACDC is a valid instrument to assess artistic creativity and that a fine-grained analysis reveals distinct patterns of relationships between separate domains of creativity and cognition. PMID:27516745

Disentangling the Impact of Artistic Creativity on Creative Thinking, Working Memory, Attention, and Intelligence: Evidence for Domain-Specific Relationships with a New Self-Report Questionnaire.

PubMed

Lunke, Katrin; Meier, Beat

2016-01-01

The goal of the present study was to take a new look at the relationship between creativity and cognitive functioning. Based on models that have postulated domain- and sub-domain-structures for different forms of creativity, like scientific, technical or artistic creativity with cognitive functions as important basis, we developed a new questionnaire. The Artistic Creativity Domains Compendium (ACDC) assesses interest, ability and performance in a distinct way for different domains of artistic creativity. We present the data of 270 adults tested with the ACDC, standard tests of divergent and convergent thinking, and tests of cognitive functions. We present fine-grained analyses on the internal and external validity of the ACDC and on the relationships between creativity, working memory, attention, and intelligence. Our results indicate domain-specific associations between creativity and attention as well as working memory. We conclude that the ACDC is a valid instrument to assess artistic creativity and that a fine-grained analysis reveals distinct patterns of relationships between separate domains of creativity and cognition.

The art of research: Opportunities for a science-based approach

DOE PAGES

Silva, Austin Ray; Avina, Glory Emmanuel; Tsao, Jeffrey Y.

2016-02-01

Research, the manufacture of knowledge, is currently practiced largely as an “art,” not a “science.” Just as science (understanding) and technology (tools) have revolutionized the manufacture of other goods and services, it is natural, perhaps inevitable, that they will ultimately also be applied to the manufacture of knowledge. In this article, we present an emerging perspective on opportunities for such application, at three different levels of the research enterprise. At the cognitive science level of the individual researcher, opportunities include: overcoming idea fixation and sloppy thinking, and balancing divergent and convergent thinking. At the social network level of the researchmore » team, opportunities include: overcoming strong links and groupthink, and optimally distributing divergent and convergent thinking between individuals and teams. At the research ecosystem level of the research institution and the larger national and international community of researchers, opportunities include: overcoming GPA and performance fixation, overcoming narrow measures of research impact, and overcoming (or harnessing) existential/social stress.« less

The art of research: Opportunities for a science-based approach

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Silva, Austin Ray; Avina, Glory Emmanuel; Tsao, Jeffrey Y.

Research, the manufacture of knowledge, is currently practiced largely as an “art,” not a “science.” Just as science (understanding) and technology (tools) have revolutionized the manufacture of other goods and services, it is natural, perhaps inevitable, that they will ultimately also be applied to the manufacture of knowledge. In this article, we present an emerging perspective on opportunities for such application, at three different levels of the research enterprise. At the cognitive science level of the individual researcher, opportunities include: overcoming idea fixation and sloppy thinking, and balancing divergent and convergent thinking. At the social network level of the researchmore » team, opportunities include: overcoming strong links and groupthink, and optimally distributing divergent and convergent thinking between individuals and teams. At the research ecosystem level of the research institution and the larger national and international community of researchers, opportunities include: overcoming GPA and performance fixation, overcoming narrow measures of research impact, and overcoming (or harnessing) existential/social stress.« less

The Interface of Creativity, Fluency, Lateral Thinking, and Technology While Designing Serious Educational Games in a Science Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lamb, Richard; Annetta, Leonard; Vallett, David

2015-01-01

Introduction: Creativity is the production of the new, original, unique, and divergent products and ideas mediated through lateral thinking. Evidence suggests that high levels of creativity and fluency are important in the continued development of student interest, efficacy and ultimately career impact in the sciences. Method: In this study, 559…

A Probabilistic Model for Students' Errors and Misconceptions on the Structure of Matter in Relation to Three Cognitive Variables

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsitsipis, Georgios; Stamovlasis, Dimitrios; Papageorgiou, George

2012-01-01

In this study, the effect of 3 cognitive variables such as logical thinking, field dependence/field independence, and convergent/divergent thinking on some specific students' answers related to the particulate nature of matter was investigated by means of probabilistic models. Besides recording and tabulating the students' responses, a combination…

Sensorimotor-Conceptual Integration in Free Walking Enhances Divergent Thinking for Young and Older Adults

PubMed Central

Kuo, Chun-Yu; Yeh, Yei-Yu

2016-01-01

Prior research has shown that free walking can enhance creative thinking. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether bidirectional body-mind links are essential for the positive effect of free walking on creative thinking. Moreover, it is unknown whether the positive effect can be generalized to older adults. In Experiment 1, we replicated previous findings with two additional groups of young participants. Participants in the rectangular-walking condition walked along a rectangular path while generating unusual uses for chopsticks. Participants in the free-walking group walked freely as they wished, and participants in the free-generation condition generated unconstrained free paths while the participants in the random-experienced condition walked those paths. Only the free-walking group showed better performance in fluency, flexibility, and originality. In Experiment 2, two groups of older adults were randomly assigned to the free-walking and rectangular-walking conditions. The free-walking group showed better performance than the rectangular-walking group. Moreover, older adults in the free-walking group outperformed young adults in the rectangular-walking group in originality and performed comparably in fluency and flexibility. Bidirectional links between proprioceptive-motor kinematics and metaphorical abstract concepts can enhance divergent thinking for both young and older adults. PMID:27790178

Considering the role of semantic memory in episodic future thinking: evidence from semantic dementia.

PubMed

Irish, Muireann; Addis, Donna Rose; Hodges, John R; Piguet, Olivier

2012-07-01

Semantic dementia is a progressive neurodegenerative condition characterized by the profound and amodal loss of semantic memory in the context of relatively preserved episodic memory. In contrast, patients with Alzheimer's disease typically display impairments in episodic memory, but with semantic deficits of a much lesser magnitude than in semantic dementia. Our understanding of episodic memory retrieval in these cohorts has greatly increased over the last decade, however, we know relatively little regarding the ability of these patients to imagine and describe possible future events, and whether episodic future thinking is mediated by divergent neural substrates contingent on dementia subtype. Here, we explored episodic future thinking in patients with semantic dementia (n=11) and Alzheimer's disease (n=11), in comparison with healthy control participants (n=10). Participants completed a battery of tests designed to probe episodic and semantic thinking across past and future conditions, as well as standardized tests of episodic and semantic memory. Further, all participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Despite their relatively intact episodic retrieval for recent past events, the semantic dementia cohort showed significant impairments for episodic future thinking. In contrast, the group with Alzheimer's disease showed parallel deficits across past and future episodic conditions. Voxel-based morphometry analyses confirmed that atrophy in the left inferior temporal gyrus and bilateral temporal poles, regions strongly implicated in semantic memory, correlated significantly with deficits in episodic future thinking in semantic dementia. Conversely, episodic future thinking performance in Alzheimer's disease correlated with atrophy in regions associated with episodic memory, namely the posterior cingulate, parahippocampal gyrus and frontal pole. These distinct neuroanatomical substrates contingent on dementia group were further qualified by correlational analyses that confirmed the relation between semantic memory deficits and episodic future thinking in semantic dementia, in contrast with the role of episodic memory deficits and episodic future thinking in Alzheimer's disease. Our findings demonstrate that semantic knowledge is critical for the construction of novel future events, providing the necessary scaffolding into which episodic details can be integrated. Further research is necessary to elucidate the precise contribution of semantic memory to future thinking, and to explore how deficits in self-projection manifest on behavioural and social levels in different dementia subtypes.

Effects of basic character design and animation concepts using the flipped learning and project-based learning approach on learning achievement and creative thinking of higher education students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Autapao, Kanyarat; Minwong, Panthul

2018-01-01

Creative thinking was an important learning skill in the 21st Century via learning and innovation to promote students' creative thinking and working with others and to construct innovation. This is one of the important skills that determine the readiness of the participants to step into the complex society. The purposes of this research were 1) to compare the learning achievement of students after using basic character design and animation concepts using the flipped learning and project-based learning and 2) to make a comparison students' creative thinking between pretest and posttest. The populations were 29 students in Multimedia Technology program at Thepsatri Rajabhat University in the 2nd semester of the academic year 2016. The experimental instruments were lesson plans of basic character design and animation concepts using the flipped learning and project based learning. The data collecting instrument was creative thinking test. The data were analyzed by the arithmetic mean, standard deviation and The Wilcoxon Matched Pairs Signed-Ranks Test. The results of this research were 1) the learning achievement of students were statistically significance of .01 level and 2) the mean score of student's creativity assessment were statistically significance of .05 level. When considering all of 11 KPIs, showed that respondents' post-test mean scores higher than pre-test. And 5 KPIs were statistically significance of .05 level, consist of Originality, Fluency, Elaboration, Resistance to Premature Closure, and Intrinsic Motivation. It's were statistically significance of .042, .004, .049, .024 and .015 respectively. And 6 KPIs were non-statistically significant, include of Flexibility, Tolerance of Ambiguity, Divergent Thinking, Convergent Thinking, Risk Taking, and Extrinsic Motivation. The findings revealed that the flipped learning and project based learning provided students the freedom to simply learn on their own aptitude. When working together with project-based learning, Project based learning focusing on the students' project-based learning construction based on their own interests which allowed the students to increase creative project. This can be applied for other courses in order to plan activities to develop students' work process skills and creative skills. We also recommend that researchers carefully consider the design of lesson plans in accordance with all of 11 KPIs to promote students' creative thinking skills.

Creativity: Creativity in Complex Military Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-25

generation later in the problem-solving process. The design process is an alternative problem-solving framework individuals or groups use to orient...no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control ...the potential of their formations. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Creativity, Divergent Thinking, Design , Systems Thinking, Operational Art 16. SECURITY

Individual differences in children's innovative problem-solving are not predicted by divergent thinking or executive functions

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Recent studies of children's tool innovation have revealed that there is variation in children's success in middle-childhood. In two individual differences studies, we sought to identify personal characteristics that might predict success on an innovation task. In Study 1, we found that although measures of divergent thinking were related to each other they did not predict innovation success. In Study 2, we measured executive functioning including: inhibition, working memory, attentional flexibility and ill-structured problem-solving. None of these measures predicted innovation, but, innovation was predicted by children's performance on a receptive vocabulary scale that may function as a proxy for general intelligence. We did not find evidence that children's innovation was predicted by specific personal characteristics. PMID:26926280

Improving creativity performance by short-term meditation.

PubMed

Ding, Xiaoqian; Tang, Yi-Yuan; Tang, Rongxiang; Posner, Michael I

2014-03-19

One form of meditation intervention, the integrative body-mind training (IBMT) has been shown to improve attention, reduce stress and change self-reports of mood. In this paper we examine whether short-term IBMT can improve performance related to creativity and determine the role that mood may play in such improvement. Forty Chinese undergraduates were randomly assigned to short-term IBMT group or a relaxation training (RT) control group. Mood and creativity performance were assessed by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) questionnaire respectively. As predicted, the results indicated that short-term (30 min per day for 7 days) IBMT improved creativity performance on the divergent thinking task, and yielded better emotional regulation than RT. In addition, cross-lagged analysis indicated that both positive and negative affect may influence creativity in IBMT group (not RT group). Our results suggested that emotion-related creativity-promoting mechanism may be attributed to short-term meditation.

Imagining the future in health anxiety: the impact of rumination on the specificity of illness-related memory and future thinking.

PubMed

Sansom-Daly, Ursula M; Bryant, Richard A; Cohn, Richard J; Wakefield, Claire E

2014-01-01

Individuals with health anxiety experience catastrophic fears relating to future illness. However, little research has explored cognitive processes involved in how health anxious individuals picture the future. Ruminative thinking has been shown to impede the ability to recall specific autobiographical memories, which in turn is related to maladaptive, categoric future thinking processes. This study examined the impact of rumination on memory and future thinking among 60 undergraduate participants with varying health anxiety (35% clinical-level health anxiety). Participants were randomized to experiential/ruminative self-focus conditions, then completed an Autobiographical Memory Test and Future Imaginings Task. Responses were coded for specificity and the presence of illness concerns. Rumination led to more specific illness-concerned memories overall, yet at the same time led to more categoric illness-related future imaginings. Rumination and health anxiety together best predicted overgeneral illness-related future imaginings. Highly specific illness-related memories may be maintained due to their personal salience. However, more overgeneral illness-related future imaginings may reflect cognitive avoidance in response to the threat of future illness. This divergent pattern of results between memory and future imaginings may exacerbate health anxiety, and may also serve to maintain maladaptive responses among individuals with realistic medical concerns, such as individuals living with chronic illness.

Sherlock Holmes and the Educational Process.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kellog, Richard L.

1980-01-01

Examines significant factors in the teaching-learning process which appear in Arthur Conan Doyle's fiction about Sherlock Holmes. These processes include deduction, memory, specialized knowledge, perception, emotional control, and divergent thinking. (Author/KC)

White Matter Integrity, Creativity, and Psychopathology: Disentangling Constructs with Diffusion Tensor Imaging

PubMed Central

Jung, Rex E.; Grazioplene, Rachael; Caprihan, Arvind; Chavez, Robert S.; Haier, Richard J.

2010-01-01

That creativity and psychopathology are somehow linked remains a popular but controversial idea in neuroscience research. Brain regions implicated in both psychosis-proneness and creative cognition include frontal projection zones and association fibers. In normal subjects, we have previously demonstrated that a composite measure of divergent thinking (DT) ability exhibited significant inverse relationships in frontal lobe areas with both cortical thickness and metabolite concentration of N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA). These findings support the idea that creativity may reside upon a continuum with psychopathology. Here we examine whether white matter integrity, assessed by Fractional Anisotropy (FA), is related to two measures of creativity (Divergent Thinking and Openness to Experience). Based on previous findings, we hypothesize inverse correlations within fronto-striatal circuits. Seventy-two healthy, young adult (18–29 years) subjects were scanned on a 3 Tesla scanner with Diffusion Tensor Imaging. DT measures were scored by four raters (α = .81) using the Consensual Assessment Technique, from which a composite creativity index (CCI) was derived. We found that the CCI was significantly inversely related to FA within the left inferior frontal white matter (t = 5.36, p = .01), and Openness was inversely related to FA within the right inferior frontal white matter (t = 4.61, p = .04). These findings demonstrate an apparent overlap in specific white matter architecture underlying the normal variance of divergent thinking, openness, and psychotic-spectrum traits, consistent with the idea of a continuum. PMID:20339554

Neuroanatomy of Creativity

PubMed Central

Jung, Rex E.; Segall, Judith M.; Bockholt, H. Jeremy; Flores, Ranee A.; Smith, Shirley M.; Chavez, Robert S.; Haier, Richard J.

2009-01-01

Creativity has long been a construct of interest to philosophers, psychologists and, more recently, neuroscientists. Recent efforts have focused on cognitive processes likely to be important to the manifestation of novelty and usefulness within a given social context. One such cognitive process – divergent thinking – is the process by which one extrapolates many possible answers to an initial stimulus or target data set. We sought to link well established measures of divergent thinking and creative achievement (Creative Achievement Questionnaire – CAQ) to cortical thickness in a cohort of young (23.7 ± 4.2 years), healthy subjects. Three independent judges ranked the creative products of each subject using the consensual assessment technique (Amabile, 1982) from which a “composite creativity index” (CCI) was derived. Structural magnetic resonance imaging was obtained at 1.5 Tesla Siemens scanner. Cortical reconstruction and volumetric segmentation were performed with the FreeSurfer image analysis suite. A region within the lingual gyrus was negatively correlated with CCI; the right posterior cingulate correlated positively with the CCI. For the CAQ, lower left lateral orbitofrontal volume correlated with higher creative achievement; higher cortical thickness was related to higher scores on the CAQ in the right angular gyrus. This is the first study to link cortical thickness measures to psychometric measures of creativity. The distribution of brain regions, associated with both divergent thinking and creative achievement, suggests that cognitive control of information flow among brain areas may be critical to understanding creative cognition. PMID:19722171

Distinguishing Between Convergent Evolution and Violation of the Molecular Clock for Three Taxa.

PubMed

Mitchell, Jonathan D; Sumner, Jeremy G; Holland, Barbara R

2018-05-18

We give a non-technical introduction to convergence-divergence models, a new modeling approach for phylogenetic data that allows for the usual divergence of lineages after lineage-splitting but also allows for taxa to converge, i.e. become more similar over time. By examining the 3-taxon case in some detail we illustrate that phylogeneticists have been "spoiled" in the sense of not having to think about the structural parameters in their models by virtue of the strong assumption that evolution is tree-like. We show that there are not always good statistical reasons to prefer the usual class of tree-like models over more general convergence-divergence models. Specifically we show many 3-taxon data sets can be equally well explained by supposing violation of the molecular clock due to change in the rate of evolution along different edges, or by keeping the assumption of a constant rate of evolution but instead assuming that evolution is not a purely divergent process. Given the abundance of evidence that evolution is not strictly tree-like, our discussion is an illustration that as phylogeneticists we need to think clearly about the structural form of the models we use. For cases with four taxa we show that there will be far greater ability to distinguish models with convergence from non-clock-like tree models.

Relating Inter-Individual Differences in Verbal Creative Thinking to Cerebral Structures: An Optimal Voxel-Based Morphometry Study

PubMed Central

Zhu, Feifei; Zhang, Qinglin; Qiu, Jiang

2013-01-01

Creativity can be defined the capacity of an individual to produce something original and useful. An important measurable component of creativity is divergent thinking. Despite existing studies on creativity-related cerebral structural basis, no study has used a large sample to investigate the relationship between individual verbal creativity and regional gray matter volumes (GMVs) and white matter volumes (WMVs). In the present work, optimal voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was employed to identify the structure that correlates verbal creativity (measured by the verbal form of Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking) across the brain in young healthy subjects. Verbal creativity was found to be significantly positively correlated with regional GMV in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), which is believed to be responsible for language production and comprehension, new semantic representation, and memory retrieval, and in the right IFG, which may involve inhibitory control and attention switching. A relationship between verbal creativity and regional WMV in the left and right IFG was also observed. Overall, a highly verbal creative individual with superior verbal skills may demonstrate a greater computational efficiency in the brain areas involved in high-level cognitive processes including language production, semantic representation and cognitive control. PMID:24223921

Relating inter-individual differences in verbal creative thinking to cerebral structures: an optimal voxel-based morphometry study.

PubMed

Zhu, Feifei; Zhang, Qinglin; Qiu, Jiang

2013-01-01

Creativity can be defined the capacity of an individual to produce something original and useful. An important measurable component of creativity is divergent thinking. Despite existing studies on creativity-related cerebral structural basis, no study has used a large sample to investigate the relationship between individual verbal creativity and regional gray matter volumes (GMVs) and white matter volumes (WMVs). In the present work, optimal voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was employed to identify the structure that correlates verbal creativity (measured by the verbal form of Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking) across the brain in young healthy subjects. Verbal creativity was found to be significantly positively correlated with regional GMV in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), which is believed to be responsible for language production and comprehension, new semantic representation, and memory retrieval, and in the right IFG, which may involve inhibitory control and attention switching. A relationship between verbal creativity and regional WMV in the left and right IFG was also observed. Overall, a highly verbal creative individual with superior verbal skills may demonstrate a greater computational efficiency in the brain areas involved in high-level cognitive processes including language production, semantic representation and cognitive control.

Differentiating the World History Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lasher, Mary E.

1986-01-01

An honors world history course for gifted tenth graders compacted traditional content while offering differential reading materials and content as well as differentiated skill development. Unusual activities, such as international feast and historical persons party, stressed divergent thinking. (CL)

Creative motivation: creative achievement predicts cardiac autonomic markers of effort during divergent thinking.

PubMed

Silvia, Paul J; Beaty, Roger E; Nusbaum, Emily C; Eddington, Kari M; Kwapil, Thomas R

2014-10-01

Executive approaches to creativity emphasize that generating creative ideas can be hard and requires mental effort. Few studies, however, have examined effort-related physiological activity during creativity tasks. Using motivational intensity theory as a framework, we examined predictors of effort-related cardiac activity during a creative challenge. A sample of 111 adults completed a divergent thinking task. Sympathetic (PEP and RZ) and parasympathetic (RSA and RMSSD) outcomes were assessed using impedance cardiography. As predicted, people with high creative achievement (measured with the Creative Achievement Questionnaire) showed significantly greater increases in sympathetic activity from baseline to task, reflecting higher effort. People with more creative achievements generated ideas that were significantly more creative, and creative performance correlated marginally with PEP and RZ. The results support the view that creative thought can be a mental challenge. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Creativity and dementia: a review.

PubMed

Palmiero, Massimiliano; Di Giacomo, Dina; Passafiume, Domenico

2012-08-01

In these last years, creativity was found to play an important role for dementia patients in terms of diagnosis and rehabilitation strategies. This led us to explore the relationships between dementia and creativity. At the aim, artistic creativity and divergent thinking are considered both in non-artists and artists affected by different types of dementia. In general, artistic creativity can be expressed in exceptional cases both in Alzheimer's disease and Frontotemporal dementia, whereas divergent thinking decreases in dementia. The creation of paintings or music is anyway important for expressing emotions and well-being. Yet, creativity seems to emerge when the right prefrontal cortex, posterior temporal, and parietal areas are relatively intact, whereas it declines when these areas are damaged. However, enhanced creativity in dementia is not confirmed by controlled studies conducted in non-artists, and whether artists with dementia can show creativity has to be fully addressed. Future research directions are suggested.

Cognitive Styles and Virtual Environments.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ford, Nigel

2000-01-01

Discussion of navigation through virtual information environments focuses on the need for robust user models that take into account individual differences. Considers Pask's information processing styles and strategies; deep (transformational) and surface (reproductive) learning; field dependence/independence; divergent/convergent thinking;…

Thinking Cap Plus Thinking Zap: tDCS of Frontopolar Cortex Improves Creative Analogical Reasoning and Facilitates Conscious Augmentation of State Creativity in Verb Generation.

PubMed

Green, Adam E; Spiegel, Katherine A; Giangrande, Evan J; Weinberger, Adam B; Gallagher, Natalie M; Turkeltaub, Peter E

2017-04-01

Recent neuroimaging evidence indicates neural mechanisms that support transient improvements in creative performance (augmented state creativity) in response to cognitive interventions (creativity cueing). Separately, neural interventions via tDCS show encouraging potential for modulating neuronal function during creative performance. If cognitive and neural interventions are separately effective, can they be combined? Does state creativity augmentation represent "real" creativity, or do interventions simply yield divergence by diminishing meaningfulness/appropriateness? Can augmenting state creativity bolster creative reasoning that supports innovation, particularly analogical reasoning? To address these questions, we combined tDCS with creativity cueing. Testing a regionally specific hypothesis from neuroimaging, high-definition tDCS-targeted frontopolar cortex activity recently shown to predict state creativity augmentation. In a novel analogy finding task, participants under tDCS formulated substantially more creative analogical connections in a large matrix search space (creativity indexed via latent semantic analysis). Critically, increased analogical creativity was not due to diminished accuracy in discerning valid analogies, indicating "real" creativity rather than inappropriate divergence. A simpler relational creativity paradigm (modified verb generation) revealed a tDCS-by-cue interaction; tDCS further enhanced creativity cue-related increases in semantic distance. Findings point to the potential of noninvasive neuromodulation to enhance creative relational cognition, including augmentation of the deliberate effort to formulate connections between distant concepts. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Systems thinking.

PubMed

Cabrera, Derek; Colosi, Laura; Lobdell, Claire

2008-08-01

Evaluation is one of many fields where "systems thinking" is popular and is said to hold great promise. However, there is disagreement about what constitutes systems thinking. Its meaning is ambiguous, and systems scholars have made diverse and divergent attempts to describe it. Alternative origins include: von Bertalanffy, Aristotle, Lao Tsu or multiple aperiodic "waves." Some scholars describe it as synonymous with systems sciences (i.e., nonlinear dynamics, complexity, chaos). Others view it as taxonomy-a laundry list of systems approaches. Within so much noise, it is often difficult for evaluators to find the systems thinking signal. Recent work in systems thinking describes it as an emergent property of four simple conceptual patterns (rules). For an evaluator to become a "systems thinker", he or she need not spend years learning many methods or nonlinear sciences. Instead, with some practice, one can learn to apply these four simple rules to existing evaluation knowledge with transformative results.

Best Practice Strategies for Effective Use of Questions as a Teaching Tool

PubMed Central

Elsner, Jamie; Haines, Stuart T.

2013-01-01

Questions have long been used as a teaching tool by teachers and preceptors to assess students’ knowledge, promote comprehension, and stimulate critical thinking. Well-crafted questions lead to new insights, generate discussion, and promote the comprehensive exploration of subject matter. Poorly constructed questions can stifle learning by creating confusion, intimidating students, and limiting creative thinking. Teachers most often ask lower-order, convergent questions that rely on students’ factual recall of prior knowledge rather than asking higher-order, divergent questions that promote deep thinking, requiring students to analyze and evaluate concepts. This review summarizes the taxonomy of questions, provides strategies for formulating effective questions, and explores practical considerations to enhance student engagement and promote critical thinking. These concepts can be applied in the classroom and in experiential learning environments. PMID:24052658

Best practice strategies for effective use of questions as a teaching tool.

PubMed

Tofade, Toyin; Elsner, Jamie; Haines, Stuart T

2013-09-12

Questions have long been used as a teaching tool by teachers and preceptors to assess students' knowledge, promote comprehension, and stimulate critical thinking. Well-crafted questions lead to new insights, generate discussion, and promote the comprehensive exploration of subject matter. Poorly constructed questions can stifle learning by creating confusion, intimidating students, and limiting creative thinking. Teachers most often ask lower-order, convergent questions that rely on students' factual recall of prior knowledge rather than asking higher-order, divergent questions that promote deep thinking, requiring students to analyze and evaluate concepts. This review summarizes the taxonomy of questions, provides strategies for formulating effective questions, and explores practical considerations to enhance student engagement and promote critical thinking. These concepts can be applied in the classroom and in experiential learning environments.

Improving creativity performance by short-term meditation

PubMed Central

2014-01-01

Background One form of meditation intervention, the integrative body-mind training (IBMT) has been shown to improve attention, reduce stress and change self-reports of mood. In this paper we examine whether short-term IBMT can improve performance related to creativity and determine the role that mood may play in such improvement. Methods Forty Chinese undergraduates were randomly assigned to short-term IBMT group or a relaxation training (RT) control group. Mood and creativity performance were assessed by the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) and Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) questionnaire respectively. Results As predicted, the results indicated that short-term (30 min per day for 7 days) IBMT improved creativity performance on the divergent thinking task, and yielded better emotional regulation than RT. In addition, cross-lagged analysis indicated that both positive and negative affect may influence creativity in IBMT group (not RT group). Conclusions Our results suggested that emotion-related creativity-promoting mechanism may be attributed to short-term meditation. PMID:24645871

Theories for the Classroom: Connections between Research and Practice.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kieren, Thomas E.

1997-01-01

Builds a case for possible connections between the discipline of mathematics education and the practice of mathematics education in the classroom. Focuses on constructivist, interactionist, and enactivist theorizing and research. Argues that this approach offers opportunities for divergent thinking. (DDR)

Patterns of thinking about phylogenetic trees: A study of student learning and the potential of tree thinking to improve comprehension of biological concepts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Naegle, Erin

Evolution education is a critical yet challenging component of teaching and learning biology. There is frequently an emphasis on natural selection when teaching about evolution and conducting educational research. A full understanding of evolution, however, integrates evolutionary processes, such as natural selection, with the resulting evolutionary patterns, such as species divergence. Phylogenetic trees are models of evolutionary patterns. The perspective gained from understanding biology through phylogenetic analyses is referred to as tree thinking. Due to the increasing prevalence of tree thinking in biology, understanding how to read phylogenetic trees is an important skill for students to learn. Interpreting graphics is not an intuitive process, as graphical representations are semiotic objects. This is certainly true concerning phylogenetic tree interpretation. Previous research and anecdotal evidence report that students struggle to correctly interpret trees. The objective of this research was to describe and investigate the rationale underpinning the prior knowledge of introductory biology students' tree thinking Understanding prior knowledge is valuable as prior knowledge influences future learning. In Chapter 1, qualitative methods such as semi-structured interviews were used to explore patterns of student rationale in regard to tree thinking. Seven common tree thinking misconceptions are described: (1) Equating the degree of trait similarity with the extent of relatedness, (2) Environmental change is a necessary prerequisite to evolution, (3) Essentialism of species, (4) Evolution is inherently progressive, (5) Evolution is a linear process, (6) Not all species are related, and (7) Trees portray evolution through the hybridization of species. These misconceptions are based in students' incomplete or incorrect understanding of evolution. These misconceptions are often reinforced by the misapplication of cultural conventions to make sense of trees. Chapter 2 explores the construction, validity, and reliability of a tree thinking concept inventory. Concept inventories are research based instruments that diagnose faulty reasoning among students. Such inventories are tools for improving teaching and learning of concepts. Test scores indicate that tree thinking misconceptions are held by novice and intermediate biology students. Finally, Chapter 3 presents a tree thinking rubric. The rubric aids teachers in selecting and improving introductory tree thinking learning exercises that address students' tree thinking misconceptions.

A neuropsychological study of personality: trait openness in relation to intelligence, fluency, and executive functioning.

PubMed

Schretlen, David J; van der Hulst, Egberdina-Józefa; Pearlson, Godfrey D; Gordon, Barry

2010-12-01

Openness is a personality trait that has been linked to intelligence and divergent thinking. DeYoung, Peterson, and Higgins (2005) theorized that trait Openness depends on dopamine function, especially in the prefrontal cortex. We tested their theory in 335 healthy adults by hypothesizing that individual differences in Openness would correlate more strongly with performance on tests of executive function than on tests of intelligence and fluency. However, Openness correlated more strongly with verbal/crystallized intelligence (Gc; r = .44) than with executive functioning (r = .16) and fluency (r = .24). Further, the partial correlation between Openness and Gc increased from r = .26 among young adults to r = .53 among elderly adults. These findings suggest that Openness is more closely associated with the acquisition of broad verbal intellectual skills and knowledge than with executive abilities localized to a specific brain region or neurotransmitter system.

Curriculum: To Integrate or Not To Integrate.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Miller, Kathleen A.

Teachers who use cooperative, integrated methods will produce students more competent in problem solving techniques, communicating effectively, and working cooperatively with others. Benefits of an integrated curriculum include: (1) reaching students with different learning types; (2) developing critical and divergent thinking skills in students;…

Mathematics Laboratories--More than Fun

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vance, James H.; Kieren, Thomas E.

1972-01-01

The study assessed the effectiveness of methematical laboratories as compared with the regular mathematics teaching program. A control group, mathematical laboratory group, and a third group called a Class Discovery Group were formed for making comparisons. Gains were higher on cumulative achievement, transfer, and divergent thinking measures for…

Psychoses and creativity: is the missing link a biological mechanism related to phospholipids turnover?

PubMed Central

Folley, Bradley S.; Doop, Mikisha L.; Park, Sohee

2009-01-01

Recent evidence suggests that genetic and biochemical factors associated with psychoses may also provide an increased propensity to think creatively. The evolutionary theories linking brain growth and diet to the appearance of creative endeavors have been made recently, but they lack a direct link to research on the biological correlates of divergent and creative thought. Expanding upon Horrobin’s theory that changes in brain size and in neural microconnectivity came about as a result of changes in dietary fat and phospholipid incorporation of highly unsaturated fatty acids, we propose a theory relating phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity to the neuromodulatory effects of the noradrenergic system. This theory offers probable links between attention, divergent thinking, and arousal through a mechanism that emphasizes optimal individual functioning of the PLA2 and NE systems as they interact with structural and biochemical states of the brain. We hope that this theory will stimulate new research in the neural basis of creativity and its connection to psychoses. PMID:14623501

[Motivation effect on power changes in the brain biopotentials in the figurative and verbal creativity tasks].

PubMed

Razumnikova, O M; Vol'f, N V; Tarasova, I V

2007-01-01

Effect of extrinsic motivation stimulating the most original problem solving during verbal and figurative divergent thinking was studied by EEG mapping. The righthanded university students (27 males and 26 females) participated in the experiments. An instruction "to create the most original solution" as compared to condition with an instruction "to create any solution" induced an increase in the baseline power of the alpha 1 and alpha 2 rhythms most pronounced in the posterior cortex. Task-related desynchronization of the alpha rhythms was higher but the beta-2 synchronization was lower after the former than after the latter instruction. Differences in the asymmetry of the alpha 1 and alpha 2 rhythms in the parietal and temporal regions of hemispheres suggested the right hemisphere dominance in intrinsic alertness and evoked activation related to divergent thinking. The findings were common and gender-independent in both figurative and verbal tasks suggesting a generalized influence of extrinsic motivation on creative activity.

[Bioethics of principles].

PubMed

Pérez-Soba Díez del Corral, Juan José

2008-01-01

Bioethics emerges about the tecnological problems of acting in human life. Emerges also the problem of the moral limits determination, because they seem exterior of this practice. The Bioethics of Principles, take his rationality of the teleological thinking, and the autonomism. These divergence manifest the epistemological fragility and the great difficulty of hmoralñ thinking. This is evident in the determination of autonomy's principle, it has not the ethical content of Kant's propose. We need a new ethic rationality with a new refelxion of new Principles whose emerges of the basic ethic experiences.

Creativity on tap? Effects of alcohol intoxication on creative cognition

PubMed Central

Benedek, Mathias; Panzierer, Lisa; Jauk, Emanuel; Neubauer, Aljoscha C.

2017-01-01

Anecdotal reports link alcohol intoxication to creativity, while cognitive research highlights the crucial role of cognitive control for creative thought. This study examined the effects of mild alcohol intoxication on creative cognition in a placebo-controlled design. Participants completed executive and creative cognition tasks before and after consuming either alcoholic beer (BAC of 0.03) or non-alcoholic beer (placebo). Alcohol impaired executive control, but improved performance in the Remote Associates Test, and did not affect divergent thinking ability. The findings indicate that certain aspects of creative cognition benefit from mild attenuations of cognitive control, and contribute to the growing evidence that higher cognitive control is not always associated with better cognitive performance. PMID:28705663

Mean diffusivity of globus pallidus associated with verbal creativity measured by divergent thinking and creativity‐related temperaments in young healthy adults

PubMed Central

Taki, Yasuyuki; Sekiguchi, Atsushi; Hashizume, Hiroshi; Nouchi, Rui; Sassa, Yuko; Kotozaki, Yuka; Miyauchi, Carlos Makoto; Yokoyama, Ryoichi; Iizuka, Kunio; Nakagawa, Seishu; Nagase, Tomomi; Kunitoki, Keiko; Kawashima, Ryuta

2015-01-01

Abstract Recent investigations revealed mean diffusivity (MD) in gray matter and white matter areas is correlated with individual cognitive differences in healthy subjects and show unique properties and sensitivity that other neuroimaging tools donot have. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the MD in the dopaminergic system is associated with individual differences in verbal creativity measured by divergent thinking (VCDT) and novelty seeking based on prior studies suggesting associations between these and dopaminergic functions. We examined this issue in a large sample of right‐handed healthy young adults. We used analyses of MD and a psychological measure of VCDT, as well as personality measures of the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). Our results revealed associations between higher VCDT and lower MD in the bilateral globus pallidus. Furthermore, not only higher novelty seeking, but also lower harm avoidance, higher self‐directedness, and higher self‐transcendence were robustly associated with lower MD in the right globus pallidus, whereas higher persistence was associated with lower MD in the left globus pallidus. These personality variables were also associated with VCDT. The globus pallidus receives the dopaminergic input from the substantia nigra and plays a key role in motivation which is critically linked to dopamine. These results suggested the MD in the globus pallidus, underlie the association between VCDT and multiple personalities in TCI including novelty seeking. Hum Brain Mapp 36:1808–1827, 2015. © 2015 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. PMID:25627674

Lean Forward and Listen: poetry as a mode of understanding in medicine.

PubMed

Andrews, Angela

2015-01-01

Many claims have been made over recent years for the use of poetry (and, more broadly, literature) in the curriculum of medical students. Most often, poetry is put forward as having the potential to humanize medicine by promoting, for example, empathy, ethical sensitivity, and an appreciation for diverging interpretations. While these endpoints are all important, this essay uses the experience of a junior doctor undertaking a degree in creative writing to consider how the poetic way of seeing and thinking differs from clinical thinking, and why that might matter. In particular, the author considers the importance in medicine of the capacity to not know, as well as the possibilities for a deeper understanding of patients offered by thinking in terms of poetic voice.

Scientific Literacy: Resurrecting the Phoenix with Thinking Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deming, John C.; O'Donnell, Jacqueline R.; Malone, Christopher J.

2012-01-01

Prior research suggests that students' understanding of scientific concepts is pre-determined by their reasoning ability. Other efforts suggest that American students' scientific literacy is in decline. One difficulty Bybee (2009) acknowledges is that there are two divergent philosophical models of scientific literacy. The first describes the…

Identifying Creativity during Problem Solving Using Linguistic Features

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skalicky, Stephen; Crossley, Scott A.; McNamara, Danielle S.; Muldner, Kasia

2017-01-01

Creativity is commonly assessed using divergent thinking tasks, which measure the fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration of participant output on a variety of different tasks. This study assesses the degree to which creativity can be identified based on linguistic features of participants' language while completing collaborative…

Effects of Logo Instruction on Cognitive Style.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cathcart, W. George

1990-01-01

Describes study that was conducted with fifth graders to investigate the effects of Logo instruction on three measures of cognitive style: divergent thinking, field dependence/independence, and impulsivity/reflectivity. Treatments of the experimental and control groups are explained, and results of pretests and posttests are analyzed. (11…

Strategic Planning as a Basis for Restructuring Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Adams, Charles F.; Mecca, Thomas V.

An educational planning model and instructional approach to prepare school administrators for the role of strategic planners are described. The model, ED QUEST, integrates future research techniques and divergent thinking modes into a participatory group process that provides visions of alternative futures. Primary activities in the process…

Dynamics at Intermediate Time Scales and Management of Ecological Populations

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-10

thinking about the importance of transients is to recognize the importance of serial autocorrelation in time of forcing terms over realistic ecological time...rich areas helps produce divergent home range responses bet - ween individuals from difference age classes. This model has broad applications for

Do Students Need to Be Taught How to Reason?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kuhn, Deanna

2009-01-01

In this theoretical essay, the author addresses the existence of divergent evidence, portraying both competence and lack of competence in a fundamental realm of higher order thinking--causal and scientific reasoning--and explores the educational implications. Evidence indicates that these higher order reasoning skills are not ones that can be…

Characteristics Leading Teachers to Nominate Secondary Students as Gifted in Spain

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hernandez-Torrano, Daniel; Prieto, Maria Dolores; Ferrandiz, Carmen; Bermejo, Rosario; Sainz, Marta

2013-01-01

What are the characteristics leading teachers to nominate gifted students in Spain? To answer this question, several demographic (i.e., gender, grade) and psychological (i.e., multiple intelligences, emotional intelligence, intellectual aptitude, and divergent thinking) characteristics of 563 secondary students nominated as gifted by their…

Pleasantness of Creative Tasks and Creative Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zenasni, Franck; Lubart, Todd

2011-01-01

To examine the impact of emotion on creative potential, experimental studies have typically focused on the impact of induced or spontaneous mood states on creative performance. In this report the relationship between the perceived pleasantness of tasks (using divergent thinking and story writing tasks) and creative performance was examined.…

The Effects of Foreign Language Learning on Creativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ghonsooly, Behzad; Showqi, Sara

2012-01-01

The present study investigates the possible influence of foreign language learning on individuals' divergent thinking abilities. Unlike the large body of research devoted to unfolding the effect of bilingualism on cognitive functions, foreign language learning has gained little attention. This study aimed at bringing into attention the distinctive…

The Perspectives of Policy Researchers: A Synthesis of Special Issue Contributions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mullin, Christopher M.

2015-01-01

This article summarizes the divergent perspectives found across the 14 articles written by individuals from three types of policy research organizations--think tanks, regional collaborative organizations, and university-based institutes and centers--for this special issue of the "Community College Journal of Research and Practice." It…

Centripetal Thinking in Curriculum Studies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hlebowitsh, Peter

2010-01-01

After years of generating divergent approaches to scholarship, cast mostly as reactions against a historical orthodoxy, the curriculum studies community is now looking at a new dialectic--one marked by a physics that pull ideas inward toward some centripetal center. The tension between looking for unifying ideas as they articulate with a…

Pretend Play: Antecedent of Adult Creativity

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Russ, Sandra W.

2016-01-01

This article reviews the theoretical and empirical literature in the area of pretend play as a predictor of adult creativity. There is strong evidence that processes expressed in pretend play are associated with measures of creativity, especially with divergent thinking. There is some evidence from longitudinal studies that this association is…

Divergent Thinking Abilities across the Schizophrenic Spectrum and Other Psychological Correlates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rodrigue, Amanda L.; Perkins, David R.

2012-01-01

The literature on the connection between psychopathology and creativity is vast and recent research has focused on the relationship between the schizophrenic spectrum and creativity. The schizophrenic spectrum includes genetically related disorders that share certain symptom features. It has been suggested that schizotypal personality disorder, a…

Exploring the Role and Value of Creativity in Education for Sustainability

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sandri, Orana Jade

2013-01-01

Creativity, innovation and divergent thinking are routinely expected to help people envision and implement alternative practices to the status quo. However, these do not feature strongly in the literature on education for sustainability in higher education (HE), and especially graduate competencies or capabilities for sustainability. The paper…

Creativity and Tolerance of Ambiguity: An Empirical Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zenasni, Franck; Besancon, Maud; Lubart, Todd

2008-01-01

This study examines the relationship between creativity and tolerance of ambiguity. Participants were parents and their adolescent children. Three measures of creativity were used: a divergent thinking task, a story-writing task and self-evaluation of creative attitudes and behavior. Participants completed two self-report measures of tolerance of…

Innovation in the Elementary Classroom

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wright, Geoffrey A.; Jones, Matthew D.

2018-01-01

In this article, the authors outline an innovation curriculum that can be taught to elementary-aged students to expand their creative and innovative abilities and potential. The curriculum focuses on divergent and convergent thinking principles embedded in a hands-on learning pedagogy. The curriculum framework is based on an innovation model known…

Grow Creativity!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shively, Candace Hackett

2011-01-01

Creativity matters. A shared vocabulary and lens for creativity helps teachers and students know what it means to "be creative" and where to start. J. P. Guilford's FFOE model of divergent thinking from the 1950s offers four dimensions to describe creativity: (1) Fluency; (2) Flexibility; (3) Originality; and (4) Elaboration. FFOE makes time spent…

Faculty's Response to Globally Divergent Thinking in American College Classrooms: An Autoethnographic Reflection

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ndemanu, Michael T.

2014-01-01

The paper is an autoethnographic reflection of my experiences as a graduate student in two Midwestern universities. I argue that although "internationalization at home" remains the only easily affordable route to bringing global knowledge to domestic students' doorsteps, higher education institutions are not effectively exploiting the…

Visual Creativity across Cultures: A Comparison between Italians and Japanese

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Palmiero, Massimiliano; Nakatani, Chie; van Leeuwen, Cees

2017-01-01

Culture-related differences in visual creativity were investigated, comparing Italian and Japanese participants in terms of divergent (figural completion task) and product-oriented thinking (figural combination task). Visual restructuring ability was measured as the ability to reinterpret ambiguous figures and was included as a covariate. Results…

Beginning Reading: Are We Doing Only Half the Job?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Willems, Arnold L.

1979-01-01

Current theories about teaching children to read overemphasize use of the left brain hemisphere. Children with a right-hemisphere dominance are likely to experience difficulties unless reading experiences are planned which capitalize on right-brain characteristics: divergent thinking and creative activities, hands-on experiences, and free reading.…

The Relationship of Hypomania, Creativity, and Suicidal Ideation in Undergraduates

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Drapeau, Christopher W.; DeBrule, Daniel S.

2013-01-01

Elevations in hypomanic symptoms have been linked to high levels of creativity, and clinicians assess hypomania as one means of identifying individuals most at risk for attempting suicide among individuals diagnosed with depression. However, potential relationships between hypomania, creativity (i.e., divergent thinking and creative achievement),…

Creating Cartoons to Promote Leaderships Skills and Explore Leadership Qualities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Latisha L.; Clausen, Courtney K.; Teske, Jolene K.; Ghayoorrad, Maryam; Gray, Phyllis; Al Subia, Sukainah; Atwood-Blaine, Dana; Rule, Audrey C.

2015-01-01

This document describes a strategy for increasing student leadership and creativity skills through the creation of cartoons. Creating cartoons engages students in divergent thinking and cognitive processes, such as perception, recall, and mental processing. When students create cartoons focused on a particular topic, they are making connections to…

An Exploratory Study of Creativity, Personality and Schooling Achievement

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Berlin, Noémi; Tavani, Jean-Louis; Beasançon, Maud

2016-01-01

We investigate the link between schooling achievement and creativity scores, controlling for personality traits and other individual characteristics. Our study is based on field data collected in a secondary school situated in a Parisian suburb. Four scores of creativity were measured on 9th graders. Verbal divergent thinking negatively predicts…

The structure of creative cognition in the human brain

PubMed Central

Jung, Rex E.; Mead, Brittany S.; Carrasco, Jessica; Flores, Ranee A.

2013-01-01

Creativity is a vast construct, seemingly intractable to scientific inquiry—perhaps due to the vague concepts applied to the field of research. One attempt to limit the purview of creative cognition formulates the construct in terms of evolutionary constraints, namely that of blind variation and selective retention (BVSR). Behaviorally, one can limit the “blind variation” component to idea generation tests as manifested by measures of divergent thinking. The “selective retention” component can be represented by measures of convergent thinking, as represented by measures of remote associates. We summarize results from measures of creative cognition, correlated with structural neuroimaging measures including structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), and proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS). We also review lesion studies, considered to be the “gold standard” of brain-behavioral studies. What emerges is a picture consistent with theories of disinhibitory brain features subserving creative cognition, as described previously (Martindale, 1981). We provide a perspective, involving aspects of the default mode network (DMN), which might provide a “first approximation” regarding how creative cognition might map on to the human brain. PMID:23847503

Creativity on tap? Effects of alcohol intoxication on creative cognition.

PubMed

Benedek, Mathias; Panzierer, Lisa; Jauk, Emanuel; Neubauer, Aljoscha C

2017-11-01

Anecdotal reports link alcohol intoxication to creativity, while cognitive research highlights the crucial role of cognitive control for creative thought. This study examined the effects of mild alcohol intoxication on creative cognition in a placebo-controlled design. Participants completed executive and creative cognition tasks before and after consuming either alcoholic beer (BAC of 0.03) or non-alcoholic beer (placebo). Alcohol impaired executive control, but improved performance in the Remote Associates Test, and did not affect divergent thinking ability. The findings indicate that certain aspects of creative cognition benefit from mild attenuations of cognitive control, and contribute to the growing evidence that higher cognitive control is not always associated with better cognitive performance. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Tackling creativity at its roots: Evidence for different patterns of EEG alpha activity related to convergent and divergent modes of task processing

PubMed Central

Jauk, Emanuel; Benedek, Mathias; Neubauer, Aljoscha C.

2012-01-01

The distinction between convergent and divergent cognitive processes given by Guilford (1956) had a strong influence on the empirical research on creative thinking. Neuroscientific studies typically find higher event-related synchronization in the EEG alpha rhythm for individuals engaged in creative ideation tasks compared to intelligence-related tasks. This study examined, whether these neurophysiological effects can also be found when both cognitive processing modes (convergent vs. divergent) are assessed by means of the same task employing a simple variation of instruction. A sample of 55 participants performed the alternate uses task as well as a more basic word association task while EEG was recorded. On a trial-by-trial basis, participants were either instructed to find a most common solution (convergent condition) or a most uncommon solution (divergent condition). The answers given in the divergent condition were in both tasks significantly more original than those in the convergent condition. Moreover, divergent processing was found to involve higher task-related EEG alpha power than convergent processing in both the alternate uses task and the word association task. EEG alpha synchronization can hence explicitly be associated with divergent cognitive processing rather than with general task characteristics of creative ideation tasks. Further results point to a differential involvement of frontal and parietal cortical areas by individuals of lower versus higher trait creativity. PMID:22390860

Re-ED: Science Catches up with Belief

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shepard, Lisa M.; Freado, Mark D.

2012-01-01

Fifty years ago, psychologist Nicholas Hobbs led a group of divergent thinking professionals who introduced a new way of perceiving the problems and needs of young people. The National Institute of Mental Health gave a two-million-dollar grant to George Peabody College for Teachers, now a part of Vanderbilt University. Hobbs and colleagues studied…

How Creativity Was Affected by Environmental Factors and Individual Characteristics: A Cross-Cultural Comparison Perspective

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Deng, Lifang; Wang, Lijuan; Zhao, Yanyun

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore how environmental factors (family environment and school education) and individual characteristics (personality, creative attitudes, and divergent thinking) collectively affect creative achievement of American and Chinese college students. Data were collected from 378 college students in the United States…

Winning the Future: An Investigation into the Creativity Capacity across the Levels of Education in Ireland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leahy, Keelin

2016-01-01

This research investigated the creativity capacity across the levels of education in Ireland, involving 702 participants. Creative capacity was investigated through a comparative analysis of creativity quotient (CQ). A divergent thinking task comprising the "how many uses" activity was assessed using the criteria for determining CQ;…

Con-/Divergences between Postcolonial and Critical Peace Education: Towards Pedagogies of Decolonization in Peace Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zembylas, Michalinos

2018-01-01

This paper focuses on the limitations of the Eurocentric modernist framework that undergirds Freirean theory and critical pedagogy in relation to critical peace education, highlighting in particular the contributions of post-colonial and decolonial thinking. The paper posits that critical approaches to peace education need to consider these…

Regulated Divergence: Textual Patterns, Creativity and Cognitive Emotion Regulation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kopcsó, Krisztina; Láng, András

2017-01-01

According to literature, several forms of creativity relate to primary process and adaptive regression. The major aim of this study was to examine whether a specific pattern of creativity and primary- and secondary-process thinking could be identified among stories while investigating some personal variables. 78 undergraduate students (41 women,…

Quality, Conformity, and Conflict: Questioning the Assumptions of Osborn's Brainstorming Technique

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldenberg, Olga; Wiley, Jennifer

2011-01-01

Divergent thinking tasks are a popular basis for research on group creative problem solving, or brainstorming. The brainstorming literature has been dominated by research that investigates group performance by measuring the total number of generated ideas using the original rules put forth by Osborn (1953). This review of empirical literature on…

Designing EEG Neurofeedback Procedures to Enhance Open-Ended versus Closed-Ended Creative Potentials

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lin, Wei-Lun; Shih, Yi-Ling

2016-01-01

Recent empirical evidence demonstrated that open-ended creativity (which refers to creativity measures that require various and numerous responses, such as divergent thinking) correlated with alpha brain wave activation, whereas closed-ended creativity (which refers to creativity measures that ask for one final correct answer, such as insight…

Encouraging Creativity in the Face of Administrative Convenience: How Our Schools Discourage Divergent Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geist, Eugene; Hohn, Jennifer

2009-01-01

This article reports observations of 2 classrooms in which arts based creative activities were integrated with curricular subject areas. One successfully incorporated a positive approach to supporting creativity. The other classroom used a more traditional approach to creative activities in the classroom. Suggestions for and possible outcomes of…

Individual Difference Predictors of Creativity in Art and Science Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Furnham, Adrian; Batey, Mark; Booth, Tom W.; Patel, Vikita; Lozinskaya, Dariya

2011-01-01

Two studies are reported that used multiple measures of creativity to investigate creativity differences and correlates in arts and science students. The first study examined Divergent Thinking fluency, Self-Rated Creativity and Creative Achievement in matched groups of Art and Science students. Arts students scored higher than Science students on…

Improving Creative Problem-Solving in a Sample of Third Culture Kids

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Young Ju; Bain, Sherry K.; McCallum, R. Steve

2007-01-01

We investigated the effects of divergent thinking training (with explicit instruction) on problem-solving tasks in a sample of Third Culture Kids (Useem and Downie, 1976). We were specifically interested in whether the children's originality and fluency in responding increased following instruction, not only on classroom-based worksheets and the…

Openness to Experience and Intellect differentially predict creative achievement in the arts and sciences

PubMed Central

Kaufman, Scott Barry; Quilty, Lena C.; Grazioplene, Rachael G.; Hirsh, Jacob B.; Gray, Jeremy R.; Peterson, Jordan B.; DeYoung, Colin G.

2014-01-01

Objective The Big Five personality dimension Openness/Intellect is the trait most closely associated with creativity and creative achievement. Little is known, however, regarding the discriminant validity of its two aspects— Openness to Experience (reflecting cognitive engagement with perception, fantasy, aesthetics, and emotions) and Intellect (reflecting cognitive engagement with abstract and semantic information, primarily through reasoning)— in relation to creativity. Method In four demographically diverse samples totaling 1035 participants, we investigated the independent predictive validity of Openness and Intellect by assessing the relations among cognitive ability, divergent thinking, personality, and creative achievement across the arts and sciences. Results and Conclusions We confirmed the hypothesis that whereas Openness predicts creative achievement in the arts, Intellect predicts creative achievement in the sciences. Inclusion of performance measures of general cognitive ability and divergent thinking indicated that the relation of Intellect to scientific creativity may be due at least in part to these abilities. Lastly, we found that Extraversion additionally predicted creative achievement in the arts, independently of Openness. Results are discussed in the context of dual-process theory. PMID:25487993

Oxytonergic circuitry sustains and enables creative cognition in humans

PubMed Central

Baas, Matthijs; Roskes, Marieke; Sligte, Daniel J.; Ebstein, Richard P.; Chew, Soo Hong; Tong, Terry; Jiang, Yushi; Mayseless, Naama; Shamay-Tsoory, Simone G.

2014-01-01

Creativity enables humans to adapt flexibly to changing circumstances, to manage complex social relations and to survive and prosper through social, technological and medical innovations. In humans, chronic, trait-based as well as temporary, state-based approach orientation has been linked to increased capacity for divergent rather than convergent thinking, to more global and holistic processing styles and to more original ideation and creative problem solving. Here, we link creative cognition to oxytocin, a hypothalamic neuropeptide known to up-regulate approach orientation in both animals and humans. Study 1 (N = 492) showed that plasma oxytocin predicts novelty-seeking temperament. Study 2 (N = 110) revealed that genotype differences in a polymorphism in the oxytocin receptor gene rs1042778 predicted creative ideation, with GG/GT-carriers being more original than TT-carriers. Using double-blind placebo-controlled between-subjects designs, Studies 3–6 (N = 191) finally showed that intranasal oxytocin (vs matching placebo) reduced analytical reasoning, and increased holistic processing, divergent thinking and creative performance. We conclude that the oxytonergic circuitry sustains and enables the day-to-day creativity humans need for survival and prosperity and discuss implications. PMID:23863476

The associations among the dopamine D2 receptor Taq1, emotional intelligence, creative potential measured by divergent thinking, and motivational state and these associations' sex differences.

PubMed

Takeuchi, Hikaru; Tomita, Hiroaki; Taki, Yasuyuki; Kikuchi, Yoshie; Ono, Chiaki; Yu, Zhiqian; Sekiguchi, Atsushi; Nouchi, Rui; Kotozaki, Yuka; Nakagawa, Seishu; Miyauchi, Carlos M; Iizuka, Kunio; Yokoyama, Ryoichi; Shinada, Takamitsu; Yamamoto, Yuki; Hanawa, Sugiko; Araki, Tsuyoshi; Hashizume, Hiroshi; Kunitoki, Keiko; Sassa, Yuko; Kawashima, Ryuta

2015-01-01

Previous neuroscientific studies have shown that the dopaminergic system plays an important role in creative potential measured by divergent thinking (CPMDT), emotional control, and motivational state. However, although associations between two of these four components have been previously established (e.g., the association between CPMDT and emotional control, the association between CPMDT and motivational state, etc.), the interactions between these four remain unknown. The purpose of this study was to reveal these interactions using path analyses. The Taq1A polymorphism of the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) gene was used for this purpose. For measuring emotional intelligence (EI), we used the Japanese version of the Emotional Intelligence Scale. CPMDT was measured using the S-A creativity test. Motivational state was measured using the Vigor subscale of the Japanese version of the Profile of Mood Scale (POMS). Data from 766 healthy, right-handed individuals (426 men and 340 women; 20.7 ± 1.9 years of age) were used in this study. There were significant and robust positive relationships among measures of CPMDT, EI, and motivational state across sex. In addition, the polymorphism of the DRD2 gene was significantly associated with EI, specifically in females. Path analysis in females indicates that the model in which (a) the DRD2 polymorphism primarily facilitates EI, (b) EI in turn facilitates CPMDT and leads to a better motivational state, and (c) a better motivational state also directly facilitates CPMDT explains the data in the most accurate manner. This study suggested a comprehensive picture of the cascade of the associations among dopamine, EI, motivational state, and CPMDT at least in females.

Creativity measured by divergent thinking is associated with two axes of autistic characteristics

PubMed Central

Takeuchi, Hikaru; Taki, Yasuyuki; Sekiguchi, Atsushi; Nouchi, Rui; Kotozaki, Yuka; Nakagawa, Seishu; Miyauchi, Carlos M.; Iizuka, Kunio; Yokoyama, Ryoichi; Shinada, Takamitsu; Yamamoto, Yuki; Hanawa, Sugiko; Araki, Tsuyoshi; Hashizume, Hiroshi

2014-01-01

Creativity generally involves the conception of original and valuable ideas, and it plays a key role in scientific achievement. Moreover, individuals with autistic spectrum conditions (ASCs) tend to achieve in scientific fields. Recently, it has been proposed that low empathizing and high systemizing characterize individuals with ASCs. Empathizing is the drive to identify the mental status of other individuals and respond to it with an appropriate emotion; systemizing is the drive to analyze a system. It has been proposed that this higher systemizing underlies the scientific achievement of individuals with ASCs, suggesting the possible positive association between creativity and systemizing. However, previous findings on the association between ASCs and creativity were conflicting. Conversely, previous studies have suggested an association between prosocial traits and creativity, indicating the possible association between empathizing and creativity. Here we investigated the association between creativity measured by divergent thinking (CDT) and empathizing, systemizing, and the discrepancy between systemizing and empathizing, which is called D score. CDT was measured using the S-A creativity test. The individual degree of empathizing (empathizing quotient, EQ) and that of systemizing (systemizing quotient, SQ), and D score was measured via a validated questionnaire (SQ and EQ questionnaires). The results showed that higher CDT was significantly and positively correlated with both the score of EQ and the score of SQ but not with D score. These results suggest that CDT is positively associated with one of the characteristics of ASCs (analytical aspects), while exhibiting a negative association with another (lower social aspects). Therefore, the discrepancy between systemizing and empathizing, which is strongly associated with autistic tendency, was not associated with CDT. PMID:25191299

The Puzzle of HIV Neutral and Selective Evolution.

PubMed

Leitner, Thomas

2018-06-01

HIV is one of the fastest evolving organisms known. It evolves about 1 million times faster than its host, humans. Because HIV establishes chronic infections, with continuous evolution, its divergence within a single infected human surpasses the divergence of the entire humanoid history. Yet, it is still the same virus, infecting the same cell types and using the same replication machinery year after year. Hence, one would think that most mutations that HIV accumulates are neutral. But the picture is more complicated than that. HIV evolution is also a clear example of strong positive selection, that is, mutants have a survival advantage. How do these facts come together?

Test technology on divergence angle of laser range finder based on CCD imaging fusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Sheng-bing; Chen, Zhen-xing; Lv, Yao

2016-09-01

Laser range finder has been equipped with all kinds of weapons, such as tank, ship, plane and so on, is important component of fire control system. Divergence angle is important performance and incarnation of horizontal resolving power for laser range finder, is necessary appraised test item in appraisal test. In this paper, based on high accuracy test on divergence angle of laser range finder, divergence angle test system is designed based on CCD imaging, divergence angle of laser range finder is acquired through fusion technology for different attenuation imaging, problem that CCD characteristic influences divergence angle test is solved.

Remembering the Singing of Silenced Voices: Brundibár and Problems of Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dobbs, Teryl L.

2013-01-01

In this essay I explore problems of pedagogy related to Hans Krása's "Brundibár" by drawing heavily upon the thinking of two divergent theoretical perspectives regarding Holocaust testimony as advanced by Giorgio Agamben (2002) and Shoshana Felman (1992). I theorize that lodged within a space of difficult knowledge coalesced through…

The Use of Synectics as an Aid to Invention in College Composition.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heavilin, Barbara Anne

A research project examined whether students in an English 104 freshman composition class would develop the ability to think analogically and divergently by using synectics as an aid to invention in composition, and whether these students would develop a more positive attitude toward writing. (Synectics is a highly structured group activity based…

A SEM Model in Assessing the Effect of Convergent, Divergent and Logical Thinking on Students' Understanding of Chemical Phenomena

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stamovlasis, D.; Kypraios, N.; Papageorgiou, G.

2015-01-01

In this study, structural equation modeling (SEM) is applied to an instrument assessing students' understanding of chemical change. The instrument comprised items on understanding the structure of substances, chemical changes and their interpretation. The structural relationships among particular groups of items are investigated and analyzed using…

"What Do I Think about Title IX?" Voices from a University Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paule-Koba, Amanda L.; Harris, Othello; Freysinger, Valeria J.

2013-01-01

Despite the apparent benefits of Title IX, the implementation of the law remains controversial, and there are divergent beliefs regarding its impact on collegiate sport. The purpose of this study was to examine how members of a university community, whose intercollegiate sport programs have changed, perceive and make sense of Title IX and the…

Differential Effects of Methylphenidate on Problem Solving in Adults with ADHD

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tucha, Lara; Tucha, Oliver; Sontag, Thomas A.; Stasik, Dorota; Laufkotter, Rainer; Lange, Klaus W.

2011-01-01

Objective: Two studies were performed to assess both divergent and convergent thinking in adults with ADHD. Method: The first study compared the problem-solving abilities of healthy participants (N = 144) and unmedicated adults with ADHD (N = 144). In the second study, problem-solving abilities of adults with diagnosed ADHD (N = 22) were examined…

Effects of modafinil on non-verbal cognition, task enjoyment and creative thinking in healthy volunteers

PubMed Central

Müller, U.; Rowe, J.B.; Rittman, T.; Lewis, C.; Robbins, T.W.; Sahakian, B.J.

2013-01-01

Background Modafinil, a putative cognitive enhancing drug, has previously been shown to improve performance of healthy volunteers as well as patients with attention deficit disorder and schizophrenia, mainly in tests of executive functions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of modafinil on non-verbal cognitive functions in healthy volunteers, with a particular focus on variations of cognitive load, measures of motivational factors and the effects on creative problem-solving. Methods A double-blind placebo-controlled parallel design study evaluated the effect of 200 mg of modafinil (N = 32) or placebo (N = 32) in non-sleep deprived healthy volunteers. Non-verbal tests of divergent and convergent thinking were used to measure creativity. A new measure of task motivation was used, together with more levels of difficulty on neuropsychological tests from the CANTAB battery. Results Improvements under modafinil were seen on spatial working memory, planning and decision making at the most difficult levels, as well as visual pattern recognition memory following delay. Subjective ratings of enjoyment of task performance were significantly greater under modafinil compared with placebo, but mood ratings overall were not affected. The effects of modafinil on creativity were inconsistent and did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions Modafinil reliably enhanced task enjoyment and performance on several cognitive tests of planning and working memory, but did not improve paired associates learning. The findings confirm that modafinil can enhance aspects of highly demanding cognitive performance in non-sleep deprived individuals. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled ‘Cognitive Enhancers’. PMID:22820554

Effects of modafinil on non-verbal cognition, task enjoyment and creative thinking in healthy volunteers.

PubMed

Müller, U; Rowe, J B; Rittman, T; Lewis, C; Robbins, T W; Sahakian, B J

2013-01-01

Modafinil, a putative cognitive enhancing drug, has previously been shown to improve performance of healthy volunteers as well as patients with attention deficit disorder and schizophrenia, mainly in tests of executive functions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of modafinil on non-verbal cognitive functions in healthy volunteers, with a particular focus on variations of cognitive load, measures of motivational factors and the effects on creative problem-solving. A double-blind placebo-controlled parallel design study evaluated the effect of 200 mg of modafinil (N = 32) or placebo (N = 32) in non-sleep deprived healthy volunteers. Non-verbal tests of divergent and convergent thinking were used to measure creativity. A new measure of task motivation was used, together with more levels of difficulty on neuropsychological tests from the CANTAB battery. Improvements under modafinil were seen on spatial working memory, planning and decision making at the most difficult levels, as well as visual pattern recognition memory following delay. Subjective ratings of enjoyment of task performance were significantly greater under modafinil compared with placebo, but mood ratings overall were not affected. The effects of modafinil on creativity were inconsistent and did not reach statistical significance. Modafinil reliably enhanced task enjoyment and performance on several cognitive tests of planning and working memory, but did not improve paired associates learning. The findings confirm that modafinil can enhance aspects of highly demanding cognitive performance in non-sleep deprived individuals. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'Cognitive Enhancers'. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

It's not what you say, it's how many different ways you can say it: links between divergent peer resistance skills and delinquency a year later.

PubMed

Wright, A Jordan; Nichols, Tracy R; Graber, Julia A; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne; Botvin, Gilbert J

2004-11-01

To examine whether generation of 'socially appropriate' responses or divergent responses to continued peer pressure is a more effective deterrent of actual delinquency. The sample of 129 urban adolescents included both boys and girls (51.9% male) and was predominantly black (48.%) and Hispanic (28.7%). They were studied longitudinally from seventh to eighth grade in New York City from 2000-2001. Resistance strategies to offers to smoke and to shoplift were assessed in two separate videotaped role-plays. Socially appropriate responses were defined as assertive and nonaggressive, including the use of a simple no; direct, declarative statements; and offering prosocial alternatives. Divergent responses were defined as multiple unique response types within the same situation regardless of appropriateness. Data were analyzed using hierarchical logistic regressions. High use of divergent responses was consistently associated favorably with changes in delinquency from seventh to eighth grade. High use of divergent responses was associated with lowered likelihood to vandalize, steal or shoplift, and commit multiple acts of any type of delinquency, even after controlling for seventh grade delinquency. Socially appropriate responses showed little association to any delinquent behavior. Different social pressure situations and contexts may require different responses. As trying to teach effective responses for every single potential peer pressure situation would be impossible, promoting divergent thinking may be an attractive alternative.

Emergence: Complexity Pedagogy in Action

PubMed Central

Jonas-Simpson, Christine

2015-01-01

Many educators are looking for new ways to engage students and each other in order to enrich curriculum and the teaching-learning process. We describe an example of how we enacted teaching-learning approaches through the insights of complexity thinking, an approach that supports the emergence of new possibilities for teaching-learning in the classroom and online. Our story begins with an occasion to meet with 10 nursing colleagues in a three-hour workshop using four activities that engaged learning about complexity thinking and pedagogy. Guiding concepts for the collaborative workshop were nonlinearity, distributed decision-making, divergent thinking, self-organization, emergence, and creative exploration. The workshop approach considered critical questions to spark our collective inquiry. We asked, “What is emergent learning?” and “How do we, as educators and learners, engage a community so that new learning surfaces?” We integrated the arts, creative play, and perturbations within a complexity approach. PMID:25838945

Remembering the Singing of Silenced Voices: Brundibár and Problems of Pedagogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dobbs, Teryl L.

2013-01-01

In this essay I explore problems of pedagogy related to Hans Krása's "Brundibár" by drawing heavily upon the thinking of two divergent theoretical perspectives regarding Holocaust testimony as advanced by Giorgio Agamben (2002) and Shoshana Felman (1992). I theorize that lodged within a space of difficult knowledge coalesced through…

The Effect of Three Cognitive Variables on Students' Understanding of the Particulate Nature of Matter and Its Changes of State

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsitsipis, Georgios; Stamovlasis, Dimitrios; Papageorgiou, George

2010-01-01

In this study, students' understanding of the structure of matter and its changes of state such as melting, evaporation, boiling, and condensation was investigated in relation to three cognitive variables: logical thinking (LTh), field dependence/independence, and convergence/divergence dimension. The study took place in Greece with the…

Predicting creativity: the role of psychometric schizotypy and cannabis use in divergent thinking.

PubMed

Minor, Kyle S; Firmin, Ruth L; Bonfils, Kelsey A; Chun, Charlotte A; Buckner, Julia D; Cohen, Alex S

2014-12-15

Evidence suggests that divergent thinking (DT), a measure of creativity, is associated with positive schizotypy and cannabis use. Given the high rates of cannabis use among those with schizotypy, it is unclear if the relation of DT to schizotypy is due to co-occurring cannabis use. In this study, we examined the relations between DT, schizotypy, and cannabis use among positive schizotypy (n=66), negative schizotypy (n=22), and non-schizotypy (n=60) groups. Results revealed that DT was greater in the positive schizotypy group, on the order of small to medium effects, compared to negative and non-schizotypy groups. Cannabis use and DT were associated in the non-schizotypy group, but not in the positive or negative schizotypy groups. Across all groups, positive schizotypy significantly predicted DT; however, cannabis use was not a significant predictor of DT. In line with previous findings, cannabis use and DT were only related in individuals low in creativity. This suggests that a ceiling effect may be present, with only cannabis users who are low in creativity receiving any increase in DT. Future research should aim to clarify the DT-cannabis relationship. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biochemical Support for the “Threshold” Theory of Creativity: A Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study

PubMed Central

Jung, Rex E.; Gasparovic, Charles; Chavez, Robert S.; Flores, Ranee A.; Smith, Shirley M.; Caprihan, Arvind; Yeo, Ronald A.

2009-01-01

A broadly accepted definition of creativity refers to the production of something both novel and useful within a given social context. Studies of patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders and neuroimaging studies of healthy controls have each drawn attention to frontal and temporal lobe contributions to creativity. Based on previous magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy studies demonstrating relationships between cognitive ability and concentrations of N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA), a common neurometabolite, we hypothesized that NAA assessed in gray and white matter (from a supraventricular slab) would relate to laboratory measures of creativity. MR imaging and divergent thinking measures were obtained in a cohort of 56 healthy controls. Independent judges ranked the creative products of each participant, from which a “Composite Creativity Index” (CCI) was created. Different patterns of correlations between NAA and CCI were found in higher verbal ability versus lower verbal ability participants, providing neurobiological support for a critical “threshold” regarding the relationship between intelligence and creativity. To our knowledge, this is the first report assessing the relationship between brain chemistry and creative cognition, as measured with divergent thinking, in a cohort comprised exclusively of normal, healthy participants. PMID:19386928

Oxytonergic circuitry sustains and enables creative cognition in humans.

PubMed

De Dreu, Carsten K W; Baas, Matthijs; Roskes, Marieke; Sligte, Daniel J; Ebstein, Richard P; Chew, Soo Hong; Tong, Terry; Jiang, Yushi; Mayseless, Naama; Shamay-Tsoory, Simone G

2014-08-01

Creativity enables humans to adapt flexibly to changing circumstances, to manage complex social relations and to survive and prosper through social, technological and medical innovations. In humans, chronic, trait-based as well as temporary, state-based approach orientation has been linked to increased capacity for divergent rather than convergent thinking, to more global and holistic processing styles and to more original ideation and creative problem solving. Here, we link creative cognition to oxytocin, a hypothalamic neuropeptide known to up-regulate approach orientation in both animals and humans. Study 1 (N = 492) showed that plasma oxytocin predicts novelty-seeking temperament. Study 2 (N = 110) revealed that genotype differences in a polymorphism in the oxytocin receptor gene rs1042778 predicted creative ideation, with GG/GT-carriers being more original than TT-carriers. Using double-blind placebo-controlled between-subjects designs, Studies 3-6 (N = 191) finally showed that intranasal oxytocin (vs matching placebo) reduced analytical reasoning, and increased holistic processing, divergent thinking and creative performance. We conclude that the oxytonergic circuitry sustains and enables the day-to-day creativity humans need for survival and prosperity and discuss implications. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Critical Thinking in Adulthood.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fulton, Rodney D.

Critical thinking is often defined as that which a particular instrument measures. The most prominent tests are the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal, the Ennis-Weir Critical Thinking Essay Test, and the Cornell Critical Thinking Tests. Watson and Glaser's (1980) view of critical thinking is "a composite of attitudes, knowledge, and…

Relationship between Self Concept, School Performance, and Divergent Thinking. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trowbridge, Norma

This investigation attempts to explore the relationship between self concept and socio-economic status (SES) of children from 8 to 14 years of age. In a sample of 3789 children in central U. S. children of low SES scored higher than children of middle SES at all ages, in both sexes, among blacks as well as whites, and in rural areas as well as…

Geometric Methods for Controlled Active Vision

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-02-07

information -based criteria, such as the Kullback - Leibler divergence, have been employed. Returning to the problem of segmentation, one can think of a data...Transactions on Information Technology in Biomedicine, 2012. 32. “3D automatic segmentation of the hippocampus using wavelets with applications to... used to induce shape information to the estimated curve without the need for explicit incorporation of shape information into the motion prior. In

Living in the WOW of Your Ideas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mabry, M. Parker

2012-01-01

Recently, the author got to thinking about some of the ideas that have crossed her mind in the last couple of weeks. The list made her smile. And as she went over it point by point in her head she tried to determine what, if any, reasonable or logical patterns were emerging in her myriad of ideas. The four divergent ideas presented in this article…

Creativity and inductive reasoning: the relationship between divergent thinking and performance on Wasons 246 task.

PubMed

Vartanian, Oshin; Martindale, Colin; Kwiatkowski, Jonna

2003-05-01

This study was an investigation of the relationship between potential creativityas measured by fluency scores on the Alternate Uses Testand performance on Wasons 246 task. As hypothesized, participants who were successful in discovering the rule had significantly higher fluency scores. Successful participants also generated higher frequencies of confirmatory and disconfirmatory hypotheses, but a multiple regression analysis using the stepwise method revealed that the frequency of generating disconfirmatory hypotheses and fluency scores were the only two significant factors in task outcome. The results also supported earlier studies where disconfirmation was shown to play a more important role in the later stages of hypothesis testing. This was especially true of successful participants, who employed a higher frequency of disconfirmatory hypotheses after receiving feedback on the first announcement. These results imply that successful participants benefited from the provision of feedback on the first announcement by switching to a more successful strategy in the hypothesis-testing sequence.

Megafans and Trumpeter Bird Biodiversity-Psophia Phylogeography and Landscape Evolution in Amazonia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilkinson, Justin

2014-01-01

Based on geomorphic character and mapped geology, geologists have interpreted the landscape surrounding the Andes Mountains as becoming progressively younger to the East. These sedimentary materials filled the late Miocene swampland that formerly occupied central and western Amazonia. Apart from the ancient landscapes of the Guiana Highlands (top right, figure 1a), Zone Ac is the oldest, followed by Zone Aw, within which megafan Jw is older than megafan Je (figure 1a). DNA-based paleogeography of the trumpeters shows that younger clades diverge from parent lineages with increasing distance from the Andes chain. Thus, Psophia napensis diverges from the P. crepitans parent, and P. ochroptera diverges from P. napensis. The P. ochroptera population is confined solely to the Je megafan (figure 1a). The same trend is seen on the south side of the Amazon depression. Since the timing of the events seems to be of exactly the same order [post-Miocene for the land surfaces and trumpeter divergence within the last 3 million years (figure 1d)], it seems reasonable to think that the megafans provided the substrate on which new bird lineages could speciate. Such physical controls of evolution are becoming more important in the understanding of biodiversity.

Verbal creativity and schizotypal personality in relation to prefrontal hemispheric laterality: A behavioral and near-infrared optical imaging study

PubMed Central

Folley, Bradley S.; Park, Sohee

2009-01-01

Although anecdotal and correlational results have suggested a reliable relationship between creativity and psychosis, few studies have examined this relationship using empirical methods. In addition, little is known about the neural substrates of creative thinking. We investigated the creative thinking process in relation to schizotypal personality, schizophrenia and prefrontal hemispheric laterality using behavioral and near-infrared optical spectroscopy (NIRS) methods. Schizophrenic, psychometrically ascertained schizotypal, and healthy control subjects (all right-handed) participated in a novel “alternate uses” task designed to assess divergent thinking (DT) ability. The DT task required subjects to generate “uses” for conventional and ambiguous objects. Prefrontal activity was measured using NIRS while subjects were engaged in DT vs. a cognitive control task in a subset of the subjects. Behavioral data indicated that schizotypes had enhanced DT ability compared with schizophrenic and control subjects, who showed similar performance overall. NIRS data showed that DT was associated with bilateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation, but the right PFC particularly contributed to the enhanced creative thinking in psychometric schizotypes compared with the other two groups. Thus, creative thinking seems to robustly recruit bilateral PFC, but it is the right PFC that is preferentially activated in schizotypes in relation to their enhanced DT. PMID:16125369

Creative Cognition and Brain Network Dynamics

PubMed Central

Beaty, Roger E.; Benedek, Mathias; Silvia, Paul J.; Schacter, Daniel L.

2015-01-01

Creative thinking is central to the arts, sciences, and everyday life. How does the brain produce creative thought? A series of recently published papers has begun to provide insight into this question, reporting a strikingly similar pattern of brain activity and connectivity across a range of creative tasks and domains, from divergent thinking to poetry composition to musical improvisation. This research suggests that creative thought involves dynamic interactions of large-scale brain systems, with the most compelling finding being that the default and executive control networks, which can show an antagonistic relationship, actually cooperate during creative cognition and artistic performance. These findings have implications for understanding how brain networks interact to support complex cognitive processes, particularly those involving goal-directed, self-generated thought. PMID:26553223

How Do You Play? A Comparison among Children Aged 4–10

PubMed Central

Delvecchio, Elisa; Li, Jian-Bin; Pazzagli, Chiara; Lis, Adriana; Mazzeschi, Claudia

2016-01-01

Pretend play has a central role for children's development and psychological well-being. However, there is a paucity of standardized and valid measures specifically devoted to assess the core domains involved in play activities in preschool and primary school children. The Affect in Play Scale-Preschool (4–5 years) and the Affect in Play Scale-Preschool Extended Version (6–10 years) are semi-structured parallel tools designed to explore child's cognitive and affective processes using a standardized play task. The current study administered this 5-min play task to 538 Italian children aged 4–10. The purposes were to compare play abilities in boys vs. girls and in preschool vs. primary school children, to correlate pretend play with divergent thinking and to evaluate the structural validity of the measure along the considered age span. No differences, excepting for Organization, were found between boys and girls, whereas school age children reported higher play abilities then the younger ones. External validity was assessed using correlational analysis with the divergent thinking task (the Alternate Uses Test) for preschoolers and primary school-aged children, in line with findings from Manova. Construct validity, assessed through the Confirmatory Factor Analysis, showed good fits for the two-factor model with cognitive and affective factor for both the Affect in Play Scale-Preschool and its Extended Version. A multi-group factor analysis suggested a partial invariance of the two-factor model across preschool (4–5 years old) and primary school-aged (6–10 years old) children. Results supported the use of the Affect in Play Scale-Preschool and its Extended Version as adequate measures to assess the interplay of cognitive and affective skills in preschool and school age children. The discussion highlights clinical and research implications linked to the possibility to have a unique play task able to assess child's affective and cognitive abilities throughout a quite wide life span (from 4 to 10 years old). PMID:27909423

Literature, Literary Response, and the Teaching of Literature: Abstracts of Doctoral Dissertations Published in "Dissertation Abstracts International," July through December 1982 (Vol. 43 Nos. 1 through 6).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ERIC Clearinghouse on Reading and Communication Skills, Urbana, IL.

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 24 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: (1) humorous children's literature and divergent thinking; (2) the development of children's ability to apprehend and distribute attention to important elements in…

Affective creativity meets classic creativity in the scanner.

PubMed

Perchtold, Corinna M; Papousek, Ilona; Koschutnig, Karl; Rominger, Christian; Weber, Hannelore; Weiss, Elisabeth M; Fink, Andreas

2018-01-01

The investigation of neurocognitive processes underlying more real-life creative behavior is among the greatest challenges in creativity research. In this fMRI study, we addressed this issue by investigating functional patterns of brain activity while participants were required to be creative in an affective context. Affective creativity was assessed in terms of individual's inventiveness in generating alternative appraisals for anger-evoking events, which has recently emerged as a new ability concept in cognitive reappraisal research. In addition, a classic divergent thinking task was administered. Both creativity tasks yielded strong activation in left prefrontal regions, indicating their shared cognitive processing demands like the inhibition of prepotent responses, shifting between different perspectives and controlled memory retrieval. Regarding task-specific differences, classic creative ideation activated a characteristic divergent thinking network comprising the left supramarginal, inferior temporal, and inferior frontal gyri. Affective creativity on the other hand specifically recruited the right superior frontal gyrus, presumably involved in the postretrieval monitoring of reappraisal success, and core hubs of the default-mode network, which are also implicated in social cognition. As a whole, by taking creativity research to the realm of emotion, this study advances our understanding of how more real-life creativity is rooted in the brain. Hum Brain Mapp 39:393-406, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Adapting the Critical Thinking Assessment Test for Palestinian Universities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basha, Sami; Drane, Denise; Light, Gregory

2016-01-01

Critical thinking is a key learning outcome for Palestinian students. However, there are no validated critical thinking tests in Arabic. Suitability of the US developed Critical Thinking Assessment Test (CAT) for use in Palestine was assessed. The test was piloted with university students in English (n = 30) and 4 questions were piloted in Arabic…

Jordanian TEFL Graduate Students' Use of Critical Thinking Skills (as Measured by the Cornell Critical Thinking Test, Level Z)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bataineh, Ruba Fahmi; Zghoul, Lamma Hmoud

2006-01-01

This study investigates the critical thinking skills of 50 students currently enrolled in the Master's TEFL Programme at Yarmouk University, Jordan. The Cornell Critical Thinking Test, Level Z is utilised to test the students' use, or lack thereof, of the critical thinking skills of deduction, semantics, credibility, induction, definition and…

The relationship between students critical thinking measured by science virtual test and students logical thinking on eighth grade secondary school

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurismawati, R.; Sanjaya, Y.; Rusyati, L.

2018-05-01

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between students’ critical thinking skill and students’ logical thinking skill of Junior High School students in Tasikmalaya city. The respondent consists of 168 students from eighth grade at three public schools in Tasikmalaya City. Science Virtual Test and Test of Logical Thinking were used in this research study. Science virtual test instrument consist of 26 questions with 5 different topics. IBM SPSS 23.00 program was used for analysis of the data. By the findings; students’ critical thinking skill has significant differences in elements of generating purpose, embodying point of view, utilizing concept and making implication and consequence. By Post Hoc LSD Test, from those four elements, there are significant differences between concrete - transitional groups and transitional – concrete groups. There is positive and weak correlation between students’ critical thinking and students’ logical thinking attainment.

Development and validation of climate change system thinking instrument (CCSTI) for measuring system thinking on climate change content

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meilinda; Rustaman, N. Y.; Firman, H.; Tjasyono, B.

2018-05-01

The Climate Change System Thinking Instrument (CCSTI) is developed to measure a system thinking ability in the concept of climate change. CCSTI is developed in four phase’s development including instrument draft development, validation and evaluation including readable material test, expert validation, and field test. The result of field test is analyzed by looking at the readability score in Cronbach’s alpha test. Draft instrument is tested on college students majoring in Biology Education, Physics Education, and Chemistry Education randomly with a total number of 80 college students. Score of Content Validation Index at 0.86, which means that the CCSTI developed are categorized as very appropriate with question indicators and Cronbach’s alpha about 0.605 which mean categorized undesirable to minimal acceptable. From 45 questions of system thinking, there are 37 valid questions spread in four indicators of system thinking, which are system thinking phase I (pre-requirement), system thinking phase II (basic), system thinking phase III (intermediate), and system thinking phase IV (coherent expert).

Commentary: Teaching creativity and innovative thinking in medicine and the health sciences.

PubMed

Ness, Roberta B

2011-10-01

The National Academies of Science recently criticized the state of scientific innovation and competitiveness in the United States. Evaluations of already-established creativity training programs--examining a broad array of students, from school age to adult and with a wide range of abilities--have shown that such courses improve thinking skills, attitudes, and performance. Although academic medicine provides informal training in creativity and innovation, it has yet to incorporate formal instruction on these topics into medical education. A number of existing, thoughtfully constructed and evaluated creativity programs in other fields provide a pedagogical basis for developing creativity training programs for the health sciences. The content of creativity training programs typically includes instruction and application in (1) divergent thinking, (2) problem solving, and (3) creative production. Instructional formats that have been shown to elicit the best outcomes are an admixture of lectures, discussion, and guided practice. A pilot program to teach innovative thinking to health science students at the University of Texas includes instruction in recognizing and finding alternatives to frames or habitual cognitive patterns, in addition to the constructs already mentioned. As innovation is the engine of scientific progress, the author, founder of Innovative Thinking, the creativity training pilot program at the University of Texas, argues in this commentary that academic health centers should implement and evaluate new methods for enhancing science students' innovative thinking to keep the United States as a worldwide leader in scientific discovery.

Bio science: genetic genealogy testing and the pursuit of African ancestry.

PubMed

Nelson, Alondra

2008-10-01

This paper considers the extent to which the geneticization of 'race' and ethnicity is the prevailing outcome of genetic testing for genealogical purposes. The decoding of the human genome precipitated a change of paradigms in genetics research, from an emphasis on genetic similarity to a focus on molecular-level differences among individuals and groups. This shift from lumping to splitting spurred ongoing disagreements among scholars about the significance of 'race' and ethnicity in the genetics era. I characterize these divergent perspectives as 'pragmatism' and 'naturalism'. Drawing upon ethnographic fieldwork and interviews, I argue that neither position fully accounts for how understandings of 'race' and ethnicity are being transformed with genetic genealogy testing. While there is some acquiescence to genetic thinking about ancestry, and by implication, 'race', among African-American and black British consumers of genetic genealogy testing, test-takers also adjudicate between sources of genealogical information and from these construct meaningful biographical narratives. Consumers engage in highly situated 'objective' and 'affiliative' self-fashioning, interpreting genetic test results in the context of their 'genealogical aspirations'. I conclude that issues of site, scale, and subjectification must be attended to if scholars are to understand whether and to what extent social identities are being transformed by recent developments in genetic science.

Intelligence, creativity, and cognitive control: The common and differential involvement of executive functions in intelligence and creativity

PubMed Central

Benedek, Mathias; Jauk, Emanuel; Sommer, Markus; Arendasy, Martin; Neubauer, Aljoscha C.

2014-01-01

Intelligence and creativity are known to be correlated constructs suggesting that they share a common cognitive basis. The present study assessed three specific executive abilities – updating, shifting, and inhibition – and examined their common and differential relations to fluid intelligence and creativity (i.e., divergent thinking ability) within a latent variable model approach. Additionally, it was tested whether the correlation of fluid intelligence and creativity can be explained by a common executive involvement. As expected, fluid intelligence was strongly predicted by updating, but not by shifting or inhibition. Creativity was predicted by updating and inhibition, but not by shifting. Moreover, updating (and the personality factor openness) was found to explain a relevant part of the shared variance between intelligence and creativity. The findings provide direct support for the executive involvement in creative thought and shed further light on the functional relationship between intelligence and creativity. PMID:25278640

War Strategy Divergence Place Cultures on a Collision Course

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-04-23

adversary. Along that definitional continuum, there is not much maneuver space between rival—threat--enemy. Conversely, ―foreigners in the eyes of...thinking, and the American way of war.‖29 Therefore it is understandable that they are relevant to our definitions of how we describe war. In...preservation or the restoration of the perceived cosmological and moral order which the empire embodied, whether it was threatened by external enemies or

Children's thinking about diversity of belief in the early school years: judgments of relativism, tolerance, and disagreeing persons.

PubMed

Wainryb, Cecilia; Shaw, Leigh A; Langley, Marcie; Cottam, Kim; Lewis, Renee

2004-01-01

Children's thinking about diversity of belief in 4 realms--morality, taste, facts, and ambiguous facts--was examined. Ninety-six participants (ages 5, 7, and 9) were interviewed about beliefs different from their own that were endorsed by characters with different status; their judgments of relativism, tolerance, and disagreeing persons were assessed. Five-year-olds made fewer relative and tolerant judgments than 7- and 9-year-olds. Nevertheless, participants of all ages organized their judgments according to the realm of diversity, thought that some beliefs are relative and some are nonrelative, and made tolerant judgments of some divergent beliefs (and their proponents) but not of others. The findings suggest that, in the early school years, children have multiple and well-differentiated perspectives on belief diversity.

Creative Cognition and Brain Network Dynamics.

PubMed

Beaty, Roger E; Benedek, Mathias; Silvia, Paul J; Schacter, Daniel L

2016-02-01

Creative thinking is central to the arts, sciences, and everyday life. How does the brain produce creative thought? A series of recently published papers has begun to provide insight into this question, reporting a strikingly similar pattern of brain activity and connectivity across a range of creative tasks and domains, from divergent thinking to poetry composition to musical improvisation. This research suggests that creative thought involves dynamic interactions of large-scale brain systems, with the most compelling finding being that the default and executive control networks, which can show an antagonistic relation, tend to cooperate during creative cognition and artistic performance. These findings have implications for understanding how brain networks interact to support complex cognitive processes, particularly those involving goal-directed, self-generated thought. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dynamic Investigation of Static Divergence: Analysis and Testing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heeg, Jennifer

2000-01-01

The phenomenon known as aeroelastic divergence is the focus of this work. The analyses and experiment presented here show that divergence can occur without a structural dynamic mode losing its oscillatory nature. Aeroelastic divergence occurs when the structural restorative capability or stiffness of a structure is overwhelmed by the static aerodynamic moment. This static aeroelastic coupling does not require the structural dynamic system behavior to cease, however. Aeroelastic changes in the dynamic mode behavior are governed not only by the stiffness, but by damping and inertial properties. The work presented here supports these fundamental assertions by examining a simple system: a typical section airfoil with only a rotational structural degree of freedom. Analytical results identified configurations that exhibit different types of dynamic mode behavior as the system encounters divergence. A wind tunnel model was designed and tested to examine divergence experimentally. The experimental results validate the analytical calculations and explicitly examine the divergence phenomenon where the dynamic mode persists. Three configurations of the wind tunnel model were tested. The experimental results agree very well with the analytical predictions of subcritical characteristics, divergence velocity, and behavior of the noncritical dynamic mode at divergence.

Repetitive thinking, executive functioning, and depressive mood in the elderly.

PubMed

Philippot, Pierre; Agrigoroaei, Stefan

2017-11-01

Previous findings and the depressive-executive dysfunction hypothesis suggest that the established association between executive functioning and depression is accounted for by repetitive thinking. Investigating the association between executive functioning, repetitive thinking, and depressive mood, the present study empirically tested this mediational model in a sample of older adults, while focusing on both concrete and abstract repetitive thinking. This latter distinction is important given the potential protective role of concrete repetitive thinking, in contrast to the depletive effect of abstract repetitive thinking. A sample of 43 elderly volunteers, between 75 and 95 years of age, completed tests of executive functioning (the Stroop test, the Trail Making test, and the Fluency test), and questionnaires of repetitive thinking and depression. Positive correlations were observed between abstract repetitive thinking and depressive mood, and between concrete repetitive thinking and executive functioning; a negative correlation was observed between depressive mood and executive functioning. Further, mediational analysis evidenced that the relation between executive functioning and depressive mood was mediated by abstract repetitive thinking. The present data provide, for the first time, empirical support to the depressive-executive dysfunction hypothesis: the lack of executive resources would favor a mode of abstract repetitive thinking, which in turn would deplete mood. It suggests that clinical intervention targeting depression in the elderly should take into consideration repetitive thinking modes and the executive resources needed to disengage from rumination.

Dynamic Bayesian Networks as a Probabilistic Metamodel for Combat Simulations

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-18

test is commonly used for large data sets and is the method of comparison presented in Section 5.5. 4.3.3 Kullback - Leibler Divergence Goodness of Fit ...methods exist that might improve the results. A goodness of fit test using the Kullback - Leibler Divergence was proposed in the first paper, but still... Kullback - Leibler Divergence Goodness of Fit Test . . .

Measuring Gains in Critical Thinking in Food Science and Human Nutrition Courses: The Cornell Critical Thinking Test, Problem-Based Learning Activities, and Student Journal Entries

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Iwaoka, Wayne T.; Li, Yong; Rhee, Walter Y.

2010-01-01

The Cornell Critical Thinking Test (CCTT) is one of the many multiple-choice tests with validated questions that have been reported to measure general critical thinking (CT) ability. One of the IFT Education Standards for undergraduate degrees in Food Science is the emphasis on the development of critical thinking. While this skill is easy to list…

Improvement of nursing students' critical thinking skills through problem-based learning in the People's Republic of China: a quasi-experimental study.

PubMed

Yuan, Haobin; Kunaviktikul, Wipada; Klunklin, Areewan; Williams, Beverly A

2008-03-01

A quasi-experimental, two-group pretest-post-test design was conducted to examine the effect of problem-based learning on the critical thinking skills of 46 Year 2 undergraduate nursing students in the People's Republic of China. The California Critical Thinking Skills Test Form A, Chinese-Taiwanese version was used as both a pretest and as a post-test for a semester-long nursing course. There was no significant difference in critical thinking skills at pretest, whereas, significant differences in critical thinking skills existed between the problem-based learning and lecture groups at post-test. The problem-based learning students had a significantly greater improvement on the overall California Critical Thinking Skills Test, analysis, and induction subscale scores compared with the lecture students. Problem-based learning fostered nursing students' critical thinking skills.

The academic and nonacademic characteristics of science and nonscience majors in Yemeni high schools

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anaam, Mahyoub Ali

The purposes of this study were: (a) to identify the variables associated with selection of majors; (b) to determine the differences between science and nonscience majors in general, and high and low achievers in particular, with respect to attitudes toward science, integrated science process skills, and logical thinking abilities; and (c) to determine if a significant relationship exists between students' majors and their personality types and learning styles. Data were gathered from 188 twelfth grade male and female high school students in Yemen, who enrolled in science (45 males and 47 females) and art and literature (47 males and 49 females) tracks. Data were collected by the following instruments: Past math and science achievement (data source taken from school records), Kolb's Learning Styles Inventory (1985), Integrated Science Process Skills Test, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, Attitude Toward Science in School Assessment, Group Assessment of Logical Thinking, Yemeni High School Students Questionnaire. The Logistic Regression Model and the Linear Discriminant Analysis identified several variables that are associated with selection of majors. Moreover, some of the characteristics of science and nonscience majors that were revealed by these models include the following: Science majors seem to have higher degrees of curiosity in science, high interest in science at high school level, high tendency to believe that their majors will help them to find a potential job in the future, and have had higher achievement in science subjects, and have rated their math teachers higher than did nonscience majors. In contrast, nonscience majors seem to have higher degrees of curiosity in nonscience subjects, higher interest in science at elementary school, higher anxiety during science lessons than did science majors. In addition, General Linear Models allow that science majors generally demonstrate more positive attitudes towards science than do nonscience majors and they outperform nonscience majors on integrated science process skills and logical thinking abilities. High achievers in science majors have a significantly higher attitude toward science, higher integrated science process skills, and higher logical thinking abilities than high and low achievers in nonscience majors. No gender differences were found on these variables. Chi-Square tests indicate that no significant relationships exist between students' majors and their personality types and learning styles. However, it was found that majority of students prefer extroversion over introversion, sensing over intuition, thinking over feeling, and judging over perceiving. Moreover, the most common learning styles among science and nonscience majors were the divergent and the assimilative learning styles. Finally, the educational implication of these findings were discussed and future research that need to be conducted were proposed.

Ecological divergence and conservatism: spatiotemporal patterns of niche evolution in a genus of livebearing fishes (Poeciliidae: Xiphophorus).

PubMed

Culumber, Zachary W; Tobler, Michael

2016-02-19

Ecological factors often have a strong impact on spatiotemporal patterns of biodiversity. The integration of spatial ecology and phylogenetics allows for rigorous tests of whether speciation is associated with niche conservatism (constraints on ecological divergence) or niche divergence. We address this question in a genus of livebearing fishes for which the role of sexual selection in speciation has long been studied, but in which the potential role of ecological divergence during speciation has not been tested. By combining reconstruction of ancestral climate tolerances and disparity indices, we show that the earliest evolutionary split in Xiphophorus was associated with significant divergence for temperature variables. Niche evolution and present day niches were most closely associated with each species' geographic distribution relative to a biogeographic barrier, the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. Tests for similarity of the environmental backgrounds of closely related species suggested that the relative importance of niche conservatism and divergence during speciation varied among the primary clades of Xiphophorus. Closely related species in the two swordtail clades exhibited higher levels of niche overlap than expected given environmental background similarity indicative of niche conservatism. In contrast, almost all species of platyfish had significantly divergent niches compared to environmental backgrounds, which is indicative of niche divergence. The results suggest that the relative importance of niche conservatism and divergence differed among the clades of Xiphophorus and that traits associated with niche evolution may be more evolutionarily labile in the platyfishes. Our results ultimately suggest that the taxonomic scale of tests for conservatism and divergence could greatly influence inferences of their relative importance in the speciation process.

Domain-General and Domain-Specific Creative-Thinking Tests: Effects of Gender and Item Content on Test Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hong, Eunsook; Peng, Yun; O'Neil, Harold F., Jr.; Wu, Junbin

2013-01-01

The study examined the effects of gender and item content of domain-general and domain-specific creative-thinking tests on four subscale scores of creative-thinking (fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration). Chinese tenth-grade students (234 males and 244 females) participated in the study. Domain-general creative thinking was measured…

A neuromathematical model of human information processing and its application to science content acquisition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, O. Roger

The rate of information processing during science learning and the efficiency of the learner in mobilizing relevant information in long-term memory as an aid in transmitting newly acquired information to stable storage in long-term memory are fundamental aspects of science content acquisition. These cognitive processes, moreover, may be substantially related in tempo and quality of organization to the efficiency of higher thought processes such as divergent thinking and problem-solving ability that characterize scientific thought. As a contribution to our quantitative understanding of these fundamental information processes, a mathematical model of information acquisition is presented and empirically evaluated in comparison to evidence obtained from experimental studies of science content acquisition. Computer-based models are used to simulate variations in learning parameters and to generate the theoretical predictions to be empirically tested. The initial tests of the predictive accuracy of the model show close agreement between predicted and actual mean recall scores in short-term learning tasks. Implications of the model for human information acquisition and possible future research are discussed in the context of the unique theoretical framework of the model.

Historical Perspectives in Frost Heave Research. The Early Works of S. Taber and G. Beskow

DTIC Science & Technology

1991-12-01

time, partly be- tions of pF. After they corrected suspected typographi - cause of both professional isolation and the divergent cal errors in...were significantly better than the commonly used G. Beskow (Swedish Road Institute), the first to think simple design criterion of A. Casagrande...been reported from tact with a drum turned by a clock. This gives a graphic Minnesota. On the other hand, the freezing of saturated record of the

Complexity and Chaos - State-of-the-Art; Glossary

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-09-01

when we think about emergence we are, in our mind’s eye , moving between different vantage points. We see the trees and the forest at DRDC Valcartier TN...permit simple yes/no categorisations (e.g. colour ). Can also be used to make decisions where uncertainty occurs (fuzzy control). This is a form of...a specific complex formula across space by colour coding the result of each starting point as convergent or divergent, generating a fractal boundary

Enhancing verbal creativity: modulating creativity by altering the balance between right and left inferior frontal gyrus with tDCS.

PubMed

Mayseless, N; Shamay-Tsoory, S G

2015-04-16

Creativity is the production of novel ideas that have value. Previous research indicated that while regions in the right hemisphere are implicated in the production of new ideas, damage to the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) is associated with increased creativity, indicating that the left IFG damage may have a "releasing" effect on creativity. To examine this, in the present study we used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to modulate activity of the right and the left IFG. In the first experiment we show that whereas anodal tDCS over the right IFG coupled with cathodal tDCS over the left IFG increases creativity as measured by a verbal divergent thinking task, the reverse stimulation does not affect creative production. To further confirm that only altering the balance between the two hemispheres is crucial in modulating creativity, in the second experiment we show that stimulation targeting separately the left IFG (cathodal stimulation) or the right IFG (anodal stimulation) did not result in changes in creativity as measured by verbal divergent thinking. These findings support the balance hypothesis, according to which verbal creativity requires a balance of activation between the right and the left frontal lobes, and more specifically, between the right and the left IFG. Copyright © 2015 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Experimental study of teaching critical thinking in civic education in Taiwanese junior high school.

PubMed

Yang, Shu Ching; Chung, Tung-Yu

2009-03-01

To effectively respond to the need for greater CT (critical thinking) in the classroom, this study examines the effects of cultivating CT skills within civic education to maximize its potential. Despite realizing the importance of CT in education, schools do not tend to apply it. Furthermore, since students frequently do not raise questions or otherwise think critically, CT modules are incorporated into civic learning to encourage students to question facts, interpret and analyse evidence, make reasoned inferences regarding events, and independently develop informed opinions. These skills are fundamental to cultivating an informed and humane citizenry. This investigation examines how teaching critical thinking in civic education affects the CT skills and disposition of junior high school students. The participants were two classes of eighth grade students in southern Taiwan, and were distributed into experimental and control groups. Each group comprised 34 students, with the experimental group containing 16 boys and 18 girls and the control group containing 18 boys and 16 girls. The teaching experiment in this study was initiated and performed using equivalent pre-test and post-test group design. During the 10-week experiment, the experimental group was taught using CT instruction in civic education, while the control group was not taught with any CT programme. The data analysis included: quantitative statistics of the two main sets of instruments for measuring the CT ability and disposition of experimental treatment, qualitative analysis of learning sheets, and surveys of student perceptions of instruction in CT. Statistical analysis showed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group on the scales of CT skill and disposition, but did not perform well on certain subscales (e.g. recognition of assumptions and deductions, truth-seeking, analyticity, and inquisitiveness). Notably however, when triangulating with qualitative analysis of learner transcripts and surveys, learners attempted to perform various dimensions of CT skill and disposition to various degrees. Student surveys indicated that the CT programme fostered their active listening and respect for different ideas, and moreover they learned to tolerate divergent views and examine their ideas for possible bias. The programme boosted student learning interest and sense of accomplishment, and nurtured their teamwork/communicative skills. Furthermore, a few students experienced improvements in their speaking skills and courage as their confidence and ability to express themselves improved. Finally, limitations of this investigation and implications for further research are discussed.

Typology reconfigured: from the metaphysics of essentialism to the epistemology of representation.

PubMed

Love, Alan C

2009-06-01

The goal of this paper is to encourage a reconfiguration of the discussion about typology in biology away from the metaphysics of essentialism and toward the epistemology of classifying natural phenomena for the purposes of empirical inquiry. First, I briefly review arguments concerning 'typological thinking', essentialism, species, and natural kinds, highlighting their predominantly metaphysical nature. Second, I use a distinction between the aims, strategies, and tactics of science to suggest how a shift from metaphysics to epistemology might be accomplished. Typological thinking can be understood as a scientific tactic that involves representing natural phenomena using idealizations and approximations, which facilitates explanation, investigation, and theorizing via abstraction and generalization. Third, a variety of typologies from different areas of biology are introduced to emphasize the diversity of this representational reasoning. One particular example is used to examine how there can be epistemological conflict between typology and evolutionary analysis. This demonstrates that alternative strategies of typological thinking arise due to the divergent explanatory goals of researchers working in different disciplines with disparate methodologies. I conclude with several research questions that emerge from an epistemological reconfiguration of typology.

Fine-Tuning Cross-Battery Assessment Procedures: After Follow-Up Testing, Use All Valid Scores, Cohesive or Not

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schneider, W. Joel; Roman, Zachary

2018-01-01

We used data simulations to test whether composites consisting of cohesive subtest scores are more accurate than composites consisting of divergent subtest scores. We demonstrate that when multivariate normality holds, divergent and cohesive scores are equally accurate. Furthermore, excluding divergent scores results in biased estimates of…

Construction Of Critical Thinking Skills Test Instrument Related The Concept On Sound Wave

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mabruroh, F.; Suhandi, A.

2017-02-01

This study aimed to construct test instrument of critical thinking skills of high school students related the concept on sound wave. This research using a mixed methods with sequential exploratory design, consists of: 1) a preliminary study; 2) design and review of test instruments. The form of test instruments in essay questions, consist of 18 questions that was divided into 5 indicators and 8 sub-indicators of the critical thinking skills expressed by Ennis, with questions that are qualitative and contextual. Phases of preliminary study include: a) policy studies; b) survey to the school; c) and literature studies. Phases of the design and review of test instruments consist of two steps, namely a draft design of test instruments include: a) analysis of the depth of teaching materials; b) the selection of indicators and sub-indicators of critical thinking skills; c) analysis of indicators and sub-indicators of critical thinking skills; d) implementation of indicators and sub-indicators of critical thinking skills; and e) making the descriptions about the test instrument. In the next phase of the review test instruments, consist of: a) writing about the test instrument; b) validity test by experts; and c) revision of test instruments based on the validator.

Analysis of critical thinking ability of VII grade students based on the mathematical anxiety level through learning cycle 7E model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Widyaningsih, E.; Waluya, S. B.; Kurniasih, A. W.

2018-03-01

This study aims to know mastery learning of students’ critical thinking ability with learning cycle 7E, determine whether the critical thinking ability of the students with learning cycle 7E is better than students’ critical thinking ability with expository model, and describe the students’ critical thinking phases based on the mathematical anxiety level. The method is mixed method with concurrent embedded. The population is VII grade students of SMP Negeri 3 Kebumen academic year 2016/2017. Subjects are determined by purposive sampling, selected two students from each level of mathematical anxiety. Data collection techniques include test, questionnaire, interview, and documentation. Quantitative data analysis techniques include mean test, proportion test, difference test of two means, difference test of two proportions and for qualitative data used Miles and Huberman model. The results show that: (1) students’ critical thinking ability with learning cycle 7E achieve mastery learning; (2) students’ critical thinking ability with learning cycle 7E is better than students’ critical thinking ability with expository model; (3) description of students’ critical thinking phases based on the mathematical anxiety level that is the lower the mathematical anxiety level, the subjects have been able to fulfil all of the indicators of clarification, assessment, inference, and strategies phases.

The Confluence of Perceiving and Thinking in Consciousness Phenomenology

PubMed Central

Wagemann, Johannes

2018-01-01

The processual relation of thinking and perceiving shall be examined from a historical perspective as well as on the basis of methodically conducted first-person observation. Historically, these two psychological aspects of human knowledge and corresponding philosophical positions have predominant alternating phases. At certain historical points, thinking and perceiving tend to converge, while in the interim phases they seem to diverge with an emphasis on one of them. While at the birth of modern science, for instance, these two forms of mental life were deeply interlinked, today they seem to be separated more than ever before – as a number of scientific crises have shown. Turning from the outer to the inner aspect of this issue, a phenomenological view becomes relevant. In terms of the consciousness phenomenology developed by Steiner (1861–1925) and Witzenmann’s (1905–1988) Structure Phenomenology, this article will show how a methodical integration of thinking and perceiving can be carried out on the basis of first-person observation. In the course of a skilled introspective or meditative self-observation the individual’s own mental micro-actions of separating and integrating come into view, jointly constituting what we usually call thinking and perceiving. Consequently, this approach includes a conceptual as well as a perceptual dimension the experimental confluence of which ties in with the methodological core principle of modern natural science. At the same time, making this principle explicit may open the way to a further development of human consciousness and its scientific delineation. PMID:29375432

Robust prediction of individual creative ability from brain functional connectivity.

PubMed

Beaty, Roger E; Kenett, Yoed N; Christensen, Alexander P; Rosenberg, Monica D; Benedek, Mathias; Chen, Qunlin; Fink, Andreas; Qiu, Jiang; Kwapil, Thomas R; Kane, Michael J; Silvia, Paul J

2018-01-30

People's ability to think creatively is a primary means of technological and cultural progress, yet the neural architecture of the highly creative brain remains largely undefined. Here, we employed a recently developed method in functional brain imaging analysis-connectome-based predictive modeling-to identify a brain network associated with high-creative ability, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data acquired from 163 participants engaged in a classic divergent thinking task. At the behavioral level, we found a strong correlation between creative thinking ability and self-reported creative behavior and accomplishment in the arts and sciences ( r = 0.54). At the neural level, we found a pattern of functional brain connectivity related to high-creative thinking ability consisting of frontal and parietal regions within default, salience, and executive brain systems. In a leave-one-out cross-validation analysis, we show that this neural model can reliably predict the creative quality of ideas generated by novel participants within the sample. Furthermore, in a series of external validation analyses using data from two independent task fMRI samples and a large task-free resting-state fMRI sample, we demonstrate robust prediction of individual creative thinking ability from the same pattern of brain connectivity. The findings thus reveal a whole-brain network associated with high-creative ability comprised of cortical hubs within default, salience, and executive systems-intrinsic functional networks that tend to work in opposition-suggesting that highly creative people are characterized by the ability to simultaneously engage these large-scale brain networks.

Peer Led Team Learning in Introductory Biology: Effects on Peer Leader Critical Thinking Skills

PubMed Central

Snyder, Julia J.; Wiles, Jason R.

2015-01-01

This study evaluated hypothesized effects of the Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) instructional model on undergraduate peer leaders’ critical thinking skills. This investigation also explored peer leaders’ perceptions of their critical thinking skills. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test with control group design was used to determine critical thinking gains in PLTL/non-PLTL groups. Critical thinking was assessed using the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) among participants who had previously completed and been successful in a mixed-majors introductory biology course at a large, private research university in the American Northeast. Qualitative data from open-ended questionnaires confirmed that factors thought to improve critical thinking skills such as interaction with peers, problem solving, and discussion were perceived by participants to have an impact on critical thinking gains. However, no significant quantitative differences in peer leaders’ critical thinking skills were found between pre- and post-experience CCTST measurements or between experimental and control groups. PMID:25629311

Peer led team learning in introductory biology: effects on peer leader critical thinking skills.

PubMed

Snyder, Julia J; Wiles, Jason R

2015-01-01

This study evaluated hypothesized effects of the Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL) instructional model on undergraduate peer leaders' critical thinking skills. This investigation also explored peer leaders' perceptions of their critical thinking skills. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test with control group design was used to determine critical thinking gains in PLTL/non-PLTL groups. Critical thinking was assessed using the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) among participants who had previously completed and been successful in a mixed-majors introductory biology course at a large, private research university in the American Northeast. Qualitative data from open-ended questionnaires confirmed that factors thought to improve critical thinking skills such as interaction with peers, problem solving, and discussion were perceived by participants to have an impact on critical thinking gains. However, no significant quantitative differences in peer leaders' critical thinking skills were found between pre- and post-experience CCTST measurements or between experimental and control groups.

Virtual test: A student-centered software to measure student's critical thinking on human disease

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rusyati, Lilit; Firman, Harry

2016-02-01

The study "Virtual Test: A Student-Centered Software to Measure Student's Critical Thinking on Human Disease" is descriptive research. The background is importance of computer-based test that use element and sub element of critical thinking. Aim of this study is development of multiple choices to measure critical thinking that made by student-centered software. Instruments to collect data are (1) construct validity sheet by expert judge (lecturer and medical doctor) and professional judge (science teacher); and (2) test legibility sheet by science teacher and junior high school student. Participants consisted of science teacher, lecturer, and medical doctor as validator; and the students as respondent. Result of this study are describe about characteristic of virtual test that use to measure student's critical thinking on human disease, analyze result of legibility test by students and science teachers, analyze result of expert judgment by science teachers and medical doctor, and analyze result of trial test of virtual test at junior high school. Generally, result analysis shown characteristic of multiple choices to measure critical thinking was made by eight elements and 26 sub elements that developed by Inch et al.; complete by relevant information; and have validity and reliability more than "enough". Furthermore, specific characteristic of multiple choices to measure critical thinking are information in form science comic, table, figure, article, and video; correct structure of language; add source of citation; and question can guide student to critical thinking logically.

Developing Science Virtual Test to Measure Students’ Critical Thinking on Living Things and Environmental Sustainability Theme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akbar, M. N.; Firman, H.; Rusyati, L.

2017-02-01

Critical thinking is skill and ability to use of risk taking creativity to make a decision and knowledge as a result, analysis and synthesis that, evaluation, to acquire, information search, to develop thinking, as an individual aware of his or her own thinking. The aim of this study is to develop the science virtual test to measure students’ critical thinking on living things and environmental sustainability theme. The research method that is used in this research was descriptive research. The development of science virtual test item consist of five steps: (1) content analysis; (2) constructing the instrument (multiple choice) based on the elements of critical thinking by Inch; (3) validity judgment of the instrument by the expert; (4) legibility test of the instrument; (5) conducting the large field test. On the large field test was gained the results of validity and reliability of the test, difficulty index, discriminating power, and quality of distractor. The subjects of research were 8th grade students at International Junior High School in Bandung with 125 total of respondents. The coefficient alpha (α) was 0.747, the reliability of the test was categorized as ‘high’ and value of RXY correlation was 0.63 which mean that the validity of the test was categorized as ‘high’. These means that science virtual test can be used to measure student’s critical thinking with a good consistency. It is expected for other researcher to take this description as one of the basic information to be considered in developing science virtual test for improving students’ critical thinking by various kind of topic.

The Thinking-about-Derivative Test for Undergraduate Students: Development and Validation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Aydin, Utkun; Ubuz, Behiye

2015-01-01

Two studies were conducted for the development and validation of a multidimensional test to assess undergraduate students' mathematical thinking about derivative. The first study involved two phases: question generation and refinement of the Thinking-about-Derivative Test (TDT). The second study included four phases as follows: test…

Critical Thinking Disposition and Skills in Dental Students: Development and Relationship to Academic Outcomes.

PubMed

Whitney, Eli M; Aleksejuniene, Jolanta; Walton, Joanne N

2016-08-01

Critical thinking is a key element of complex problem-solving and professional behavior. An ideal critical thinking measurement instrument would be able to accurately predict which dental students are predisposed to and capable of thinking critically and applying such thinking skills to clinical situations. The aims of this study were to describe critical thinking disposition and skills in dental students at the beginning and end of their first year, examine cohort and gender effects, and compare their critical thinking test scores to their first-year grades. Volunteers from three student cohorts at the University of British Columbia were tested using the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory and California Critical Thinking Skills instruments at the beginning and end of their first year. Based on the preliminary findings, one cohort was retested at graduation when their final-year grades and clinical advisor rankings were compared to their critical thinking test scores. The results showed that students who entered dental school with higher critical thinking scores tended to complete their first year with higher critical thinking scores, achieve higher grades, and show greater disposition to think critically at the start of the program. Students who demonstrated an ability to think critically and had a disposition to do so at the start of the program were also likely to demonstrate those same attributes at the completion of their training. High critical thinking scores were associated with success in both didactic and clinical settings in dental school.

Profile of Students’ Critical Thinking Skill Measured by Science Virtual Test on Living Things and Environmental Sustainability Theme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maulida, N. I.; Firman, H.; Rusyati, L.

2017-02-01

The aims of this study are: (1) to investigate the level of students’ critical thinking skill on living things and environmental sustainability theme for each Inch’ critical thinking elements and overall, (2) to investigate the level of students’ critical thinking skill on living things characteristic, biodiversity, energy resources, ecosystem, environmental pollution, and global warming topics. The research was conducted due to the important of critical thinking measurement to get the current skill description as the basic consideration for further critical thinking skill improvement in lower secondary science. The research method used was descriptive. 331 seventh grade students taken from five lower secondary schools in Cirebon were tested to get the critical thinking skill data by using Science Virtual Test as the instrument. Generally, the mean scores on eight Inch’ critical thinking elements and overall score from descriptive statistic reveals a moderate attainments level. Students’ critical thinking skill on biodiversity, energy resources, ecosystem, environmental pollution, and global warming topics are in moderate level. While students’ critical thinking skill on living things characteristic is identified as high level. Students’ experience in thinking critically during science learning process and the characteristic of the topic are emerged as the reason behind the students’ critical thinking skill level on certain science topic.

An Analysis of Higher-Order Thinking on Algebra I End-of-Course Tests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thompson, Tony

2011-01-01

This research provides insight into one US state's effort to incorporate higher-order thinking on its Algebra I End-of-Course tests. To facilitate the inclusion of higher-order thinking, the state used "Dimensions of Thinking" (Marzano et al., 1988) and "Bloom's Taxonomy" (Bloom et al., 1956). An analysis of Algebra I test…

Temporal Cognition in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders: Tests of Diachronic Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boucher, Jill; Pons, Francisco; Lind, Sophie; Williams, David

2007-01-01

Impaired diachronic thinking--(the propensity and capacity to think about events spreading across time)--was demonstrated in a 2-Phase study in which children with autism were compared with age and ability matched controls. Identical tests of diachronic thinking were administered in both phases of the study, but to different participant groups,…

Alpha power increases in right parietal cortex reflects focused internal attention

PubMed Central

Benedek, Mathias; Schickel, Rainer J.; Jauk, Emanuel; Fink, Andreas; Neubauer, Aljoscha C.

2014-01-01

This study investigated the functional significance of EEG alpha power increases, a finding that is consistently observed in various memory tasks and specifically during divergent thinking. It was previously shown that alpha power is increased when tasks are performed in mind—e.g., when bottom-up processing is prevented. This study aimed to examine the effect of task-immanent differences in bottom-up processing demands by comparing two divergent thinking tasks, one intrinsically relying on bottom-up processing (sensory-intake task) and one that is not (sensory-independence task). In both tasks, stimuli were masked in half of the trials to establish conditions of higher and lower internal processing demands. In line with the hypotheses, internal processing affected performance and led to increases in alpha power only in the sensory-intake task, whereas the sensory-independence task showed high levels of task-related alpha power in both conditions. Interestingly, conditions involving focused internal attention showed a clear lateralization with higher alpha power in parietal regions of the right hemisphere. Considering evidence from fMRI studies, right-parietal alpha power increases may correspond to a deactivation of the right temporoparietal junction, reflecting an inhibition of the ventral attention network. Inhibition of this region is thought to prevent reorienting to irrelevant stimulation during goal-driven, top-down behavior, which may serve the executive function of task shielding during demanding cognitive tasks such as idea generation and mental imagery. PMID:24561034

Regional homogeneity, resting-state functional connectivity and amplitude of low frequency fluctuation associated with creativity measured by divergent thinking in a sex-specific manner.

PubMed

Takeuchi, Hikaru; Taki, Yasuyuki; Nouchi, Rui; Yokoyama, Ryoichi; Kotozaki, Yuka; Nakagawa, Seishu; Sekiguchi, Atsushi; Iizuka, Kunio; Yamamoto, Yuki; Hanawa, Sugiko; Araki, Tsuyoshi; Makoto Miyauchi, Carlos; Shinada, Takamitsu; Sakaki, Kohei; Nozawa, Takayuki; Ikeda, Shigeyuki; Yokota, Susumu; Daniele, Magistro; Sassa, Yuko; Kawashima, Ryuta

2017-05-15

Brain connectivity is traditionally thought to be important for creativity. Here we investigated the associations of creativity measured by divergent thinking (CMDT) with resting-state functional magnetic imaging (fMRI) measures and their sex differences. We examined these relationships in the brains of 1277 healthy young adults. Whole-brain analyses revealed a significant interaction between verbal CMDT and sex on (a) regional homogeneity within an area from the left anterior temporal lobe (b) on the resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) between the mPFC and the left inferior frontal gyrus and (c) on fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (fALFF) in several distinct areas, including the precuneus and middle cingulate gyrus, left middle temporal gyrus, right middle frontal gyrus, and cerebellum. These interactions were mediated by positive correlations in females and negative correlations in males. These findings suggest that greater CMDT in females is reflected by (a) regional coherence (regional homogeneity) of brain areas responsible for representing and combining concepts as well as (b) the efficient functional connection (RSFC) between the key areas for the default state of cognitive activity and speech production, and (c) greater spontaneous neural activity (fALFF) during the resting of brain areas involved in frontal lobe functions, default cognitive activities, and language functions. Furthermore, these findings suggest that the associations between creativity and resting state brain connectivity patterns are different between males and females. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Preparing Students for Critical-Thinking Applications on Standardized Tests

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hendricks, Jacquelyn Kaye

2010-01-01

Student performance on critical-thinking applications on standardized tests in a southwestern U.S. state has been low for several years. The purpose of this instrumental case study was to explore how one school district prepared students for critical-thinking applications on standardized tests. The study was informed by cognitivism and…

Spatial Thinking Ability Assessment in Rwandan Secondary Schools: Baseline Results

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tomaszewski, Brian; Vodacek, Anthony; Parody, Robert; Holt, Nicholas

2015-01-01

This article discusses use and modification of Lee and Bednarz's (2012) Spatial Thinking Ability Test (STAT) as a spatial thinking assessment device in Rwandan secondary schools. After piloting and modifying the STAT, 222 students total from our rural and urban test schools and one control school were tested. Statistical analysis revealed that…

Extending systems thinking in planning and evaluation using group concept mapping and system dynamics to tackle complex problems.

PubMed

Hassmiller Lich, Kristen; Urban, Jennifer Brown; Frerichs, Leah; Dave, Gaurav

2017-02-01

Group concept mapping (GCM) has been successfully employed in program planning and evaluation for over 25 years. The broader set of systems thinking methodologies (of which GCM is one), have only recently found their way into the field. We present an overview of systems thinking emerging from a system dynamics (SD) perspective, and illustrate the potential synergy between GCM and SD. As with GCM, participatory processes are frequently employed when building SD models; however, it can be challenging to engage a large and diverse group of stakeholders in the iterative cycles of divergent thinking and consensus building required, while maintaining a broad perspective on the issue being studied. GCM provides a compelling resource for overcoming this challenge, by richly engaging a diverse set of stakeholders in broad exploration, structuring, and prioritization. SD provides an opportunity to extend GCM findings by embedding constructs in a testable hypothesis (SD model) describing how system structure and changes in constructs affect outcomes over time. SD can be used to simulate the hypothesized dynamics inherent in GCM concept maps. We illustrate the potential of the marriage of these methodologies in a case study of BECOMING, a federally-funded program aimed at strengthening the cross-sector system of care for youth with severe emotional disturbances. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Consequences of Learned Helplessness and Recognition of the State of Cognitive Exhaustion in Persons with Mild Intellectual Disability

PubMed Central

Gacek, Michał; Smoleń, Tomasz; Pilecka, Władysława

2017-01-01

Persons with intellectual disability are a group at risk of being exposed to overly demanding problem-solving situations, which may produce learned helplessness. The research was based on the informational model of learned helplessness. The consequences of exposure to an unsolvable task and the ability to recognize the symptoms of cognitive exhaustion were tested in 120 students with mild intellectual disability. After the exposure to the unsolvable task, persons in the experimental group obtained lower results than the control group in the escape/avoidance learning task, but a similar result was found in the divergent thinking fluency task. Also, participants in the experimental group had difficulties recognizing the symptoms of the cognitive exhaustion state. After a week’s time, the difference in escape/avoidance learning performance was still observed. The results indicate that exposure to unsolvable tasks may negatively influence the cognitive performance in persons with intellectual disability, although those persons may not identify the cognitive state related to lowered performance. PMID:28479937

Consequences of Learned Helplessness and Recognition of the State of Cognitive Exhaustion in Persons with Mild Intellectual Disability.

PubMed

Gacek, Michał; Smoleń, Tomasz; Pilecka, Władysława

2017-01-01

Persons with intellectual disability are a group at risk of being exposed to overly demanding problem-solving situations, which may produce learned helplessness . The research was based on the informational model of learned helplessness. The consequences of exposure to an unsolvable task and the ability to recognize the symptoms of cognitive exhaustion were tested in 120 students with mild intellectual disability. After the exposure to the unsolvable task, persons in the experimental group obtained lower results than the control group in the escape/avoidance learning task, but a similar result was found in the divergent thinking fluency task. Also, participants in the experimental group had difficulties recognizing the symptoms of the cognitive exhaustion state. After a week's time, the difference in escape/avoidance learning performance was still observed. The results indicate that exposure to unsolvable tasks may negatively influence the cognitive performance in persons with intellectual disability, although those persons may not identify the cognitive state related to lowered performance.

Critical thinking, educational preparation, and development of moral judgment among selected groups of practicing nurses.

PubMed

Ketefian, S

1981-01-01

The focus of this descriptive study was the relationship between critical thinking, educational preparation, and level of moral judgment in 79 practicing nurses. The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Test was used to measure critical thinking; information on the participating nurses' educational preparation was obtained from a personal information sheet. Moral judgment was measured by Rest's Defining Issues Test. The hypothesis that critical thinking would be positively related to moral judgment was tested by Pearson product moment correlation; the obtained coefficient of .5326 was significant at the .001 level. The hypothesis that there would be a difference between professional and technical nurses' moral judgments was tested through a one-way analysis of variance. The F ratio (F [1,77] = 9.6) was significant beyond the .01 level. Data also supported the hypothesis that critical thinking and educational preparation would predict greater variance in moral judgment than either variable alone, which was tested through multiple regression analysis (F [2,75] = 18.3, p = .01). Critical thinking and education together accounted for 32.9 percent of the variance in moral judgment. Implications of the findings are discussed for nursing research, practice, and education.

Users Guide for the Strategic Thinking Mindset Test (STMT)

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-06-01

intended as an exercise in honest self-awareness and self-reflection, this pre - knowledge would make the test much less useful in that regard. In the test ...Research Product 2018-02 User’s Guide for the Strategic Thinking Mindset Test (STMT) William S. Weyhrauch Consortium...COVERED (from. . . to) Sept 2012 – May 2016 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE User’s Guide for the Strategic Thinking Mindset Test (STMT) 5a. CONTRACT OR

Using a creativity-focused science program to foster general creativity in young children: A teacher action research study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gomes, Joan Julieanne Mariani

The importance of thinking and problem-solving skills, and the ability to integrate and analyze information has been recognized and yet may be lacking in schools. Creativity is inherently linked to problem finding, problem solving, and divergent thinking (Arieti, 1976; Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Milgram, 1990). The importance of early childhood education and its role in the formation of young minds has been recognized (Caine & Caine, 1991; Montessori, 1967a, 1967b; Piaget, 1970). Early childhood education also impacts creativity (Gardner, 1999). The features of brain-based learning (Caine & Caine, 1991; Jensen, 1998; Sousa, 2001; Wolfe, 2001) have a clear connection to nurturing the creative potential in students. Intrinsic motivation and emotions affect student learning and creativity as well (Hennessey & Amabile, 1987). The purpose of this study was to discern if a creativity-focused science curriculum for the kindergarteners at a Montessori early learning center could increase creativity in students. This action research study included observations of the students in two classrooms, one using the creativity-focused science curriculum, and the other using the existing curriculum. The data collected for this interpretive study included interviews with the students, surveys and interviews with their parents and teachers, teacher observations, and the administration of Torrance's (1981) Thinking Creatively in Action and Movement (TCAM) test. The interpretation of the data indicated that the enhanced science curriculum played a role in enhancing the creativity of the children in the creativity-focused group. The results of the TCAM (Torrance, 1981) showed a significant increase in scores for the children in the creativity-focused group. The qualitative data revealed a heightened interest in science and the observation of creative traits, processes, and products in the creativity-focused group children. The implications of this study included the need for meaningful learning experiences, experiential learning opportunities, critical thinking and problem solving activities, and an emphasis on freedom, independence, and autonomy on the part of the learner. These elements, when combined with an integrated science curriculum, can foster creativity in young children.

International Space Station Internal Thermal Control System Cold Plate/Fluid-Stability Test: Two Year Update

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wieland, Paul; Holt, Mike; Roman, Monsi; Cole, Harold; Daugherty, Steve

2003-01-01

Operation of the Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS) Cold Plate/Fluid-Stability Test Facility commenced on September 5, 2000. The facility was intended to provide advance indication of potential problems on board the International Space Station (ISS) and was designed: 1) To be materially similar to the flight ITCS. 2) To allow for monitoring during operation. 3) To run continuously for three years. During the first two years of operation the conditions of the coolant and components were remarkably stable. During this same period of time, the conditions of the ISS ITCS significantly diverged from the desired state. Due to this divergence, the test facility has not been providing information useful for predicting the flight ITCS condition. Results of the first two years are compared with flight conditions over the same time period, showing the similarities and divergences. To address the divergences, the test facility was modified incrementally to more closely match the flight conditions, and to gain insight into the reasons for the divergence. Results of these incremental changes are discussed and provide insight into the development of the conditions on orbit.

Lineage diversification in a widespread species: roles for niche divergence and conservatism in the common kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula.

PubMed

Alexander Pyron, R; Burbrink, Frank T

2009-08-01

Niche conservatism and niche divergence are both important ecological mechanisms associated with promoting allopatric speciation across geographical barriers. However, the potential for variable responses in widely distributed organisms has not been fully investigated. For allopatric sister lineages, three patterns for the interaction of ecological niche preference and geographical barriers are possible: (i) niche conservatism at a physical barrier; (ii) niche divergence at a physical barrier; and (iii) niche divergence in the absence of a physical barrier. We test for the presence of these patterns in a transcontinentally distributed snake species, the common kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula), to determine the relative frequency of niche conservatism or divergence in a single species complex inhabiting multiple distinct ecoregions. We infer the phylogeographic structure of the kingsnake using a range-wide data set sampled for the mitochondrial gene cytochrome b. We use coalescent simulation methods to test for the presence of structured lineage formation vs. fragmentation of a widespread ancestor. Finally, we use statistical techniques for creating and evaluating ecological niche models to test for conservatism of ecological niche preferences. Significant geographical structure is present in the kingsnake, for which coalescent tests indicate structured population division. Surprisingly, we find evidence for all three patterns of conservatism and divergence. This suggests that ecological niche preferences may be labile on recent phylogenetic timescales, and that lineage formation in widespread species can result from an interaction between inertial tendencies of niche conservatism and natural selection on populations in ecologically divergent habitats.

Development of a Test to Evaluate Students' Analytical Thinking Based on Fact versus Opinion Differentiation

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thaneerananon, Taveep; Triampo, Wannapong; Nokkaew, Artorn

2016-01-01

Nowadays, one of the biggest challenges of education in Thailand is the development and promotion of the students' thinking skills. The main purposes of this research were to develop an analytical thinking test for 6th grade students and evaluate the students' analytical thinking. The sample was composed of 3,567 6th grade students in 2014…

Use of Reflection-in-Action and Self-Assessment to Promote Critical Thinking Among Pharmacy Students

PubMed Central

Gregory, Paul AM; Chiu, Stephanie

2008-01-01

Objective To examine whether self-assessment and reflection-in-action improves critical thinking among pharmacy students. Methods A 24-item standardized test of critical thinking was developed utilizing previously-validated questions. Participants were divided into 2 groups (conditions). Those in condition 1 completed the test with no interference; those in condition 2 completed the test but were prompted at specific points during the test to reflect and self-assess. Results A total of 94 undergraduate (BScPhm) pharmacy students participated in this study. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed between those who completed the test under condition 1 and condition 2, suggesting reflection and self-assessment may contribute positively to improvement in critical thinking. Conclusions Structured opportunities to reflect-in-action and self-assess may be associated with improvements among pharmacy students in performance of tasks related to critical thinking. PMID:18698383

The Effect of Concept Attainment Model on Mathematically Critical Thinking Ability of The University Students

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angraini, L. M.; Kartasasmita, B.; Dasari, D.

2017-02-01

This study examined the university students’ mathematically critical thinking ability through Concept Attainment Model learning. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Levene test, t test, ANOVA one and two ways were used to analyse the data. The results of this study showed that (1) there is no difference grade on the student’s mathematical critical thinking ability between experimental group and conventional group as a whole, (2) there is no difference on the students’ mathematical critical thinking ability of experimental classes based on their mathematical early ability (3) there is no interaction between the learning that is used with the students’ mathematical early ability on the students’ mathematical critical thinking ability.

The role of (dis)inhibition in creativity: decreased inhibition improves idea generation.

PubMed

Radel, Rémi; Davranche, Karen; Fournier, Marion; Dietrich, Arne

2015-01-01

There is now a large body of evidence showing that many different conditions related to impaired fronto-executive functioning are associated with the enhancement of some types of creativity. In this paper, we pursue the possibility that the central mechanism associated with this effect might be a reduced capacity to exert inhibition. We tested this hypothesis by exhausting the inhibition efficiency through prolonged and intensive practice of either the Simon or the Eriksen Flanker task. Performance on another inhibition task indicated that only the cognitive resources for inhibition of participants facing high inhibition demands were impaired. Subsequent creativity tests revealed that exposure to high inhibition demands led to enhanced fluency in a divergent thinking task (Alternate Uses Task), but no such changes occurred in a convergent task (Remote Associate Task; studies 1a and 1b). The same manipulation also led to a hyper-priming effect for weakly related primes in a Lexical Decision Task (Study 2). Together, these findings suggest that inhibition selectively affects some types of creative processes and that, when resources for inhibition are lacking, the frequency and the originality of ideas was facilitated. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Instructional Model and Thinking Skill in Chemistry Class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langkudi, H. H.

2018-02-01

Chemistry course are considered a difficult lesson for students as evidenced by low learning outcomes on daily tests, mid-semester tests as well as final semester tests. This research intended to investigate the effect of instructional model, thinking skill and the interaction of these variables on students’ achievement in chemistry. Experimental method was applying used 2 x 2 factorial design. The results showed that the use of instructional model with thinking skill influences student’s learning outcomes, so that the chemistry teacher is recommended to pay attention to the learning model, and adjusted to the student’s skill thinking on the chemistry material being taught. The conclusion of this research is that discovery model is suitable for students who have formal thinking skill and conventional model is fit for the students that have concrete thinking skill.

Enhancing students’ critical thinking skills through critical thinking assessment in calculus course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zulfaneti; Edriati, S.; Mukhni

2018-01-01

This study aims to determine the development of students’ critical thinking skills through the implementation of critical thinking instruments in Calculus lectures. The instruments consist of observation sheets, critical thinking test, self-assessment, peer assessment and portfolio. The research was a qualitative research; with the participants were 53 first-year students who take Integral Calculus in Mathematics Education Department STKIP PGRI Sumatera Barat representing high-ability students, medium and low. The data in this study were collected by tests, interviews, observations and field notes. Data were analyzed descriptively; data reduction, data presentation, and conclusions. For testing the validity of data, it was used credibility test data by increasing persistence and triangulation. The results showed that in high-level students there is a change of ability from Critical enough to be Very Critical, in the students with moderate and low ability there is a change of ability from Uncritical to Critical. So it can be concluded that the assessment instruments have a good contribution and can improve the ability of critical thinking.

Effect of Higher Order Thinking Laboratory on the Improvement of Critical and Creative Thinking Skills

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Setiawan, A.; Malik, A.; Suhandi, A.; Permanasari, A.

2018-02-01

This research was based on the need for improving critical and creative thinking skills of student in the 21 -st century. In this research, we have implemented HOT-Lab model for topic of force. The model was characterized by problem solving and higher order thinking development through real laboratory activities. This research used a quasy experiment method with pre-test post-test control group design. Samples of this research were 60 students of Physics Education Program of Teacher Educatuon Institution in Bandung. The samples were divided into 2 classes, experiment class (HOT-lab model) and control class (verification lab model). Research instruments were essay tests for creative and critical thinking skills measurements. The results revealed that both the models have improved student’s creative and critical thinking skills. However, the improvement of the experiment class was significantly higher than that of the control class, as indicated by the average of normalized gains (N-gain) for critical thinking skills of 60.18 and 29.30 and for creative thinking skills of 70.71 and 29.40, respectively for the experimental class and the control class. In addition, there is no significant correlation between the improvement of critical thinking skills and creative thinking skills in both the classes.

Temporal cognition in children with autistic spectrum disorders: tests of diachronic thinking.

PubMed

Boucher, Jill; Pons, Francisco; Lind, Sophie; Williams, David

2007-09-01

Impaired diachronic thinking-(the propensity and capacity to think about events spreading across time)-was demonstrated in a 2-Phase study in which children with autism were compared with age and ability matched controls. Identical tests of diachronic thinking were administered in both phases of the study, but to different participant groups, with the same results. The marked impairments shown are therefore robust. Various non-temporal explanations of the findings were eliminated by the results of control tasks in Phase 2. Diachronic thinking did not correlate with verbal or non-verbal ability, age, or mentalising ability, consistent with other evidence of the specificity of diachronic thinking ability. Possible causes of impaired diachronic thinking in autism are discussed.

Testing evolutionary hypotheses for phenotypic divergence using landscape genetics.

PubMed

Funk, W Chris; Murphy, Melanie A

2010-02-01

Understanding the evolutionary causes of phenotypic variation among populations has long been a central theme in evolutionary biology. Several factors can influence phenotypic divergence, including geographic isolation, genetic drift, divergent natural or sexual selection, and phenotypic plasticity. But the relative importance of these factors in generating phenotypic divergence in nature is still a tantalizing and unresolved problem in evolutionary biology. The origin and maintenance of phenotypic divergence is also at the root of many ongoing debates in evolutionary biology, such as the extent to which gene flow constrains adaptive divergence (Garant et al. 2007) and the relative importance of genetic drift, natural selection, and sexual selection in initiating reproductive isolation and speciation (Coyne & Orr 2004). In this issue, Wang & Summers (2010) test the causes of one of the most fantastic examples of phenotypic divergence in nature: colour pattern divergence among populations of the strawberry poison frog (Dendrobates pumilio) in Panama and Costa Rica (Fig. 1). This study provides a beautiful example of the use of the emerging field of landscape genetics to differentiate among hypotheses for phenotypic divergence. Using landscape genetic analyses, Wang & Summers were able to reject the hypotheses that colour pattern divergence is due to isolation-by-distance (IBD) or landscape resistance. Instead, the hypothesis left standing is that colour divergence is due to divergent selection, in turn driving reproductive isolation among populations with different colour morphs. More generally, this study provides a wonderful example of how the emerging field of landscape genetics, which has primarily been applied to questions in conservation and ecology, now plays an essential role in evolutionary research.

Summary of directional divergence characteristics of several high performance aircraft configurations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Greer, H. D.

1972-01-01

The present paper summarizes the high-angle-of-attack characteristics of a number of high-performance aircraft as determined from model force tests and free-flight model tests and correlates these characteristics with the dynamic directional-stability parameter. This correlation shows that the dynamic directional-stability parameter correlates fairly well with directional divergence. Data are also presented to show the effect of some airframe modifications on the directional divergence potential of the configuration. These results show that leading-edge slates seem to be the most effective airframe modification for reducing or eliminating the directional divergence potential of aircraft with moderately swept wings.

The role of student’s critical asking question in developing student’s critical thinking skills

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santoso, T.; Yuanita, L.; Erman, E.

2018-01-01

Questioning means thinking, and thinking is manifested in the form of questions. Research that studies the relationship between questioning and students’ critical thinking skills is little, if any. The aim of this study is to examine how student’s questions skill correlates to student’s critical thinking skills in learning of chemistry. The research design used was one group pretest-posttest design. The participants involved were 94 students, all of whom attended their last semesters, Chemistry Education of Tadulako University. A pre-test was administered to check participants’ ability to ask critical questions and critical thinking skills in learning chemistry. Then, the students were taught by using questioning technique. After accomplishing the lesson, a post-test was given to evaluate their progress. Obtained data were analyzed by using Pair-Samples T.Test and correlation methods. The result shows that the level of the questions plays an important role in critical thinking skills is the question levels of predictive, analysis, evaluation and inference.

Divergence in an obligate mutualism is not explained by divergent climatic factors

USGS Publications Warehouse

Godsoe, W.; Strand, Espen; Smith, C.I.; Yoder, J.B.; Esque, T.C.; Pellmyr, O.

2009-01-01

Adaptation to divergent environments creates and maintains biological diversity, but we know little about the importance of different agents of ecological divergence. Coevolution in obligate mutualisms has been hypothesized to drive divergence, but this contention has rarely been tested against alternative ecological explanations. Here, we use a well-established example of coevolution in an obligate pollination mutualism, Yucca brevifolia and its two pollinating yucca moths, to test the hypothesis that divergence in this system is the result of mutualists adapting to different abiotic environments as opposed to coevolution between mutualists. ??? We used a combination of principal component analyses and ecological niche modeling to determine whether varieties of Y. brevifolia associated with different pollinators specialize on different environments. ??? Yucca brevifolia occupies a diverse range of climates. When the two varieties can disperse to similar environments, they occupy similar habitats. ??? This suggests that the two varieties have not specialized on distinct habitats. In turn, this suggests that nonclimatic factors, such as the biotic interaction between Y. brevifolia and its pollinators, are responsible for evolutionary divergence in this system. ?? New Phytologist (2009).

Use of Multi-Response Format Test in the Assessment of Medical Students' Critical Thinking Ability.

PubMed

Mafinejad, Mahboobeh Khabaz; Arabshahi, Seyyed Kamran Soltani; Monajemi, Alireza; Jalili, Mohammad; Soltani, Akbar; Rasouli, Javad

2017-09-01

To evaluate students critical thinking skills effectively, change in assessment practices is must. The assessment of a student's ability to think critically is a constant challenge, and yet there is considerable debate on the best assessment method. There is evidence that the intrinsic nature of open and closed-ended response questions is to measure separate cognitive abilities. To assess critical thinking ability of medical students by using multi-response format of assessment. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a group of 159 undergraduate third-year medical students. All the participants completed the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) consisting of 34 multiple-choice questions to measure general critical thinking skills and a researcher-developed test that combines open and closed-ended questions. A researcher-developed 48-question exam, consisting of 8 short-answers and 5 essay questions, 19 Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQ), and 16 True-False (TF) questions, was used to measure critical thinking skills. Correlation analyses were performed using Pearson's coefficient to explore the association between the total scores of tests and subtests. One hundred and fifty-nine students participated in this study. The sample comprised 81 females (51%) and 78 males (49%) with an age range of 20±2.8 years (mean 21.2 years). The response rate was 64.1%. A significant positive correlation was found between types of questions and critical thinking scores, of which the correlations of MCQ (r=0.82) and essay questions (r=0.77) were strongest. The significant positive correlations between multi-response format test and CCTST's subscales were seen in analysis, evaluation, inference and inductive reasoning. Unlike CCTST subscales, multi-response format test have weak correlation with CCTST total score (r=0.45, p=0.06). This study highlights the importance of considering multi-response format test in the assessment of critical thinking abilities of medical students by using both open and closed-ended response questions.

Assessment of Creative Thinking across Cultures Using the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT): Translation and Validity Issues

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yarbrough, Nükhet D.

2016-01-01

As part of a project to translate and administer the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) to Turkish elementary and secondary students, 35 professionals were trained in a full-day workshop to learn to score the verbal TTCT. All trainees scored the same 4 sets of TTCT verbal criterion tests for fluency, flexibility, and originality by filling…

Improving the critical thinking skills of junior high school students on Earth and Space Science (ESS) materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marlina, L.; Liliasari; Tjasyono, B.; Hendayana, S.

2018-05-01

Critical thinking skills need to be developed in students. With critical thinking skills, students will be able to understand the concept with more depth easily, be sensitive with problems that occur, understand and solve problems that occur in their surroundings, and apply the concepts in different situations. Earth and Space Science (ESS) material is part of the science subjects given from elementary school to college. This research is a test of research program with quantitative method. This study aims to investigate the improvement of critical thinking skills of students through training of science teachers in junior high school in designing learning media for teaching ESS. With samples of 24 science teachers and 32 students of grade 7th in junior high school which are chosen by purposive sampling in a school in Ogan Ilir District, South Sumatra, obtained average pre-test and post-test scores of students’ critical thinking skills are 52.26 and 67.06 with an average N-gain of 0.31. A survey and critical thinking skills based-test were conducted to get the data. The results show positive impact and an increase in students’ critical thinking skills on the ESS material.

Variational divergence in wave scattering theory with Kirchhoffean trial functions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bird, J. F.

1986-01-01

In a recent study of variational improvement of the Kirchhoff approximation for electromagnetic scattering by rough surfaces, a key ingredient in the variational principle was found to diverge for important configurations (e.g., backscatter) if the polarization had any vertical component. The cause and a cure of this divergence are discussed here. The divergence is demonstrated to occur for arbitrary perfectly conducting scatterers and its universal characterstics are determined, by means of a general divergence criterion that is derived. A variational cure for the divergence is prescribed, and it is tested successfully on a standard scattering model.

Critical Thinking: More than Test Scores

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Vernon G.; Szymanski, Antonia

2013-01-01

This article is for practicing or aspiring school administrators. The demand for excellence in public education has lead to an emphasis on standardized test scores. This article explores the development of a professional enhancement program designed to prepare teachers to teach higher order thinking skills. Higher order thinking is the primary…

Development of Critical Spatial Thinking through GIS Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kim, Minsung; Bednarz, Robert

2013-01-01

This study developed an interview-based critical spatial thinking oral test and used the test to investigate the effects of Geographic Information System (GIS) learning on three components of critical spatial thinking: evaluating data reliability, exercising spatial reasoning, and assessing problem-solving validity. Thirty-two students at a large…

Raising test scores vs. teaching higher order thinking (HOT): senior science teachers' views on how several concurrent policies affect classroom practices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zohar, Anat; Alboher Agmon, Vered

2018-04-01

This study investigates how senior science teachers viewed the effects of a Raising Test Scores policy and its implementation on instruction of higher order thinking (HOT), and on teaching thinking to students with low academic achievements.

Effect of a brief cognitive behavioural intervention on criminal thinking and prison misconduct in male inmates: Variable-oriented and person-oriented analyses.

PubMed

Walters, Glenn D

2017-12-01

There is some consensus on the value of cognitive-behaviourally informed interventions in the criminal justice system, but uncertainty about which components are of critical value. To test the hypothesis that change in prisoners - criminal thinking and institutional misconduct - will both follow completion of a brief cognitive behavioural intervention. A one-group pre-test-post-test quasi-experimental design was used to assess change on the General Criminal Thinking (GCT) scale of the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles among 219 male prisoners completing a 10-week cognitive behavioural intervention, referred to as 'Lifestyle Issues'. Institutional misconduct was measured for 1 year prior to completion of the course and 2 years subsequently. Using variable-oriented analysis, post-test GCT scores were compared with change in prison conduct, controlling for the pre-test thinking scores. Calculations were repeated by using person-oriented analysis. Prisoners who displayed a drop in GCT scores between pre-test and post-test levels were significantly more likely to show a reduction in prison misconduct, whereas prison misconduct was likely to escalate among those who displayed a rise in criminal thinking scores from pre-test to post-test. These findings must still be regarded as preliminary, but taken together with other work and with cognitive behavioural theory, they suggest that development of more prosocial thinking and abilities may have an early beneficial effect on institutional behaviour. Their measurement may offer a practical way in which men could be assessed for readiness to return to the community. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Effectiveness of guided inquiry learning model to improve students’ critical thinking skills at senior high school

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nisa, E. K.; Koestiari, T.; Habibbulloh, M.; Jatmiko, Budi

2018-03-01

This research aimed to describe the effectiveness of guided inquiry learning model to improve students' critical thinking skills. Subjects in the research were 90 students at three groups of senior high school grade X on Tarik (Indonesia), which follows a physics lesson on static fluid material in academic year 2016/2017. The research was used one group pre-test and post-test design. Before and after being given physics learning with guided discovery learning model, students in the three groups were given the same test (pre-test and post-test). The results of this research showed: 1) there is an increased score of students' critical thinking skills in each group on α = 5%; 2) average N-gain of students' critical thinking skills of each group is a high category; and 3) average N-gain of the three groups did not differ. The conclusion of this research is that learning model of guided inquiry effective to improve students' critical thinking skills.

Using problem-based learning to improve students' creative thinking skills on water purification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wahyu, Wawan; Kurnia, Eli, Rohaeni Nur

2016-02-01

The aim of this study is to obtain information about the using Problem-based Learning (PBL) to improve students' creative thinking skills on water purification. The research adopted quasi-experimental method with one group pre-test-post-test design, involving 31students of class XI in one SMK in Cimahi as the subjects of study. The students were divided into three groups categories: high, medium, and low based on the average grades of daily tests. The used instruments in this study were essay, observation sheet, questionnaire (Likert scale), and interview sheet Aspects of creative thinking skills are developed including: fluency, flexibility, originality, detailing (elaborative), and judging (evaluative). To identify the improvement of students' creative thinking skills on water purification, "normalized gain" or of the pre-test and post-test scores was calculated. The results showed that PBL can enhance students' creative thinking skills by means high category (percentage of = 70.12%). This nformation can be used as an input to teachers in the school and teacher education programs.

SENSITIVITY DIFFERENCE AMONG VARIOUS STRAINS OF HYALLELA AZTECA

EPA Science Inventory

The North American amphipod Hyalella azteca is widely used in toxicity testing. H. azteca has a broad geographic distribution, and genetic evidence suggests that populations diverged from each other long ago. The importance of this genetic divergence to toxicity testing is uncle...

Assessing critical thinking in medical sciences students in two sequential semesters: Does it improve?

PubMed

Athari, Zeinab-Sadat; Sharif, Sayyed-Mostafa; Nasr, Ahmad Reza; Nematbakhsh, Mehdi

2013-01-01

Critical thinking is an important outcome criterion of higher education in any discipline. Medical and paramedical students always encounter with many new problems in clinical settings and medicinal laboratory, and critical thinking is an essential skill in obtaining a better approach for problem solving. We performed a pre-and post-test to evaluate the change of critical thinking skills in medical sciences students who enrolled in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in Iran during the academic years 2008-2010. In a longitudinal design study, the critical thinking skills were compared in medical sciences students in two sequential semesters using the California Critical Thinking Skills Test. The test is divided into two parts (parts 1 and 2), including 17 items in each part. Based on proportional stratified sampling, a groups of students (group 1, n=159) were selected from the university population, who enrolled in medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and rehabilitation colleges. The students in group 1 were asked to complete the part 1 of the test (phase I). After one semester, another group (group 2, n=138) from the same population was randomly selected, and they were asked to complete the part two (phase II). The students' demographic data also were recorded. The California critical thinking skills test was translated and it validity and reliability were approved before. No significant difference was observed between the two groups in the demographic data. The students critical thinking scores in phase II significantly reduced in comparison with phase 1 (p<0.05). The phase II scores in subdivisions of analysis, inference, inductive reasoning, and deductive reasoning also failed to demonstrate improvement. It seems curriculum reform is necessary to improve the students' critical thinking.

Clinical concept mapping: Does it improve discipline-based critical thinking of nursing students?

PubMed

Moattari, Marzieh; Soleimani, Sara; Moghaddam, Neda Jamali; Mehbodi, Farkhondeh

2014-01-01

Enhancing nursing students' critical thinking is a challenge faced by nurse educators. This study aimed at determining the effect of clinical concept mapping on discipline-based critical thinking of nursing students. In this quasi-experimental post-test only design, a convenient sample of 4(th) year nursing students (N = 32) participated. They were randomly divided into two groups. The experimental group participated in a 1-day workshop on clinical concept mapping. They were also assigned to use at least two clinical concepts mapping during their clinical practice. Post-test was done using a specially designed package consisting of vignettes for measurement of 17 dimensions of critical thinking in nursing under two categories of cognitive critical thinking skills and habits of mind. They were required to write about how they would use a designated critical thinking skills or habits of mind to accomplish the nursing actions. The students' responses were evaluated based on identification of critical thinking, justification, and quality of the student's response. The mean score of both groups was compared by Mann-Whitney test using SPSS version 16.5. The results of the study revealed a significant difference between the two groups' critical thinking regarding identification, justification, and quality of responses, and overall critical thinking scores, cognitive thinking skills, and habits of mind. The two groups also differed significantly from each other in 11 out of 17 dimensions of critical thinking. Clinical concept mapping is a valuable strategy for improvement of critical thinking of nursing students. However, further studies are recommended to generalize this result to nursing students in their earlier stage of education.

Integrating paleoecology and genetics of bird populations in two sky island archipelagos.

PubMed

McCormack, John E; Bowen, Bonnie S; Smith, Thomas B

2008-06-27

Genetic tests of paleoecological hypotheses have been rare, partly because recent genetic divergence is difficult to detect and time. According to fossil plant data, continuous woodland in the southwestern USA and northern Mexico became fragmented during the last 10,000 years, as warming caused cool-adapted species to retreat to high elevations. Most genetic studies of resulting 'sky islands' have either failed to detect recent divergence or have found discordant evidence for ancient divergence. We test this paleoecological hypothesis for the region with intraspecific mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite data from sky-island populations of a sedentary bird, the Mexican jay (Aphelocoma ultramarina). We predicted that populations on different sky islands would share common, ancestral alleles that existed during the last glaciation, but that populations on each sky island, owing to their isolation, would contain unique variants of postglacial origin. We also predicted that divergence times estimated from corrected genetic distance and a coalescence model would post-date the last glacial maximum. Our results provide multiple independent lines of support for postglacial divergence, with the predicted pattern of shared and unique mitochondrial DNA haplotypes appearing in two independent sky-island archipelagos, and most estimates of divergence time based on corrected genetic distance post-dating the last glacial maximum. Likewise, an isolation model based on multilocus gene coalescence indicated postglacial divergence of five pairs of sky islands. In contrast to their similar recent histories, the two archipelagos had dissimilar historical patterns in that sky islands in Arizona showed evidence for older divergence, suggesting different responses to the last glaciation. This study is one of the first to provide explicit support from genetic data for a postglacial divergence scenario predicted by one of the best paleoecological records in the world. Our results demonstrate that sky islands act as generators of genetic diversity at both recent and historical timescales and underscore the importance of thorough sampling and the use of loci with fast mutation rates to studies that test hypotheses concerning recent genetic divergence.

Two Questions about Critical-Thinking Tests in Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benjamin, Roger

2014-01-01

In this article, the author argues first, that critical-thinking skills do exist independent of disciplinary thinking skills and are not compromised by interaction effects with the major; and second, that standardized tests (e.g., the Collegiate Learning Assessment, or CLA, which is his example throughout the article) are the best way to measure…

The California Critical Thinking Skills Test and Business School Performance

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bycio, Peter; Allen, Joyce S.

2009-01-01

An intent of many business programs is to enhance the critical thinking capabilities of their students. Since AACSB accreditation requires evidence that business schools fulfill their goals, our students were required to take the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST). As expected, the CCTST was significantly related to SAT performance…

Comparing Two Tests of Formal Reasoning in a College Chemistry Context

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jiang, Bo; Xu, Xiaoying; Garcia, Alicia; Lewis, Jennifer E.

2010-01-01

The Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT) and the Group Assessment of Logical Thinking (GALT) are two of the instruments most widely used by science educators and researchers to measure students' formal reasoning abilities. Based on Piaget's cognitive development theory, formal thinking ability has been shown to be essential for student achievement in…

Learning to Think Spatially: What Do Students "See" in Numeracy Test Items?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Diezmann, Carmel M.; Lowrie, Tom

2012-01-01

Learning to think spatially in mathematics involves developing proficiency with graphics. This paper reports on 2 investigations of spatial thinking and graphics. The first investigation explored the importance of graphics as 1 of 3 communication systems (i.e. text, symbols, graphics) used to provide information in numeracy test items. The results…

Components of Spatial Thinking: Evidence from a Spatial Thinking Ability Test

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lee, Jongwon; Bednarz, Robert

2012-01-01

This article introduces the development and validation of the spatial thinking ability test (STAT). The STAT consists of sixteen multiple-choice questions of eight types. The STAT was validated by administering it to a sample of 532 junior high, high school, and university students. Factor analysis using principal components extraction was applied…

Levels of Critical Thinking of Secondary Agriculture Students.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rollins, Timothy J.

1990-01-01

A total of 668 Iowa secondary agriculture students completed the Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level X. These scores and data from the Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED) revealed levels of proficiency comparable to other high school populations. The best indicator of critical thinking score was the ITED subtest Reading Total. (SK)

Psychometric Evaluation of the Italian Adaptation of the Test of Inferential and Creative Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Faraci, Palmira; Hell, Benedikt; Schuler, Heinz

2016-01-01

This article describes the psychometric properties of the Italian adaptation of the "Analyse des Schlussfolgernden und Kreativen Denkens" (ASK; Test of Inferential and Creative Thinking) for measuring inferential and creative thinking. The study aimed to (a) supply evidence for the factorial structure of the instrument, (b) describe its…

Reformulating Testing to Measure Thinking and Learning. Technical Report No. 6898.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Collins, Allan

This paper discusses systemic problems with testing and outlines two scenarios for reformulating testing based on intelligent tutoring systems. Five desiderata are provided to underpin the type of testing proposed: (1) tests should emphasize learning and thinking; (2) tests should require generation as well as selection; (3) tests should be…

Assessing Students' Critical Thinking Performance: Urging for Measurements Using Multi-Response Format

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ku, Kelly Y. L.

2009-01-01

The current paper discusses ambiguities in critical thinking assessment. The paper first reviews the components of critical thinking. It then discusses the features and issues of commonly used critical thinking tests and to what extend they are made compatible to the conceptualization of critical thinking. The paper argues that critical thinking…

Student’s critical thinking skills in authentic problem based learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuliati, L.; Fauziah, R.; Hidayat, A.

2018-05-01

This study aims to determine students’ critical thinking skills in authentic problem based learning, especially on geometric optics. The study was conducted at the vocational school. The study used a quantitative descriptive method with the open question to measure critical thinking skills. The indicators of critical thinking skills measured in this study are: formulating problems, providing simple answers, applying formulas and procedures, analyzing information, making conclusions, and synthesizing ideas. The results showed that there was a positive change in students’ critical thinking skills with the average value of N-Gain test is 0.59 and effect size test is 3.73. The critical thinking skills of students need to be trained more intensively using authentic problems in daily life.

Division within the North American boreal forest: Ecological niche divergence between the Bicknell's Thrush (Catharus bicknelli) and Gray-cheeked Thrush (C. minimus).

PubMed

FitzGerald, Alyssa M

2017-07-01

Sister species that diverged in allopatry in similar environments are expected to exhibit niche conservatism. Using ecological niche modeling and a multivariate analysis of climate and habitat data, I test the hypothesis that the Bicknell's Thrush ( Catharus bicknelli ) and Gray-cheeked Thrush ( C. mimimus ), sister species that breed in the North American boreal forest, show niche conservatism. Three tree species that are important components of breeding territories of both thrush species were combined with climatic variables to create niche models consisting of abiotic and biotic components. Abiotic-only, abiotic+biotic, and biotic-only models were evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC) criterion. Abiotic+biotic models had higher AUC scores and did not over-project thrush distributions compared to abiotic-only or biotic-only models. From the abiotic+biotic models, I tested for niche conservatism or divergence by accounting for the differences in the availability of niche components by calculating (1) niche overlap from ecological niche models and (2) mean niche differences of environmental values at occurrence points. Niche background similarity tests revealed significant niche divergence in 10 of 12 comparisons, and multivariate tests revealed niche divergence along 2 of 3 niche axes. The Bicknell's Thrush breeds in warmer and wetter regions with a high abundance of balsam fir ( Abies balsamea ), whereas Gray-cheeked Thrush often co-occurs with black spruce ( Picea mariana ). Niche divergence, rather than conservatism, was the predominant pattern for these species, suggesting that ecological divergence has played a role in the speciation of the Bicknell's Thrush and Gray-cheeked Thrush. Furthermore, because niche models were improved by the incorporation of biotic variables, this study validates the inclusion of relevant biotic factors in ecological niche modeling to increase model accuracy.

Multiple-Choice Exams: An Obstacle for Higher-Level Thinking in Introductory Science Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stanger-Hall, Kathrin F.

2012-01-01

Learning science requires higher-level (critical) thinking skills that need to be practiced in science classes. This study tested the effect of exam format on critical-thinking skills. Multiple-choice (MC) testing is common in introductory science courses, and students in these classes tend to associate memorization with MC questions and may not…

Development of a New Critical Thinking Test Using Item Response Theory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, Teresa A.; Harvey, Robert J.

2006-01-01

The authors describe the initial development of the Wagner Assessment Test (WAT), an instrument designed to assess critical thinking, using the 5-faceted view popularized by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA; G. B. Watson & E. M. Glaser, 1980). The WAT was designed to reduce the degree of successful guessing relative to the…

Preferred Teaching Styles and Modes of Thinking among University Students in Mainland China

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zhang, Li-fang

2006-01-01

The present study had three purposes. The first was to further explore the psychometric properties of the Preferred Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory [Zhang, L. F. (2003). "The preferred thinking styles in teaching inventory." Unpublished test. The University of Hong Kong: Hong Kong]. The second was to test the hypothesis that the…

Comparing Creative Thinking Abilities and Reasoning Ability of Deaf and Hearing Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ebrahim, Fawzy

2006-01-01

This study focuses on comparing the creative thinking and reasoning abilities of deaf and hearing children. Two groups of deaf (N = 210) and hearing children (N = 200) were chosen based on specific criteria. Two instruments were used in the study: the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking-Figural, Form A and Matrix Analogies Test. Canonical…

Students' Thinking and Alternative Conceptions of Transport Systems in Plants: A Follow-Up Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wang, Jing-Ru

2007-01-01

The purpose of the study was to explore students' alternative conceptions and their associative thinking regarding internal transport in plants through administration of a refined diagnostic test. Questions of associative thinking and explanation were added to form a third tier of the previous two-tier test. The study found three terms related to…

Pretend Play: Antecedent of Adult Creativity.

PubMed

Russ, Sandra W

2016-01-01

This article reviews the theoretical and empirical literature in the area of pretend play as a predictor of adult creativity. There is strong evidence that processes expressed in pretend play are associated with measures of creativity, especially with divergent thinking. There is some evidence from longitudinal studies that this association is stable over time. Converging evidence suggests that cognitive and affective processes in pretend play are involved in adult creative production. However, there is a lack of consensus in the field as to whether engaging in pretend play actually facilitates creative thinking. In addition, many other variables (opportunity, tolerance for failure, motivation, work ethic, etc.) determine whether children with creative potential are actually creative in adulthood. In spite of the many methodological challenges in conducting research in the play area, it is important to continue investigating specific processes expressed in play and their developmental trajectories. Large samples in multisite studies would be ideal in investigating the ability of specific play processes to predict these creative processes and creative productivity in adulthood. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Possible Brain Mechanisms of Creativity.

PubMed

Heilman, Kenneth M

2016-06-01

Creativity is the new discovery, understanding, development and expression of orderly and meaningful relationships. Creativity has three major stages: preparation, the development (nature and nurture) of critical knowledge and skills; innovation, the development of a creative solution; and creative production. Successful preparation requires a basic level of general intelligence and domain specific knowledge and skills and highly creative people may have anatomic alterations of specific neocortical regions. Innovation requires disengagement and divergent thinking primarily mediated by frontal networks. Creative people are often risk-takers and novelty seekers, behaviors that activate their ventral striatal reward system. Innovation also requires associative and convergent thinking, activities that are dependent on the integration of highly distributed networks. People are often most creative when they are in mental states associated with reduced levels of brain norepinephrine, which may enhance the communication between distributed networks. We, however, need to learn more about the brain mechanisms of creativity. Published by Oxford University Press 2016. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.

Positioning oneself within an epistemology: refining our thinking about integrative approaches.

PubMed

Dickerson, Victoria C

2010-09-01

Integrative approaches seem to be paramount in the current climate of family therapy and other psychotherapies. However, integration between and among theories and practices can only occur within a specific epistemology. This article makes a distinction between three different epistemologies: individualizing, systems, and poststructural. It then makes the argument that one can integrate theories within epistemologies and one can adopt practices and some theoretical concepts across theories and across epistemologies, but that it is impossible to integrate theories across epistemologies. It further states that although social constructionism has influenced much of contemporary psychological thinking, because of the divergence between a structural and a poststructural approach, constructionism looks different depending upon one's epistemological stance. Examples of integration within epistemologies and of what looks like integration across epistemologies (but is not) further illustrate these important distinctions. The conclusions reached here are crucial to our philosophical considerations, our pedagogical assumptions, and implications for both research and a reflexive clinical practice. 2010 © FPI, Inc.

A critical thinking disposition scale for nurses: short form.

PubMed

Hwang, Shiow-Y; Yen, Miaofen; Lee, Bih-O; Huang, Mei-C; Tseng, Hung-F

2010-11-01

The aim of this study was to test the Chinese version of the Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CTDI-CV) among nurses in Taiwan. Critical thinking is the use of purposeful self-regulatory judgments to identify patient's problems and provide patient care. Critical thinking influences nurses' decision making. To date, no inventory to understand nurse's critical thinking disposition has been developed. This was a survey design with a stratified random sampling to test the reliability and validity of the CTDI-CV. The participants comprised 864 registered nurses who were chosen by stratified random sampling from seven hospitals in Taiwan. Data were collected through self-administered structured questionnaires. A new scale, short form (SF) CTDI-CV, contains 18 items with three subscales: 'systematic analysis', 'thinking within the box' and 'thinking out of the box', was generated from the analysis with 44% explained variance. Cronbach's alpha coefficients and intra-class correlation coefficients for overall and subscale were above 0.8. Goodness-of-fit test for the final model of SF-CTDI-CV revealed an acceptable result in the overall fit (χ(2)/df = 4.04, p < 0.05, GFI = 0.93, AGFI = 0.91, SRMR = 0.076, RMSEA = 0.059). On the basis of these results, the SF-CTDI-CV is a reliable instrument for assessing critical thinking disposition for nurses. A short and valid critical thinking instrument for nurses will facilitate critical thinking research in the clinical practice arena. When designing continuing education activities, clinical educators will be able to efficiently and effectively evaluate the quality of critical thinking among practicing nurses. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Clinical concept mapping: Does it improve discipline-based critical thinking of nursing students?

PubMed Central

Moattari, Marzieh; Soleimani, Sara; Moghaddam, Neda Jamali; Mehbodi, Farkhondeh

2014-01-01

Background: Enhancing nursing students’ critical thinking is a challenge faced by nurse educators. This study aimed at determining the effect of clinical concept mapping on discipline-based critical thinking of nursing students. Materials and Methods: In this quasi-experimental post-test only design, a convenient sample of 4th year nursing students (N = 32) participated. They were randomly divided into two groups. The experimental group participated in a 1-day workshop on clinical concept mapping. They were also assigned to use at least two clinical concepts mapping during their clinical practice. Post-test was done using a specially designed package consisting of vignettes for measurement of 17 dimensions of critical thinking in nursing under two categories of cognitive critical thinking skills and habits of mind. They were required to write about how they would use a designated critical thinking skills or habits of mind to accomplish the nursing actions. The students’ responses were evaluated based on identification of critical thinking, justification, and quality of the student's response. The mean score of both groups was compared by Mann-Whitney test using SPSS version 16.5. Results: The results of the study revealed a significant difference between the two groups’ critical thinking regarding identification, justification, and quality of responses, and overall critical thinking scores, cognitive thinking skills, and habits of mind. The two groups also differed significantly from each other in 11 out of 17 dimensions of critical thinking. Conclusion: Clinical concept mapping is a valuable strategy for improvement of critical thinking of nursing students. However, further studies are recommended to generalize this result to nursing students in their earlier stage of education. PMID:24554963

Use of Multi-Response Format Test in the Assessment of Medical Students’ Critical Thinking Ability

PubMed Central

Mafinejad, Mahboobeh Khabaz; Monajemi, Alireza; Jalili, Mohammad; Soltani, Akbar; Rasouli, Javad

2017-01-01

Introduction To evaluate students critical thinking skills effectively, change in assessment practices is must. The assessment of a student’s ability to think critically is a constant challenge, and yet there is considerable debate on the best assessment method. There is evidence that the intrinsic nature of open and closed-ended response questions is to measure separate cognitive abilities. Aim To assess critical thinking ability of medical students by using multi-response format of assessment. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted on a group of 159 undergraduate third-year medical students. All the participants completed the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) consisting of 34 multiple-choice questions to measure general critical thinking skills and a researcher-developed test that combines open and closed-ended questions. A researcher-developed 48-question exam, consisting of 8 short-answers and 5 essay questions, 19 Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQ), and 16 True-False (TF) questions, was used to measure critical thinking skills. Correlation analyses were performed using Pearson’s coefficient to explore the association between the total scores of tests and subtests. Results One hundred and fifty-nine students participated in this study. The sample comprised 81 females (51%) and 78 males (49%) with an age range of 20±2.8 years (mean 21.2 years). The response rate was 64.1%. A significant positive correlation was found between types of questions and critical thinking scores, of which the correlations of MCQ (r=0.82) and essay questions (r=0.77) were strongest. The significant positive correlations between multi-response format test and CCTST’s subscales were seen in analysis, evaluation, inference and inductive reasoning. Unlike CCTST subscales, multi-response format test have weak correlation with CCTST total score (r=0.45, p=0.06). Conclusion This study highlights the importance of considering multi-response format test in the assessment of critical thinking abilities of medical students by using both open and closed-ended response questions. PMID:29207742

Do general practitioners' risk-taking propensities and learning styles influence their continuing medical education preferences?

PubMed

Robinson, Geoffrey

2002-01-01

US studies have shown that a clinician's risk-taking propensity significantly predicts clinical behaviour. Other US studies examining relationships between family practice doctors' preferences for CME and their Kolb learning style have described conflicting findings. The aim of the present study was to investigate GPs' learning styles, risk-taking propensities and CME preferences, and to explore links between them. A descriptive confidential cross-sectional postal questionnaire survey of the 304 general practitioner principals within Portsmouth and South East Hampshire Health Authority was conducted. Two hundred and seventy-four GPs returned questionnaires, a response rate of 90.1%. The Kolb learning style types were assimilators 43.8% (predominant learning abilities watching and thinking), divergers 21.1% (feeling and watching), convergers 18.3% (doing and thinking), and accommodators 16.8% (doing and feeling). The Pearson risk-taking propensities were 65.8% risk neutral, 19.4% risk seeking and 14.8% risk averse. Risk-seeking GPs were significantly more likely to be accommodators or convergers than divergers or assimilators (p = 0.006). Majorities of 54.9% stated that the present PGEA system works well, 85% welcomed feedback from their peers, and 76.8% stated that learning should be an activity for all the practice team. Further majorities would welcome help to decide their learning needs (63.8%) and are looking to judge CME effectiveness by changes in GP performance or patient care (54.8%). Further significant correlations and cross-tabulations were found between learning style and risk-taking and CME attitudes, experiences and preferences. It is concluded that risk seekers and accommodators (doing and feeling) prefer feedback, interaction and practical hands-on learning, and assimilators (watching and thinking) and the risk averse tend towards lectures, theoretical learning formats and less interactive activities. Sharing feelings in groups may be difficult for the risk averse and assimilators. The success of a combined educational strategy will depend on an inclusive philosophy, both recognizing and engaging the wide range of differences in learning style and risk taking for all the individuals who make up learning teams.

The effects of critical thinking instruction on training complex decision making.

PubMed

Helsdingen, Anne S; van den Bosch, Karel; van Gog, Tamara; van Merriënboer, Jeroen J G

2010-08-01

Two field studies assessed the effects of critical thinking instruction on training and transfer of a complex decision-making skill. Critical thinking instruction is based on studies of how experienced decision makers approach complex problems. Participants conducted scenario-based exercises in both simplified (Study I) and high-fidelity (Study 2) training environments. In both studies, half of the participants received instruction in critical thinking. The other half conducted the same exercises but without critical thinking instruction. After the training, test scenarios were administered to both groups. The first study showed that critical thinking instruction enhanced decision outcomes during both training and the test. In the second study, critical thinking instruction benefited both decision outcomes and processes, specifically on the transfer to untrained problems. The results suggest that critical thinking instruction improves decision strategy and enhances understanding of the general principles of the domain. The results of this study warrant the implementation of critical thinking instruction in training programs for professional decision makers that have to operate in complex and highly interactive, dynamic environments.

Citizen Science: The Small World Initiative Improved Lecture Grades and California Critical Thinking Skills Test Scores of Nonscience Major Students at Florida Atlantic University.

PubMed

Caruso, Joseph P; Israel, Natalie; Rowland, Kimberly; Lovelace, Matthew J; Saunders, Mary Jane

2016-03-01

Course-based undergraduate research is known to improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics student achievement. We tested "The Small World Initiative, a Citizen-Science Project to Crowdsource Novel Antibiotic Discovery" to see if it also improved student performance and the critical thinking of non-science majors in Introductory Biology at Florida Atlantic University (a large, public, minority-dominant institution) in academic year 2014-15. California Critical Thinking Skills Test pre- and posttests were offered to both Small World Initiative (SWI) and control lab students for formative amounts of extra credit. SWI lab students earned significantly higher lecture grades than control lab students, had significantly fewer lecture grades of D+ or lower, and had significantly higher critical thinking posttest total scores than control students. Lastly, more SWI students were engaged while taking critical thinking tests. These results support the hypothesis that utilizing independent course-based undergraduate science research improves student achievement even in nonscience students.

Do occupational therapy and physical therapy curricula teach critical thinking skills?

PubMed

Vogel, Kimberly A; Geelhoed, Michael; Grice, Kimatha O; Murphy, Douglas

2009-01-01

This study evaluated whether critical thinking ability can be improved through participation in occupational therapy (OT) and physical therapy (PT) curricula. The researchers compared levels of the critical thinking skills of OT and PT students at the beginning and end of their programs to determine whether changes occurred and to examine facets of the curricula that may have caused the differences. The curricula include teaching strategies of problem-based learning modules, small group discussion and problem-solving, case studies, clinical observation, and evidence-based practice assignments, as well as teaching about critical thinking as a process in itself. Fifty OT and PT students completed the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal at the beginning and end of 20 mos of the academic phase of their master's degree programs. Researchers analyzed the data using a one-way repeated-measures ANOVA. Results showed no differences between OT and PT students on the pretest or post-test and no differences for PT students between the pretest and post-test. OT students' scores increased significantly from pretest to post-test. The influence of the timing of teaching critical thinking skills in the resulting differences between the two curricula, as well as the validity of the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal is a valid measure of critical thinking changes in allied health students are discussed.

Effective Instruction and Assessment Methods That Lead to Gains in Critical Thinking as Measured by the Critical Thinking Assessment Test (CAT)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Leming, Katie P.

2016-01-01

Previous qualitative research on educational practices designed to improve critical thinking has relied on anecdotal or student self-reports of gains in critical thinking. Unfortunately, student self-report data have been found to be unreliable proxies for measuring critical thinking gains. Therefore, in the current interpretivist study, five…

Improvement of The Ability of Junior High School Students Thinking Through Visual Learning Assisted Geo gbra Tutorial

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elvi, M.; Nurjanah

2017-02-01

This research is distributed on the issue of the lack of visual thinking ability is a must-have basic ability of students in learning geometry. The purpose of this research is to investigate and elucide: 1) the enhancement of visual thinking ability of students to acquire learning assisted with geogebra tutorial learning: 2) the increase in visual thinking ability of students who obtained a model of learning assisted with geogebra and students who obtained a regular study of KAM (high, medium, and low). This research population is grade VII in Bandung Junior High School. The instruments used to collect data in this study consisted of instruments of the test and the observation sheet. The data obtained were analyzed using the test average difference i.e. Test-t and ANOVA Test one line to two lines. The results showed that: 1) the attainment and enhancement of visual thinking ability of students to acquire learning assisted geogebra tutorial better than students who acquire learning; 2) there may be differences of visual upgrade thinking students who acquire the learning model assisted with geogebra tutorial earn regular learning of KAM (high, medium and low).

Promoting middle school students’ mathematical creative thinking ability using scientific approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Istiqomah, A.; Perbowo, K. S.; Purwanto, S. E.

2018-01-01

This research aims to identify the strength of scientific approach in order to develop mathematical creative thinking in junior high school. Descriptive qualitative method is used in this research. 34 students in 7th grade are chosen using purposive sampling. For collecting data, this research uses test, observation, and interview. The test consists of 6 items which have been tested for their validity and reliability and used in pre-test and post-test. The pre-test shows that students average score in mathematical creative thinking is 43 (low), while in post-test it is 69 (middle). The N-gain in mathematical creative thinking point is 0.461, which is classified in the middle grade. Furthermore, the N-gain for each indicator, they score 0.438 for fluency; 0.568 for flexibility; and 0.382 for novelty. The N-gain for those indicators falls under middle grade. The research shows that scientific approach develops more flexibility, and, on the other hand, it develops less novelty.

Time and Performance on the California Critical Thinking Skills Test.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frisby, Craig L.; Traffanstedt, Bobby K.

2003-01-01

Investigates the relationship between total scores on the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) and the time taken to complete it. Finds that slower test takers obtained significantly higher scores. Discusses implications of these findings for college instruction. (SG)

A cross-cultural comparison of biology lessons between China and Germany: a video study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Ning; Neuhaus, Birgit Jana

2017-08-01

Given the globalization of science education and the different cultures between China and Germany, we tried to compare and explain the differences on teacher questions and real life instances in biology lessons between the two countries from a culture-related perspective. 22 biology teachers from China and 21 biology teachers from Germany participated in this study. Each teacher was videotaped for one lesson on the unit blood and circulatory system. Before the teaching unit, students' prior knowledge was tested with a pretest. After the teaching unit, students' content knowledge was tested with a posttest. The aim of the knowledge tests here was for the better selection of the four samples for qualitative comparison in the two countries. The quantitative analysis showed that more lower-order teacher questions and more real life instances that were introduced after learning relevant concepts were in Chinese lessons than in German lessons. There were no significant differences in the frequency of higher-order questions or real life instances that were introduced before learning concepts. Qualitative analysis showed that both German teachers guided students to analyze the reasoning process of Landsteiner experiment, but nor Chinese teachers did that. The findings reflected the subtle influence of culture on classroom teaching. Relatively, Chinese biology teachers focused more on learning content and the application of the content in real life; German biology teachers emphasized more on invoking students' reasoning and divergent thinking.

Life without Scan-Tron: Tests as Thinking.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Posner, Richard

1987-01-01

Claims that written tests are superior to objective, scan-tron tests in literature, composition, and vocabulary because they require students to think on paper. Describes the following types of in-class written tests and examines the advantages of each: literary essay, topical composition, imitation, brief answer, timed rewrites, and vocabulary…

Divergent host-plant use promotes reproductive isolation among cynipid gall wasp populations

PubMed Central

Egan, Scott P.; Hood, Glen R.; Feder, Jeff L.; Ott, James R.

2012-01-01

Ecological speciation occurs when reproductive isolation evolves as a consequence of divergent natural selection among environments. A direct prediction of this process is that ecologically divergent pairs of populations will exhibit greater reproductive isolation than ecologically similar pairs of populations. By comparing allopatric populations of the cynipid gall wasp Belonocnema treatae infesting Quercus virginiana and Quercus geminata, we tested the role that divergent host use plays in generating ecological divergence and sexual isolation. We found differences in body size and gall structure associated with divergent host use, but no difference in neutral genetic divergence between populations on the same or different host plant. We observed significant assortative mating between populations from alternative host plants but not between allopatric populations on the same host plant. Thus, we provide evidence that divergent host use promotes speciation among gall wasp populations. PMID:22337505

Reconceptualizing sex, brain and psychopathology: interaction, interaction, interaction

PubMed Central

Joel, D; Yankelevitch-Yahav, R

2014-01-01

In recent years there has been a growing recognition of the influence of sex on brain structure and function, and in relation, on the susceptibility, prevalence and response to treatment of psychiatric disorders. Most theories and descriptions of the effects of sex on the brain are dominated by an analogy to the current interpretation of the effects of sex on the reproductive system, according to which sex is a divergence system that exerts a unitary, overriding and serial effect on the form of other systems. We shortly summarize different lines of evidence that contradict aspects of this analogy. The new view that emerges from these data is of sex as a complex system whose different components interact with one another and with other systems to affect body and brain. The paradigm shift that this understanding calls for is from thinking of sex in terms of sexual dimorphism and sex differences, to thinking of sex in terms of its interactions with other factors and processes. Our review of data obtained from animal models of psychopathology clearly reveals the need for such a paradigmatic shift, because in the field of animal behaviour whether a sex difference exists and its direction depend on the interaction of many factors including, species, strain, age, specific test employed and a multitude of environmental factors. We conclude by explaining how the new conceptualization can account for sex differences in psychopathology. Linked Articles This article is part of a themed section on Animal Models in Psychiatry Research. To view the other articles in this section visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.2014.171.issue-20 PMID:24758640

Cognitive and neural correlates of the 5-repeat allele of the dopamine D4 receptor gene in a population lacking the 7-repeat allele.

PubMed

Takeuchi, Hikaru; Tomita, Hiroaki; Taki, Yasuyuki; Kikuchi, Yoshie; Ono, Chiaki; Yu, Zhiqian; Sekiguchi, Atsushi; Nouchi, Rui; Kotozaki, Yuka; Nakagawa, Seishu; Miyauchi, Carlos Makoto; Iizuka, Kunio; Yokoyama, Ryoichi; Shinada, Takamitsu; Yamamoto, Yuki; Hanawa, Sugiko; Araki, Tsuyoshi; Hashizume, Hiroshi; Kunitoki, Keiko; Sassa, Yuko; Kawashima, Ryuta

2015-04-15

The 5-repeat allele of a common length polymorphism in the gene that encodes the dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4) is robustly associated with the risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and substantially exists in Asian populations, which have a lower ADHD prevalence. In this study, we investigated the effect of this allele on microstructural properties of the brain and on its functional activity during externally directed attention-demanding tasks and creative performance in the 765 Asian subjects. For this purpose, we employed diffusion tensor imaging, N-back functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigms, and a test to measure creativity by divergent thinking. The 5-repeat allele was significantly associated with increased originality in the creative performance, increased mean diffusivity (the measure of how the tissue includes water molecules instead of neural and vessel components) in the widespread gray and white matter areas of extensive areas, particularly those where DRD4 is expressed, and reduced task-induced deactivation in the areas that are deactivated during the tasks in the course of both the attention-demanding working memory task and simple sensorimotor task. The observed neural characteristics of 5-repeat allele carriers may lead to an increased risk of ADHD and behavioral deficits. Furthermore, the increased originality of creative thinking observed in the 5-repeat allele carriers may support the notion of the side of adaptivity of the widespread risk allele of psychiatric diseases. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Defining and Developing "Critical Thinking" Through Devising and Testing Multiple Explanations of the Same Phenomenon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Etkina, Eugenia; Planinšič, Gorazd

2015-10-01

Most physics teachers would agree that one of the main reasons for her/his students to take physics is to learn to think critically. However, for years we have been assessing our students mostly on the knowledge of physics content (conceptually and quantitatively). Only recently have science educators started moving systematically towards achieving and assessing this critical thinking goal. In this paper we seek to show how guiding students to devise and test multiple explanations of observed phenomena can be used to improve their critical thinking.

Cognitive factors affecting student understanding of geologic time

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dodick, Jeff; Orion, Nir

2003-04-01

A critical element of the earth sciences is reconstructing geological structures and systems that have developed over time. A survey of the science education literature shows that there has been little attention given to this concept. In this study, we present a model, based on Montagnero's ([1996]) model of diachronic thinking, which describes how students reconstruct geological transformations over time. For geology, three schemes of diachronic thinking are relevant: 1. Transformation, which is a principle of change; in geology it is understood through actualistic thinking (the idea that present proceeses can be used to model the past). 2. Temporal organization, which defines the sequential order of a transformation; in geology it is based on the three-dimensional relationship among strata. 3. Interstage linkage, which is the connections between successive stages of a transformation; in geology it is based on both actualism and causal reasoning. Three specialized instruments were designed to determine the factors which influence reconstructive thinking: (a) the GeoTAT which tests diachronic thinking skills, (b) the TST which tests the relationship between spatial thinking and temporal thinking, and (c) the SFT which tests the influence of dimensional factors on temporal awareness. Based on the model constructed in this study we define the critical factors influencing reconstructive thinking: (a) the transformation scheme which influences the other diachronic schemes, (b) knowledge of geological processes, and (c) extracognitive factors. Among the students tested, there was a significant difference between Grade 9-12 students and Grade 7-8 students in their ability to reconstruct geological phenomena using diachronic thinking. This suggests that somewhere between Grades 7 and 8 it is possible to start teaching some of the logical principles used in geology to reconstruct geological structures.

Desire thinking: what is it and what drives it?

PubMed

Caselli, Gabriele; Spada, Marcantonio M

2015-05-01

The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the construct of desire thinking and test a metacognitive model of desire thinking and craving, based on the work of Spada, Caselli and Wells (2012; 2013), which aims to explain the perseveration of desire thinking. We conducted two studies involving four clinical samples (total N = 493) and a community sample (N = 494) presenting with different addictive behaviors. The relationships among variables were examined by testing the fit of path models within each sample. In the model presented it was proposed that positive metacognitions about desire thinking are associated with, in turn, imaginal prefiguration and verbal perseveration, marking the activation of desire thinking. Verbal perseveration is then associated to negative metacognitions about desire thinking and craving denoting the pathological escalation of desire thinking. Finally, a direct association between positive metacognitions about desire thinking and negative metacognitions about desire thinking would mark those occasions where target-achieving behaviour runs as an automatized schemata without the experience of craving. Results indicated a good model fit in the clinical sample and a variation in the model structure in the community sample. These findings provide further support for the application of metacognitive theory to desire thinking and craving in addictive behaviors. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Improving Middle School Students’ Critical Thinking Skills Through Reading Infusion-Loaded Discovery Learning Model in the Science Instruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nuryakin; Riandi

2017-02-01

A study has been conducted to obtain a depiction of middle school students’ critical thinking skills improvement through the implementation of reading infusion-loaded discovery learning model in science instruction. A quasi-experimental study with the pretest-posttest control group design was used to engage 55 eighth-year middle school students in Tasikmalaya, which was divided into the experimental and control group respectively were 28 and 27 students. Critical thinking skills were measured using a critical thinking skills test in multiple-choice with reason format questions that administered before and after a given instruction. The test was 28 items encompassing three essential concepts, vibration, waves and auditory senses. The critical thinking skills improvement was determined by using the normalized gain score and statistically analyzed by using Mann-Whitney U test.. The findings showed that the average of students’ critical thinking skills normalized gain score of both groups were 59 and 43, respectively for experimental and control group in the medium category. There were significant differences between both group’s improvement. Thus, the implementation of reading infusion-loaded discovery learning model could further improve middle school students’ critical thinking skills than conventional learning.

[Inductive reasoning and intelligence test performance--analysis of the manner of the effect of 2 thought training methods for children].

PubMed

Hager, W; Hasselhorn, M; Hübner, S

1995-10-01

For his training programs of inductive reasoning Klauer postulates a transfer effect to inductive thinking as well as to (performance in tests of) intelligence. As evidence for these claims, however, he uses the same data. That means the same tests are used to prove enhancement of inductive thinking and to prove transfer to performance in tests of intelligence. Moreover, Klauer's claim to train inductive thinking is criticized since better performances in at least some of the tests he administers can result due to enhancements in the area of visual perception. Finally, we ask what kind of effects the programs result in: Are they mere coaching effects or do the programs result in better performance due to enhanced competencies? The empirical evidence suggest that positive effects on inductive thinking do not last as long as perceptual competencies that are necessarily fostered when visual material is presented to children.

Thinking Maps: An innovative way to increase sixth-grade student achievement in social studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reed, Tamita

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the effect of Thinking Maps on the achievement of 6th-grade social studies students in order to determine its effectiveness. The population of this study came from a suburban middle school in the state of Georgia. The quantitative data included a pretest and posttest. The study was designed to find (a) whether there is a significant difference between the mean posttest scores on the benchmark test of 6th-grade students who are taught with either Thinking Maps or traditional social studies methods, (b) whether there is a significant difference between the mean posttest scores on the benchmark test of 6th-grade male versus female social studies students, and (c) whether there is a significant interaction between 6th-grade students' type of social studies class and gender as to differentially affect their mean posttest scores on the benchmark test. To answer these questions, students' pretest and posttest were compared to determine if there was a statistically significant difference after Thinking Maps were implemented with the treatment group for 9 weeks. The results indicate that there was no significant difference in the test scores between the students who were taught with Thinking Maps and the students who were taught without Thinking Maps. However, the students taught with Thinking Maps had the higher adjusted posttest scores.

Assessing Critical Thinking in Higher Education: The HEIghten™ Approach and Preliminary Validity Evidence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liu, Ou Lydia; Mao, Liyang; Frankel, Lois; Xu, Jun

2016-01-01

Critical thinking is a learning outcome highly valued by higher education institutions and the workforce. The Educational Testing Service (ETS) has designed a next generation assessment, the HEIghten™ critical thinking assessment, to measure students' critical thinking skills in analytical and synthetic dimensions. This paper introduces the…

Conceptualizing and Assessing Higher-Order Thinking in Reading

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Afflerbach, Peter; Cho, Byeong-Young; Kim, Jong-Yun

2015-01-01

Students engage in higher-order thinking as they read complex texts and perform complex reading-related tasks. However, the most consequential assessments, high-stakes tests, are currently limited in providing information about students' higher-order thinking. In this article, we describe higher-order thinking in relation to reading. We provide a…

Using Higher Order Thinking Questions to Foster Critical Thinking: A Classroom Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnett, Jerrold E.; Francis, Alisha L.

2012-01-01

To determine if quizzes containing higher order thinking questions are related to critical thinking and test performance when utilised in conjunction with an immersion approach to instruction and effort-based grading, sections of an "Educational Psychology" course were assigned to one of three quizzing conditions. Quizzes contained…

Association of hair iron levels with creativity and psychological variables related to creativity

PubMed Central

Takeuchi, Hikaru; Taki, Yasuyuki; Sekiguchi, Atsushi; Nouchi, Rui; Kotozaki, Yuka; Nakagawa, Seishu; Miyauchi, Carlos M.; Iizuka, Kunio; Yokoyama, Ryoichi; Shinada, Takamitsu; Yamamoto, Yuki; Hanawa, Sugiko; Araki, Tsuyoshi; Hashizume, Hiroshi; Kunitoki, Keiko; Sassa, Yuko; Kawashima, Ryuta

2013-01-01

Creativity generally involves the conception of original and valuable ideas. Previous studies have suggested an association between creativity and the dopaminergic system, and that physical activity facilitates creativity. Iron plays a key role in the dopaminergic system and physical activity. Here, we newly investigated the associations between hair iron levels and creativity, dopamine-related traits and states [novelty seeking, extraversion, and vigor (motivational state)], as well as the physical activity level. In the present study, we addressed this issue by performing a hair mineral analysis to determine iron levels and a behavioral creativity test of divergent thinking and related psychological measures among young adults (254 men, 88 women; mean age 20.79 ± 2.03 years). Iron levels did not show any significant association with creativity but displayed significant positive associations with novelty seeking, extraversion, and physical activity level. These results may be partly congruent with the notion that iron plays a key role in the dopaminergic system and imply that iron is important for traits and physical activity, which facilitate creativity. Future interventional or longitudinal studies are warranted to identify any causal effects. PMID:24385960

Brain networks for visual creativity: a functional connectivity study of planning a visual artwork.

PubMed

De Pisapia, Nicola; Bacci, Francesca; Parrott, Danielle; Melcher, David

2016-12-19

Throughout recorded history, and across cultures, humans have made visual art. In recent years, the neural bases of creativity, including artistic creativity, have become a topic of interest. In this study we investigated the neural bases of the visual creative process with both professional artists and a group of control participants. We tested the idea that creativity (planning an artwork) would influence the functional connectivity between regions involved in the default mode network (DMN), implicated in divergent thinking and generating novel ideas, and the executive control network (EN), implicated in evaluating and selecting ideas. We measured functional connectivity with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) during three different conditions: rest, visual imagery of the alphabet and planning an artwork to be executed immediately after the scanning session. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found stronger connectivity between areas of the DMN and EN during the creative task, and this difference was enhanced in professional artists. These findings suggest that creativity involves an expert balance of two brain networks typically viewed as being in opposition.

Brain networks for visual creativity: a functional connectivity study of planning a visual artwork

PubMed Central

De Pisapia, Nicola; Bacci, Francesca; Parrott, Danielle; Melcher, David

2016-01-01

Throughout recorded history, and across cultures, humans have made visual art. In recent years, the neural bases of creativity, including artistic creativity, have become a topic of interest. In this study we investigated the neural bases of the visual creative process with both professional artists and a group of control participants. We tested the idea that creativity (planning an artwork) would influence the functional connectivity between regions involved in the default mode network (DMN), implicated in divergent thinking and generating novel ideas, and the executive control network (EN), implicated in evaluating and selecting ideas. We measured functional connectivity with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) during three different conditions: rest, visual imagery of the alphabet and planning an artwork to be executed immediately after the scanning session. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found stronger connectivity between areas of the DMN and EN during the creative task, and this difference was enhanced in professional artists. These findings suggest that creativity involves an expert balance of two brain networks typically viewed as being in opposition. PMID:27991592

Evolutionary Analysis of Heterochromatin Protein Compatibility by Interspecies Complementation in Saccharomyces

PubMed Central

Zill, Oliver A.; Scannell, Devin R.; Kuei, Jeffrey; Sadhu, Meru; Rine, Jasper

2012-01-01

The genetic bases for species-specific traits are widely sought, but reliable experimental methods with which to identify functionally divergent genes are lacking. In the Saccharomyces genus, interspecies complementation tests can be used to evaluate functional conservation and divergence of biological pathways or networks. Silent information regulator (SIR) proteins in S. bayanus provide an ideal test case for this approach because they show remarkable divergence in sequence and paralog number from those found in the closely related S. cerevisiae. We identified genes required for silencing in S. bayanus using a genetic screen for silencing-defective mutants. Complementation tests in interspecies hybrids identified an evolutionarily conserved Sir-protein-based silencing machinery, as defined by two interspecies complementation groups (SIR2 and SIR3). However, recessive mutations in S. bayanus SIR4 isolated from this screen could not be complemented by S. cerevisiae SIR4, revealing species-specific functional divergence in the Sir4 protein despite conservation of the overall function of the Sir2/3/4 complex. A cladistic complementation series localized the occurrence of functional changes in SIR4 to the S. cerevisiae and S. paradoxus branches of the Saccharomyces phylogeny. Most of this functional divergence mapped to sequence changes in the Sir4 PAD. Finally, a hemizygosity modifier screen in the interspecies hybrids identified additional genes involved in S. bayanus silencing. Thus, interspecies complementation tests can be used to identify (1) mutations in genetically underexplored organisms, (2) loci that have functionally diverged between species, and (3) evolutionary events of functional consequence within a genus. PMID:22923378

A comparison of parallel and diverging screw angles in the stability of locked plate constructs.

PubMed

Wähnert, D; Windolf, M; Brianza, S; Rothstock, S; Radtke, R; Brighenti, V; Schwieger, K

2011-09-01

We investigated the static and cyclical strength of parallel and angulated locking plate screws using rigid polyurethane foam (0.32 g/cm(3)) and bovine cancellous bone blocks. Custom-made stainless steel plates with two conically threaded screw holes with different angulations (parallel, 10° and 20° divergent) and 5 mm self-tapping locking screws underwent pull-out and cyclical pull and bending tests. The bovine cancellous blocks were only subjected to static pull-out testing. We also performed finite element analysis for the static pull-out test of the parallel and 20° configurations. In both the foam model and the bovine cancellous bone we found the significantly highest pull-out force for the parallel constructs. In the finite element analysis there was a 47% more damage in the 20° divergent constructs than in the parallel configuration. Under cyclical loading, the mean number of cycles to failure was significantly higher for the parallel group, followed by the 10° and 20° divergent configurations. In our laboratory setting we clearly showed the biomechanical disadvantage of a diverging locking screw angle under static and cyclical loading.

Do scores on three commonly used measures of critical thinking correlate with academic success of health professions trainees? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Ross, David; Loeffler, Kim; Schipper, Shirley; Vandermeer, Ben; Allan, G Michael

2013-05-01

To determine whether the three commonly used measures of critical thinking correlate with academic success of medical professionals in training. The search for English-language articles (from 1980 to 2011) used Medline, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane Library on Ovid, Proquest Dissertations, Health and Psychosocial Instruments, PsychINFO, and references of included articles. Studies comparing critical thinking with academic success among medical professionals were included. Two authors performed study selection independently, with disagreement resolved by consensus. Two authors independently abstracted data on study characteristics, quality, and outcomes, with disagreement resolved by a third author. Critical thinking tests studied were the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST), California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI), and Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal. Correlation coefficients were pooled in meta-analysis. The search identified 557 studies: 52 met inclusion for systematic review, 41 of which were meta-analyzed. Critical thinking was positively correlated with academic success, r=0.31 (95% confidence intervals [CI] 0.26, 0.35), with a moderate statistical heterogeneity (I=67%). In subgroup analysis, only student type had statistical significance for correlation, although bias was likely due to low numbers for some student types. In direct comparison, using studies that employed two critical thinking tests, the CCTDI (r=0.23, 95% CI 0.15, 0.30) was significantly inferior (P<.001) to the CCTST (r=0.39, 95% CI 0.33, 0.45). Critical thinking was moderately correlated with academic success of medical professionals in training. The CCTDI was inferior to the CCTST in correlating with academic success.

Integrating paleoecology and genetics of bird populations in two sky island archipelagos

PubMed Central

McCormack, John E; Bowen, Bonnie S; Smith, Thomas B

2008-01-01

Background Genetic tests of paleoecological hypotheses have been rare, partly because recent genetic divergence is difficult to detect and time. According to fossil plant data, continuous woodland in the southwestern USA and northern Mexico became fragmented during the last 10,000 years, as warming caused cool-adapted species to retreat to high elevations. Most genetic studies of resulting 'sky islands' have either failed to detect recent divergence or have found discordant evidence for ancient divergence. We test this paleoecological hypothesis for the region with intraspecific mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite data from sky-island populations of a sedentary bird, the Mexican jay (Aphelocoma ultramarina). We predicted that populations on different sky islands would share common, ancestral alleles that existed during the last glaciation, but that populations on each sky island, owing to their isolation, would contain unique variants of postglacial origin. We also predicted that divergence times estimated from corrected genetic distance and a coalescence model would post-date the last glacial maximum. Results Our results provide multiple independent lines of support for postglacial divergence, with the predicted pattern of shared and unique mitochondrial DNA haplotypes appearing in two independent sky-island archipelagos, and most estimates of divergence time based on corrected genetic distance post-dating the last glacial maximum. Likewise, an isolation model based on multilocus gene coalescence indicated postglacial divergence of five pairs of sky islands. In contrast to their similar recent histories, the two archipelagos had dissimilar historical patterns in that sky islands in Arizona showed evidence for older divergence, suggesting different responses to the last glaciation. Conclusion This study is one of the first to provide explicit support from genetic data for a postglacial divergence scenario predicted by one of the best paleoecological records in the world. Our results demonstrate that sky islands act as generators of genetic diversity at both recent and historical timescales and underscore the importance of thorough sampling and the use of loci with fast mutation rates to studies that test hypotheses concerning recent genetic divergence. PMID:18588695

Phylogeography of speciation: allopatric divergence and secondary contact between outcrossing and selfing Clarkia.

PubMed

Pettengill, James B; Moeller, David A

2012-09-01

The origins of hybrid zones between parapatric taxa have been of particular interest for understanding the evolution of reproductive isolation and the geographic context of species divergence. One challenge has been to distinguish between allopatric divergence (followed by secondary contact) versus primary intergradation (parapatric speciation) as alternative divergence histories. Here, we use complementary phylogeographic and population genetic analyses to investigate the recent divergence of two subspecies of Clarkia xantiana and the formation of a hybrid zone within the narrow region of sympatry. We tested alternative phylogeographic models of divergence using approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) and found strong support for a secondary contact model and little support for a model allowing for gene flow throughout the divergence process (i.e. primary intergradation). Two independent methods for inferring the ancestral geography of each subspecies, one based on probabilistic character state reconstructions and the other on palaeo-distribution modelling, also support a model of divergence in allopatry and range expansion leading to secondary contact. The membership of individuals to genetic clusters suggests geographic substructure within each taxon where allopatric and sympatric samples are primarily found in separate clusters. We also observed coincidence and concordance of genetic clines across three types of molecular markers, which suggests that there is a strong barrier to gene flow. Taken together, our results provide evidence for allopatric divergence followed by range expansion leading to secondary contact. The location of refugial populations and the directionality of range expansion are consistent with expectations based on climate change since the last glacial maximum. Our approach also illustrates the utility of combining phylogeographic hypothesis testing with species distribution modelling and fine-scale population genetic analyses for inferring the geography of the divergence process. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Raising Test Scores vs. Teaching Higher Order Thinking (HOT): Senior Science Teachers' Views on How Several Concurrent Policies Affect Classroom Practices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Zohar, Anat; Alboher Agmon, Vered

2018-01-01

Purpose: This study investigates how senior science teachers viewed the effects of a Raising Test Scores policy and its implementation on instruction of higher order thinking (HOT), and on teaching thinking to students with low academic achievements. Background: The study was conducted in the context of three concurrent policies advocating: (a)…

A Program Based on English Digital Stories to Develop the Writing Performance and Reflective Thinking of Preparatory School Pupils

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hassan Seifeddin, Ahmed; Zakareya Ahmed, Samah; Yahia Mohammed Ebrahim, Eman

2015-01-01

This study aimed to investigate the effect of a program based on English digital stories on second-year preparatory pupils' writing performance and reflective thinking. Two writing performance tests (pretest and posttest) as well as a reflective thinking test were prepared by the researchers. Two 2nd-year intact classes from El Sadat Prep School…

An Investigation of the Factor Structure of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bart, William M.; Hokanson, Brad; Can, Iclal

2017-01-01

This study investigated the factorial structure of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) Figural Form A with an aim to find out whether the two-factor structure of creative thinking established by Kim and Kim, Cramond, and Bandalos holds true for the older participants. Data were gathered from 996 8th grade students and 748 11th grade…

What relates newspaper, definite, and clothing? An article describing deficits in convergent problem solving and creativity following hippocampal damage

PubMed Central

Warren, David E.; Kurczek, Jake; Duff, Melissa C.

2016-01-01

Creativity relies on a diverse set of cognitive processes associated with distinct neural correlates, and one important aspect of creativity, divergent thinking, has been associated with the hippocampus. However, hippocampal contributions to another important aspect of creativity, convergent problem solving, have not been investigated. We tested the necessity of hippocampus for convergent problem solving using a neuropsychological method. Participants with amnesia due to hippocampal damage (N=5) and healthy normal comparison participants (N=5) were tested using a task that promoted solutions based on existing knowledge (Bowden and Jung-Beeman, 2003). During each trial, participants were given a list of three words (e.g., fly, man, place) and asked to respond with a word that could be combined with each of the three words (e.g., fire). The amnesic group produced significantly fewer correct responses than the healthy comparison group. These findings indicate that the hippocampus is necessary for normal convergent problem solving and that changes in the status of the hippocampus should affect convergent problem solving in the context of creative problem-solving across short intervals. This proposed contribution of the hippocampus to convergent problem solving is consistent with an expanded perspective on hippocampal function that acknowledges its role in cognitive processes beyond declarative memory. PMID:27010751

Analysis of Critical Thinking Skills on The Topic of Static Fluid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puspita, I.; Kaniawati, I.; Suwarma, I. R.

2017-09-01

This study aimed to know the critical thinking skills profil of senior high school students. This research using a descriptive study to analysis student test results of critical thinking skill of 40 students XI grade in one of the senior high school in Bogor District. The method used is survey research with sample determined by purposive sampling technique. The instrument used is test of critical thinking skill by 5 indicators on static fluid topics. Questions consist of 11 set. It is has been developed by researcher and validated by experts. The results showed students critical thinking skills are still low. Is almost every indicator of critical thinking skills only reaches less than 30%. 28% for elementary clarification, 10% for the basic for decisions/basic support, 6% for inference, 6% for advanced clarification, 4% for strategies and tactics.

Adaptive divergence despite strong genetic drift: genomic analysis of the evolutionary mechanisms causing genetic differentiation in the island fox (Urocyon littoralis)

PubMed Central

FUNK, W. CHRIS; LOVICH, ROBERT E.; HOHENLOHE, PAUL A.; HOFMAN, COURTNEY A.; MORRISON, SCOTT A.; SILLETT, T. SCOTT; GHALAMBOR, CAMERON K.; MALDONADO, JESUS E.; RICK, TORBEN C.; DAY, MITCH D.; POLATO, NICHOLAS R.; FITZPATRICK, SARAH W.; COONAN, TIMOTHY J.; CROOKS, KEVIN R.; DILLON, ADAM; GARCELON, DAVID K.; KING, JULIE L.; BOSER, CHRISTINA L.; GOULD, NICHOLAS; ANDELT, WILLIAM F.

2016-01-01

The evolutionary mechanisms generating the tremendous biodiversity of islands have long fascinated evolutionary biologists. Genetic drift and divergent selection are predicted to be strong on islands and both could drive population divergence and speciation. Alternatively, strong genetic drift may preclude adaptation. We conducted a genomic analysis to test the roles of genetic drift and divergent selection in causing genetic differentiation among populations of the island fox (Urocyon littoralis). This species consists of 6 subspecies, each of which occupies a different California Channel Island. Analysis of 5293 SNP loci generated using Restriction-site Associated DNA (RAD) sequencing found support for genetic drift as the dominant evolutionary mechanism driving population divergence among island fox populations. In particular, populations had exceptionally low genetic variation, small Ne (range = 2.1–89.7; median = 19.4), and significant genetic signatures of bottlenecks. Moreover, islands with the lowest genetic variation (and, by inference, the strongest historical genetic drift) were most genetically differentiated from mainland gray foxes, and vice versa, indicating genetic drift drives genome-wide divergence. Nonetheless, outlier tests identified 3.6–6.6% of loci as high FST outliers, suggesting that despite strong genetic drift, divergent selection contributes to population divergence. Patterns of similarity among populations based on high FST outliers mirrored patterns based on morphology, providing additional evidence that outliers reflect adaptive divergence. Extremely low genetic variation and small Ne in some island fox populations, particularly on San Nicolas Island, suggest that they may be vulnerable to fixation of deleterious alleles, decreased fitness, and reduced adaptive potential. PMID:26992010

Testing the role of climate in speciation: new methods and applications to squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes).

PubMed

Jezkova, Tereza; Wiens, John J

2018-05-19

Climate may play important roles in speciation, such as causing the range fragmentation that underlies allopatric speciation (through niche conservatism) or driving divergence of parapatric populations along climatic gradients (through niche divergence). Here, we developed new methods to test the frequency of climate niche conservatism and divergence in speciation, and applied it to species pairs of squamate reptiles (lizards and snakes). We used a large-scale phylogeny to identify 242 sister-species pairs for analysis. From these, we selected all terrestrial allopatric pairs with sufficient occurrence records (n=49 pairs) and inferred whether each originated via climatic niche conservatism or climatic niche divergence. Among the 242 pairs, allopatric pairs were most common (41.3%), rather than parapatric (19.4%), partially sympatric (17.7%), or fully sympatric species pairs (21.5%). Among the 49 selected allopatric pairs, most appeared to have originated via climatic niche divergence (61-76%, depending on the details of the methods). Surprisingly, we found greater climatic niche divergence between allopatric sister species than between parapatric pairs, even after correcting for geographic distance. We also found that niche divergence did not increase with time, further implicating niche divergence in driving lineage splitting. Overall, our results suggest that climatic niche divergence may often play an important role in allopatric speciation, and the methodology developed here can be used to address the generality of these findings in other organisms. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Care plans using concept maps and their effects on the critical thinking dispositions of nursing students.

PubMed

Atay, Selma; Karabacak, Ukke

2012-06-01

It is expected that nursing education improves abilities of students in solving problems, decision making and critical thinking in different circumstances. This study was performed to analyse the effects of care plans prepared using concept maps on the critical thinking dispositions of students. An experimental group and a control group were made up of a total of 80 freshman and sophomore students from the nursing department of a health school. The study used a pre-test post-test control group design. The critical thinking dispositions of the groups were measured using the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory. In addition, the care plans prepared by the experimental group students were evaluated using the criteria for evaluating care plans with concept maps. T-test was used in analysing the data. The results showed that there were no statistically significant differences in the total and sub-scale pre-test scores between the experimental group and control group students. There were also significant differences in the total and sub-scale post-test scores between the experimental group and control group students. There were significant differences between concept map care plan evaluation criteria mean scores of the experimental students. In the light of these findings, it could be argued that the concept mapping strategy improves critical thinking skills of students. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.

Short-Term Attentional Perseveration Associated with Real-Life Creative Achievement

PubMed Central

Zabelina, Darya L.; Beeman, Mark

2013-01-01

There are at least two competing hypotheses of how attention interacts with creative cognition, although they are not mutually exclusive. The first hypothesis is that highly creative people are particularly flexible at switching their attention – that is, they adaptively shift focus among different attentional levels using cognitive control. The second, less common, view is that creative people exhibit attentional persistence, or an ability for sustained attention. We suggest these two views need not be competing, as they may both operate, but on different time scales or on different components of creativity. In the present study we examined the role of attention in real-world creative achievement and in divergent thinking. In Experiment 1 participants with high and low real-world creative achievements identified whether the stimulus contained letters S or H within hierarchically constructed letters (e.g., large S made of small Es – global level; large E made up of small Ss – local level), which were presented in blocks of eight trials per level. In Experiment 2 participants with high, medium, and low creative achievements identified the same stimulus letters, but in blocks of five, seven, and nine trials per level. Results from both experiments indicated that people with high creative achievements made significantly more errors on trials in which they had to switch the level of attention, even after controlling for general intelligence. In Experiment 2, divergent thinking was also assessed, but it was not related to switching cost. Results from both experiments demonstrate that real-world creative acts relate to increased levels of attentional persistence, even if it comes with the cost of perseveration in certain circumstances. PMID:23630508

Think Pair Share with Formative Assessment for Junior High School Student

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pradana, O. R. Y.; Sujadi, I.; Pramudya, I.

2017-09-01

Geometry is a science related to abstract thinking ability so that not many students are able to understand this material well. In this case, the learning model plays a crucial role in improving student achievement. This means that a less precise learning model will cause difficulties for students. Therefore, this study provides a quantitative explanation of the Think Pair Share learning model combined with the formative assessment. This study aims to test the Think Pair Share with the formative assessment on junior high school students. This research uses a quantitative approach of Pretest-Posttest in control group and experiment group. ANOVA test and Scheffe test used to analyse the effectiveness this learning. Findings in this study are student achievement on the material geometry with Think Pair Share using formative assessment has increased significantly. This happens probably because this learning makes students become more active during learning. Hope in the future, Think Pair Share with formative assessment be a useful learning for teachers and this learning applied by the teacher around the world especially on the material geometry.

Cryptic genetic diversity, population structure, and gene flow in the Mojave rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus).

PubMed

Schield, Drew R; Adams, Richard H; Card, Daren C; Corbin, Andrew B; Jezkova, Tereza; Hales, Nicole R; Meik, Jesse M; Perry, Blair W; Spencer, Carol L; Smith, Lydia L; García, Gustavo Campillo; Bouzid, Nassima M; Strickland, Jason L; Parkinson, Christopher L; Borja, Miguel; Castañeda-Gaytán, Gamaliel; Bryson, Robert W; Flores-Villela, Oscar A; Mackessy, Stephen P; Castoe, Todd A

2018-06-15

The Mojave rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus) inhabits deserts and arid grasslands of the western United States and Mexico. Despite considerable interest in its highly toxic venom and the recognition of two subspecies, no molecular studies have characterized range-wide genetic diversity and population structure or tested species limits within C. scutulatus. We used mitochondrial DNA and thousands of nuclear loci from double-digest restriction site associated DNA sequencing to infer population genetic structure throughout the range of C. scutulatus, and to evaluate divergence times and gene flow between populations. We find strong support for several divergent mitochondrial and nuclear clades of C. scutulatus, including splits coincident with two major phylogeographic barriers: the Continental Divide and the elevational increase associated with the Central Mexican Plateau. We apply Bayesian clustering, phylogenetic inference, and coalescent-based species delimitation to our nuclear genetic data to test hypotheses of population structure. We also performed demographic analyses to test hypotheses relating to population divergence and gene flow. Collectively, our results support the existence of four distinct lineages within C. scutulatus, and genetically defined populations do not correspond with currently recognized subspecies ranges. Finally, we use approximate Bayesian computation to test hypotheses of divergence among multiple rattlesnake species groups distributed across the Continental Divide, and find evidence for co-divergence at this boundary during the mid-Pleistocene. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills Using the Science Writing Heuristic in the Chemistry Laboratory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stephenson, N. S.; Sadler-McKnight, N. P.

2016-01-01

The Science Writing Heuristic (SWH) laboratory approach is a teaching and learning tool which combines writing, inquiry, collaboration and reflection, and provides scaffolding for the development of critical thinking skills. In this study, the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) was used to measure the critical thinking skills of…

How to practice creative thinking skills through scaffolding on biotech content?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Natadiwijaya, I. F.; Rahmat, A.; Redjeki, S.; Anggraeni, S.

2018-05-01

Biotechnology content is a more applicative field of science, so learners should be able to have creative thinking skills in applying concepts to problem solving. In this research, Scaffolding learning has been conducted, which is student form of concept development based on constructivism learning paradigm and students build creative thinking skill through the creation of biotechnology product ideas. The research design was R & D method. The subject of this research is a semester V biology education student at Wiralodra University. The instruments used are biotechnology creative thinking tests and program implementation observations. The data of creative thinking test was analyzed using inferential statistic, while the observation sheet used descriptive analysis. The result of this research is the result of students’ creative thinking skill as well as description of the recommended shape and characteristics of the program, with the following results. The scaffolding learning program has a significant influence on students’ creative thinking skill, and the program that trains creative thinking skill is built through two phases, namely phase 1 in concept building where students build their own knowledge, and phase 2 where students build thinking skills creatively through the creation of biotechnology product ideas.

Static internal performance of a two-dimensional convergent-divergent nozzle with thrust vectoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bare, E. Ann; Reubush, David E.

1987-01-01

A parametric investigation of the static internal performance of multifunction two-dimensional convergent-divergent nozzles has been made in the static test facility of the Langley 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel. All nozzles had a constant throat area and aspect ratio. The effects of upper and lower flap angles, divergent flap length, throat approach angle, sidewall containment, and throat geometry were determined. All nozzles were tested at a thrust vector angle that varied from 5.60 tp 23.00 deg. The nozzle pressure ratio was varied up to 10 for all configurations.

Empirically Estimable Classification Bounds Based on a Nonparametric Divergence Measure

PubMed Central

Berisha, Visar; Wisler, Alan; Hero, Alfred O.; Spanias, Andreas

2015-01-01

Information divergence functions play a critical role in statistics and information theory. In this paper we show that a non-parametric f-divergence measure can be used to provide improved bounds on the minimum binary classification probability of error for the case when the training and test data are drawn from the same distribution and for the case where there exists some mismatch between training and test distributions. We confirm the theoretical results by designing feature selection algorithms using the criteria from these bounds and by evaluating the algorithms on a series of pathological speech classification tasks. PMID:26807014

Reevaluation of a classic phylogeographic barrier: new techniques reveal the influence of microgeographic climate variation on population divergence

PubMed Central

Soto-Centeno, J Angel; Barrow, Lisa N; Allen, Julie M; Reed, David L

2013-01-01

We evaluated the mtDNA divergence and relationships within Geomys pinetis to assess the status of formerly recognized Geomys taxa. Additionally, we integrated new hypothesis-based tests in ecological niche models (ENM) to provide greater insight into causes for divergence and potential barriers to gene flow in Southeastern United States (Alabama, Florida, and Georgia). Our DNA sequence dataset confirmed and strongly supported two distinct lineages within G. pinetis occurring east and west of the ARD. Divergence date estimates showed that eastern and western lineages diverged about 1.37 Ma (1.9 Ma–830 ka). Predicted distributions from ENMs were consistent with molecular data and defined each population east and west of the ARD with little overlap. Niche identity and background similarity tests were statistically significant suggesting that ENMs from eastern and western lineages are not identical or more similar than expected based on random localities drawn from the environmental background. ENMs also support the hypothesis that the ARD represents a ribbon of unsuitable climate between more suitable areas where these populations are distributed. The estimated age of divergence between eastern and western lineages of G. pinetis suggests that the divergence was driven by climatic conditions during Pleistocene glacial–interglacial cycles. The ARD at the contact zone of eastern and western lineages of G. pinetis forms a significant barrier promoting microgeographic isolation that helps maintain ecological and genetic divergence. PMID:23789071

Lymphoma Therapy and Adverse Events: Nursing Strategies for Thinking Critically and Acting Decisively.

PubMed

Goodrich, Amy; Wagner-Johnston, Nina; Delibovi, Dana

2017-02-01

Multiple treatment options, combined with disease heterogeneity, have created nursing challenges in the management of adverse events (AEs) during antilymphoma therapy. Testing has revealed that less than half of participating nurses correctly graded peripheral neuropathy and neutropenia related to antilymphoma regimens. This article identifies nursing challenges in the management of AEs associated with therapy for lymphomas and describes how strategies in critical thinking can help meet those challenges. A comprehensive literature search in oncology nursing, nursing education, and critical thinking was conducted; participant responses to pre- and post-tests at nursing education programs were evaluated; and a roundtable meeting of authors was convened. Oncology nurses can cultivate critical thinking skills, practice thinking critically in relation to team members and patients, leverage information from the Patient-Reported Outcomes Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, and manage workflow to allow more opportunity for critical thinking.

Refractive Thinking Profile In Solving Mathematical Problem Reviewed from Students Math Capability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maslukha, M.; Lukito, A.; Ekawati, R.

2018-01-01

Refraction is a mental activity experienced by a person to make a decision through reflective thinking and critical thinking. Differences in mathematical capability have an influence on the difference of student’s refractive thinking processes in solving math problems. This descriptive research aims to generate a picture of refractive thinking of students in solving mathematical problems in terms of students’ math skill. Subjects in this study consisted of three students, namely students with high, medium, and low math skills based on mathematics capability test. Data collection methods used are test-based methods and interviews. After collected data is analyzed through three stages that are, condensing and displaying data, data display, and drawing and verifying conclusion. Results showed refractive thinking profiles of three subjects is different. This difference occurs at the planning and execution stage of the problem. This difference is influenced by mathematical capability and experience of each subject.

Caring behaviours directly and indirectly affect nursing students' critical thinking.

PubMed

Chen, Shu-Yueh; Chang, Hsing-Chi; Pai, Hsiang-Chu

2018-03-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of caring behaviours on critical thinking and to examine whether self-reflection mediates the effect of caring on critical thinking. We also tested whether caring behaviours moderated the relationship between self-reflection and critical thinking. For this descriptive, correlational, cross-sectional study, we recruited 293 fifth-year nursing students from a junior college in southern Taiwan. Data were collected in 2014 on critical thinking, caring behaviours and self-reflection with insight using the Taiwan Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory, a Chinese version of the Caring Assessment Report Evaluation Q-sort, and a Chinese version of the Self-Reflection and Insight Scale, respectively. Relationships among variables were analysed by structural equation modelling, with the partial least squares method and Sobel test. The results showed that caring behaviours significantly positively affected critical thinking (β = 0.56, t = 12.37, p < 0.001) and self-reflection with insight (β = 0.54, t = 11.99, p < 0.001). Self-reflection and insight significantly positively affected critical thinking (β = 0.34, t = 6.48, p < 0.001). Further, self-reflection and insight mediated the relationship between caring behaviours and critical thinking. Caring behaviours did not, however, moderate the relationship between self-reflection (β = 0.001, t = 0.021, p > 0.05) and critical thinking. Caring behaviours directly affect self-reflection with insight and critical thinking. In addition, caring behaviours also indirectly affect critical thinking through self-reflection and insight. © 2017 Nordic College of Caring Science.

Incorporating Critical Thinking and Authenticity into Business German Testing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Egbert, Maria; Maxim, Hiram

1998-01-01

Proposes to integrate critical thinking and problem-solving into two existing international tests of business German (Prufung Wirtschaftsdeutsch International and Zertifikat Deutsch fur den Beruf), and to contextualize the tests' tasks in a more authentic business setting without compromising their content. Parallels are drawn with the American…

Fostering students’ thinking skill and social attitude through STAD cooperative learning technique on tenth grade students of chemistry class

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kriswintari, D.; Yuanita, L.; Widodo, W.

2018-04-01

The aim of this study was to develop chemistry learning package using Student Teams Achievement Division (STAD) cooperative learning technique to foster students’ thinking skills and social attitudes. The chemistry learning package consisting of lesson plan, handout, students’ worksheet, thinking skill test, and observation sheet of social attitude was developed using the Dick and Carey model. Research subject of this study was chemistry learning package using STAD which was tried out on tenth grade students of SMA Trimurti Surabaya. The tryout was conducted using the one-group pre-test post-test design. Data was collected through observation, test, and questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive qualitative analysis. The findings of this study revealed that the developed chemistry learning package using STAD cooperative learning technique was categorized valid, practice and effective to be implemented in the classroom to foster students’ thinking skill and social attitude.

Influence of Problem Based Learning on Critical Thinking Skills and Competence Class VIII SMPN 1 Gunuang Omeh, 2016/2017

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aswan, D. M.; Lufri, L.; Sumarmin, R.

2018-04-01

This research intends to determine the effect of Problem Based Learning models on students' critical thinking skills and competences. This study was a quasi-experimental research. The population of the study was the students of class VIII SMPN 1 Subdistrict Gunuang Omeh. Random sample selection is done by randomizing the class. Sample class that was chosen VIII3 as an experimental class given that treatment study based on problems and class VIII1 as control class that treatment usually given study. Instrument that used to consist of critical thinking test, cognitive tests, observation sheet of affective and psychomotor. Independent t-test and Mann Whitney U test was used for the analysis. Results showed that there was significant difference (sig <0.05) between control and experimental group. The conclusion of this study was Problem Based Learning models affected the students’ critical thinking skills and competences.

Performance characteristics of axisymmetric convergent-divergent exhaust nozzles with longitudinal slots in the divergent

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leavitt, L. D.; Bangert, L. S.

1982-01-01

An investigation was conducted in the Langley 16 foot Transonic Tunnel and in the static test facility of that tunnel to determine the effects of divergent flap ventilation of an axisymmetric nozzle on nozzle internal (static) and wind on performance. Tests were conducted at 0 deg angle of attack at static conditions and at Mach numbers from 0.6 to 1.2. Ratios of jet total pressure to free stream static pressure were varied from 1.0 (jet off) to approximately 14.0 depending on Mach number. The results of this study indicate that divergent flap ventilation generally provided large performance benefits at overexpanded nozzle conditions and performance reductions at underexpanded nozzle conditions when compared to the baseline (unventilated) nozzles. Ventilation also reduced the peak static and wind on performance levels.

Think Bubbles and Socrates: Teaching Critical Thinking to Millennials in Public Relations Classes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tallent, Rebecca J.; Barnes, Justin J.

2015-01-01

Critical thinking skills are crucial in the public relations profession, but teaching these skills to the Millennial Generation is vastly different from previous generations. How can a professor get past No Child Left Behind's dependence on test review guides and "everybody wins" in getting students to think for themselves? Using the…

Test Review: Watson, G., & Glaser, E. M. (2010), "Watson-Glaser™ II Critical Thinking Appraisal." Washington State University, Pullman, USA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sternod, Latisha; French, Brian

2016-01-01

The Watson-Glaser™ II Critical Thinking Appraisal (Watson-Glaser II; Watson & Glaser, 2010) is a revised version of the "Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal®" (Watson & Glaser, 1994). The Watson-Glaser II introduces a simplified model of critical thinking, consisting of three subdimensions: recognize assumptions, evaluate…

Critical thinking competence and disposition of clinical nurses in a medical center.

PubMed

Feng, Rung-Chuang; Chen, Mei-Jung; Chen, Mei-Chuan; Pai, Yu-Chu

2010-06-01

Critical thinking is essential in nursing practice. Promoting critical thinking competence in clinical nurses is an important way to improve problem solving and decision-making competence to further improve the quality of patient care. However, using an adequate tool to test nurses' critical thinking competence and disposition may provide the reference criteria for clinical nurse characterization, training planning, and resource allocation for human resource management. The purpose of this study was to measure the critical thinking competence and critical thinking disposition of clinical nurses as well as to explore the related factors of critical thinking competence. Clinical nurses from four different clinical ladders selected from one medical center were stratified randomly. All qualified subjects who submitted valid questionnaires were included in the study. A Taiwan version of the modified Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal and Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory was developed to measure the critical thinking competence and critical thinking disposition of clinical nurses. Validity was evaluated using the professional content test (content validity index = .93). Reliability was assessed with a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of .85. Data were analyzed using the SPSS for Windows (Version 12.0; SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). Results showed that competence of interpretation was the highest critical thinking competence factor. Inference was the lowest, and reflective thinking as a critical thinking disposition was more positive. In addition, age, years of nursing experience, and experiences in other hospitals significantly influenced critical thinking competence (p < .05). Factors of age, years of experience, and nurses clinical ladder were shown to affect critical thinking disposition scores. Clinical ladder N4 nurses had the highest scores in both competence and disposition. A significant relationship was found between critical thinking competence and disposition scores, with 29.3% of the variance in critical thinking competence potentially explained by total years of nurse hospital experience. Clinical ladder and age were predictive factors for critical thinking disposition. Commonality was 27.9%. Nursing experience and clinical ladders positively affect critical thinking competence and disposition. Issues of critical thinking competence increasingly need to be measured. Therefore, appropriate tools for nursing professions should be further developed and explored for specific areas of practice.

Comparing the Effects of Simulation-Based and Traditional Teaching Methods on the Critical Thinking Abilities and Self-Confidence of Nursing Students.

PubMed

Alamrani, Mashael Hasan; Alammar, Kamila Ahmad; Alqahtani, Sarah Saad; Salem, Olfat A

2018-06-01

Critical thinking and self-confidence are imperative to success in clinical practice. Educators should use teaching strategies that will help students enhance their critical thinking and self-confidence in complex content such as electrocardiogram interpretation. Therefore, teaching electrocardiogram interpretation to students is important for nurse educators. This study compares the effect of simulation-based and traditional teaching methods on the critical thinking and self-confidence of students during electrocardiogram interpretation sessions. Thirty undergraduate nursing students volunteered to participate in this study. The participants were divided into intervention and control groups, which were taught respectively using the simulation-based and traditional teaching programs. All of the participants were asked to complete the study instrumentpretest and posttest to measure their critical thinking and self-confidence. Improvement was observed in the control and experimental groups with respect to critical thinking and self-confidence, as evidenced by the results of the paired samples t test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (p < .05). However, the independent t test and Mann-Whitney U test indicate that the difference between the two groups was not significant (p > .05). This study evaluated an innovative simulation-based teaching method for nurses. No significant differences in outcomes were identified between the simulator-based and traditional teaching methods, indicating that well-implemented educational programs that use either teaching method effectively promote critical thinking and self-confidence in nursing students. Nurse educators are encouraged to design educational plans with clear objectives to improve the critical thinking and self-confidence of their students. Future research should compare the effects of several teaching sessions using each method in a larger sample.

Divergence Free High Order Filter Methods for Multiscale Non-ideal MHD Flows

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yee, H. C.; Sjoegreen, Bjoern

2003-01-01

Low-dissipative high order filter finite difference methods for long time wave propagation of shock/turbulence/combustion compressible viscous MHD flows has been constructed. Several variants of the filter approach that cater to different flow types are proposed. These filters provide a natural and efficient way for the minimization of the divergence of the magnetic field (Delta . B) numerical error in the sense that no standard divergence cleaning is required. For certain 2-D MHD test problems, divergence free preservation of the magnetic fields of these filter schemes has been achieved.

Cryptic elevational zonation in trapdoor spiders (Araneae, Antrodiaetidae, Aliatypus janus complex) from the California southern Sierra Nevada.

PubMed

Starrett, James; Hayashi, Cheryl Y; Derkarabetian, Shahan; Hedin, Marshal

2018-01-01

The relative roles of ecological niche conservatism versus niche divergence in promoting montane speciation remains an important topic in biogeography. Here, our aim was to test whether lineage diversification in a species complex of trapdoor spiders corresponds with riverine barriers or with an ecological gradient associated with elevational tiering. Aliatypus janus was sampled from throughout its range, with emphasis on populations in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. We collected multi-locus genetic data to generate a species tree for A. janus and its close relatives. Coalescent based hypothesis tests were conducted to determine if genetic breaks within A. janus conform to riverine barriers. Ecological niche models (ENM) under current and Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) conditions were generated and hypothesis tests of niche conservatism and divergence were performed. Coalescent analyses reveal deeply divergent genetic lineages within A. janus, likely corresponding to cryptic species. Two primary lineages meet along an elevational gradient on the western slopes of the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains. ENMs under both current and LGM conditions indicate that these groups occupy largely non-overlapping niches. ENM hypothesis testing rejected niche identity between the two groups, and supported a sharp ecological gradient occurring where the groups meet. However, the niche similarity test indicated that the two groups may not inhabit different background niches. The Sierra Nevada Mountains provide a natural laboratory for simultaneously testing ecological niche divergence and conservatism and their role in speciation across a diverse range of taxa. Aliatypus janus represents a species complex with cryptic lineages that may have diverged due to parapatric speciation along an ecological gradient, or been maintained by the evolution of ecological niche differences following allopatric speciation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nurse educators' critical thinking: A mixed methods exploration.

PubMed

Raymond, Christy; Profetto-McGrath, Joanne; Myrick, Florence; Strean, William B

2018-07-01

Nurse educator's critical thinking remains unexamined as a key factor in the development of students' critical thinking. The objective of this study is to understand how nurse educators reveal their critical thinking in the clinical setting while supervising students. This study uses a single-phase triangulation mixed methods design with multiple data gathering techniques. Participants for this study are clinical nurse educators from a large Western Canadian baccalaureate nursing program who teach 2nd or 3rd year students in medical-surgical settings. Participants for this study completed a demographic survey, the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST), the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory (CCTDI), participant observation in a clinical practice setting, and semi-structured interviews. The results from the California Critical Thinking assessments (CCTST and CCTDI) show that participants are positively inclined and have a moderate to strong ability to think critically, similar to other studies. Participants find it difficult to describe how they reveal their critical thinking in the clinical setting, yet all participants use role modeling and questioning to share their critical thinking with students. When the quantitative and qualitative results are compared, it is apparent that the confidence in reasoning subscale of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test is higher in those educators who more frequently demonstrate and voice engagement in reflective activities. Dispositions associated with critical thinking, as measured by the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory, are more easily observed compared to critical thinking skills. This study is a beginning exploration of nurse educators' critical thinking-in-action. Our mixed methods approach uncovers a valuable approach to understanding the complexity of nurse educators' critical thinking. Further study is needed to uncover how nurse educators' can specifically enact their thinking abilities to support student learning in the clinical setting. Crown Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Moderate Levels of Activation Lead to Forgetting In the Think/No-Think Paradigm

PubMed Central

Detre, Greg J.; Natarajan, Annamalai; Gershman, Samuel J.; Norman, Kenneth A.

2013-01-01

Using the think/no-think paradigm (Anderson & Green, 2001), researchers have found that suppressing retrieval of a memory (in the presence of a strong retrieval cue) can make it harder to retrieve that memory on a subsequent test. This effect has been replicated numerous times, but the size of the effect is highly variable. Also, it is unclear from a neural mechanistic standpoint why preventing recall of a memory now should impair your ability to recall that memory later. Here, we address both of these puzzles using the idea, derived from computational modeling and studies of synaptic plasticity, that the function relating memory activation to learning is U-shaped, such that moderate levels of memory activation lead to weakening of the memory and higher levels of activation lead to strengthening. According to this view, forgetting effects in the think/no-think paradigm occur when the suppressed item activates moderately during the suppression attempt, leading to weakening; the effect is variable because sometimes the suppressed item activates strongly (leading to strengthening) and sometimes it does not activate at all (in which case no learning takes place). To test this hypothesis, we ran a think/no-think experiment where participants learned word-picture pairs; we used pattern classifiers, applied to fMRI data, to measure how strongly the picture associates were activating when participants were trying not to retrieve these associates, and we used a novel Bayesian curve-fitting procedure to relate this covert neural measure of retrieval to performance on a later memory test. In keeping with our hypothesis, the curve-fitting procedure revealed a nonmonotonic relationship between memory activation (as measured by the classifier) and subsequent memory, whereby moderate levels of activation of the to-be-suppressed item led to diminished performance on the final memory test, and higher levels of activation led to enhanced performance on the final test. PMID:23499722

Moderate levels of activation lead to forgetting in the think/no-think paradigm.

PubMed

Detre, Greg J; Natarajan, Annamalai; Gershman, Samuel J; Norman, Kenneth A

2013-10-01

Using the think/no-think paradigm (Anderson & Green, 2001), researchers have found that suppressing retrieval of a memory (in the presence of a strong retrieval cue) can make it harder to retrieve that memory on a subsequent test. This effect has been replicated numerous times, but the size of the effect is highly variable. Also, it is unclear from a neural mechanistic standpoint why preventing recall of a memory now should impair your ability to recall that memory later. Here, we address both of these puzzles using the idea, derived from computational modeling and studies of synaptic plasticity, that the function relating memory activation to learning is U-shaped, such that moderate levels of memory activation lead to weakening of the memory and higher levels of activation lead to strengthening. According to this view, forgetting effects in the think/no-think paradigm occur when the suppressed item activates moderately during the suppression attempt, leading to weakening; the effect is variable because sometimes the suppressed item activates strongly (leading to strengthening) and sometimes it does not activate at all (in which case no learning takes place). To test this hypothesis, we ran a think/no-think experiment where participants learned word-picture pairs; we used pattern classifiers, applied to fMRI data, to measure how strongly the picture associates were activating when participants were trying not to retrieve these associates, and we used a novel Bayesian curve-fitting procedure to relate this covert neural measure of retrieval to performance on a later memory test. In keeping with our hypothesis, the curve-fitting procedure revealed a nonmonotonic relationship between memory activation (as measured by the classifier) and subsequent memory, whereby moderate levels of activation of the to-be-suppressed item led to diminished performance on the final memory test, and higher levels of activation led to enhanced performance on the final test. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adaptive divergence despite strong genetic drift: genomic analysis of the evolutionary mechanisms causing genetic differentiation in the island fox (Urocyon littoralis).

PubMed

Funk, W Chris; Lovich, Robert E; Hohenlohe, Paul A; Hofman, Courtney A; Morrison, Scott A; Sillett, T Scott; Ghalambor, Cameron K; Maldonado, Jesus E; Rick, Torben C; Day, Mitch D; Polato, Nicholas R; Fitzpatrick, Sarah W; Coonan, Timothy J; Crooks, Kevin R; Dillon, Adam; Garcelon, David K; King, Julie L; Boser, Christina L; Gould, Nicholas; Andelt, William F

2016-05-01

The evolutionary mechanisms generating the tremendous biodiversity of islands have long fascinated evolutionary biologists. Genetic drift and divergent selection are predicted to be strong on islands and both could drive population divergence and speciation. Alternatively, strong genetic drift may preclude adaptation. We conducted a genomic analysis to test the roles of genetic drift and divergent selection in causing genetic differentiation among populations of the island fox (Urocyon littoralis). This species consists of six subspecies, each of which occupies a different California Channel Island. Analysis of 5293 SNP loci generated using Restriction-site Associated DNA (RAD) sequencing found support for genetic drift as the dominant evolutionary mechanism driving population divergence among island fox populations. In particular, populations had exceptionally low genetic variation, small Ne (range = 2.1-89.7; median = 19.4), and significant genetic signatures of bottlenecks. Moreover, islands with the lowest genetic variation (and, by inference, the strongest historical genetic drift) were most genetically differentiated from mainland grey foxes, and vice versa, indicating genetic drift drives genome-wide divergence. Nonetheless, outlier tests identified 3.6-6.6% of loci as high FST outliers, suggesting that despite strong genetic drift, divergent selection contributes to population divergence. Patterns of similarity among populations based on high FST outliers mirrored patterns based on morphology, providing additional evidence that outliers reflect adaptive divergence. Extremely low genetic variation and small Ne in some island fox populations, particularly on San Nicolas Island, suggest that they may be vulnerable to fixation of deleterious alleles, decreased fitness and reduced adaptive potential. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Development of Open-Ended Problems for Measuring The Higher-Order-Thinking-Skills of High School Students on Global Warming Phenomenon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fianti; Najwa, F. L.; Linuwih, S.

2017-04-01

Higher-order-thinking-skills can not be developed directly, except by training which is employing open-ended problems for measuring and developing critics, creativeness, and problem-solving thinking-skills of students. This study is a research and development producing open-ended problems. The purpose of this study is to measure the properness and effectiveness of the developed product and to observe the profile of higher-order-thinking-skills of students on global warming phenomenon. The result of properness test of open-ended problems according to the experts is 92,59% on the first stage and 97,53% on the second stage, so we can assume that the product isvery proper. The result of effectiveness test shows the coefficient of correlation between student’s midterm test scores and open-ended questions is 0,634 which is in the category of strong. Higher-order-thinking-skills of SMA Negeri 1 Salatiga students is in the category of good with the average achievement scores 61,28.

[Historical development of vaccines. Introduction: Hazards and rationality in the vaccinal approach].

PubMed

Moulin, A M

1995-01-01

The aim of this paper is to introduce the one hundred years of vaccination that has passed since Louis Pasteur first coined this generic term. According to the late Jonas Salk, vaccinology is a science encompassing all aspects of vaccine from its conception in the laboratory to its production by companies and its application and distribution in the field. In this historical survey I explore how vaccination never consisted of a simple and uniform application of a rational model, but rather diverged along various pathways, several of which were discarded in retrospect as being hazardous, and I analyse the ongoing interplay between rational and inventive thinking.

A chronicle of surgical thinking and doing for exotropia: innovations and rediscoveries.

PubMed

Raab, Edward L

2017-06-01

To review the evolution of theories and practices concerning surgery for exotropia over the last approximately 200 years. Major ophthalmology texts and relevant references were reviewed to discover experience and thinking concerning the causes of comitant intermittent and constant exotropia and corrective surgical approaches. The concept that excessive divergence is the cause of comitant exotropia has given way to one recognizing that this disorder is a position of rest modified by convergence. Some operations discarded as unreliable or dangerous remain so today. Others continue to be well accepted, whether or not relating to advances in understanding of this condition. Several procedures practiced at former times have regained popularity. Concern for the characteristics of extraocular muscle structure and function has led to surgical thinking that goes beyond consideration only of direction and magnitude of deviation. Sophisticated devices now provide heretofore unavailable information consistent with this new approach. The history of progress in surgery for exotropia is mixed. Although some procedures now employed are new, others currently in favor had been well known and formerly utilized by ophthalmologists for many decades. These should be regarded as rediscoveries or revivals rather than as novel. This review also suggests a need to address how to better report retrospective studies. Copyright © 2017 American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Development and psychometric testing of the Carter Assessment of Critical Thinking in Midwifery (Preceptor/Mentor version).

PubMed

Carter, Amanda G; Creedy, Debra K; Sidebotham, Mary

2016-03-01

develop and test a tool designed for use by preceptors/mentors to assess undergraduate midwifery students׳ critical thinking in practice. a descriptive cohort design was used. participants worked in a range of maternity settings in Queensland, Australia. 106 midwifery clinicians who had acted in the role of preceptor for undergraduate midwifery students. this study followed a staged model for tool development recommended by DeVellis (2012). This included generation of items, content validity testing through mapping of draft items to critical thinking concepts and expert review, administration of items to a convenience sample of preceptors, and psychometric testing. A 24 item tool titled the XXXX Assessment of Critical Thinking in Midwifery (CACTiM) was completed by registered midwives in relation to students they had recently preceptored in the clinical environment. ratings by experts revealed a content validity index score of 0.97, representing good content validity. An evaluation of construct validity through factor analysis generated three factors: 'partnership in practice', 'reflection on practice' and 'practice improvements'. The scale demonstrated good internal reliability with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.97. The mean total score for the CACTiM scale was 116.77 (SD=16.68) with a range of 60-144. Total and subscale scores correlated significantly. the CACTiM (Preceptor/Mentor version) was found to be a valid and reliable tool for use by preceptors to assess critical thinking in undergraduate midwifery students. given the importance of critical thinking skills for midwifery practice, mapping and assessing critical thinking development in students׳ practice across an undergraduate programme is vital. The CACTiM (Preceptor/Mentor version) has utility for clinical education, research and practice. The tool can inform and guide preceptors׳ assessment of students׳ critical thinking in practice. The availability of a reliable and valid tool can be used to research the development of critical thinking in practice. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Systems 1 and 2 thinking processes and cognitive reflection testing in medical students

PubMed Central

Tay, Shu Wen; Ryan, Paul; Ryan, C Anthony

2016-01-01

Background Diagnostic decision-making is made through a combination of Systems 1 (intuition or pattern-recognition) and Systems 2 (analytic) thinking. The purpose of this study was to use the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) to evaluate and compare the level of Systems 1 and 2 thinking among medical students in pre-clinical and clinical programs. Methods The CRT is a three-question test designed to measure the ability of respondents to activate metacognitive processes and switch to System 2 (analytic) thinking where System 1 (intuitive) thinking would lead them astray. Each CRT question has a correct analytical (System 2) answer and an incorrect intuitive (System 1) answer. A group of medical students in Years 2 & 3 (pre-clinical) and Years 4 (in clinical practice) of a 5-year medical degree were studied. Results Ten percent (13/128) of students had the intuitive answers to the three questions (suggesting they generally relied on System 1 thinking) while almost half (44%) answered all three correctly (indicating full analytical, System 2 thinking). Only 3–13% had incorrect answers (i.e. that were neither the analytical nor the intuitive responses). Non-native English speaking students (n = 11) had a lower mean number of correct answers compared to native English speakers (n = 117: 1.0 s 2.12 respectfully: p < 0.01). As students progressed through questions 1 to 3, the percentage of correct System 2 answers increased and the percentage of intuitive answers decreased in both the pre-clinical and clinical students. Conclusions Up to half of the medical students demonstrated full or partial reliance on System 1 (intuitive) thinking in response to these analytical questions. While their CRT performance has no claims to make as to their future expertise as clinicians, the test may be used in helping students to understand the importance of awareness and regulation of their thinking processes in clinical practice. PMID:28344696

Systems 1 and 2 thinking processes and cognitive reflection testing in medical students.

PubMed

Tay, Shu Wen; Ryan, Paul; Ryan, C Anthony

2016-10-01

Diagnostic decision-making is made through a combination of Systems 1 (intuition or pattern-recognition) and Systems 2 (analytic) thinking. The purpose of this study was to use the Cognitive Reflection Test (CRT) to evaluate and compare the level of Systems 1 and 2 thinking among medical students in pre-clinical and clinical programs. The CRT is a three-question test designed to measure the ability of respondents to activate metacognitive processes and switch to System 2 (analytic) thinking where System 1 (intuitive) thinking would lead them astray. Each CRT question has a correct analytical (System 2) answer and an incorrect intuitive (System 1) answer. A group of medical students in Years 2 & 3 (pre-clinical) and Years 4 (in clinical practice) of a 5-year medical degree were studied. Ten percent (13/128) of students had the intuitive answers to the three questions (suggesting they generally relied on System 1 thinking) while almost half (44%) answered all three correctly (indicating full analytical, System 2 thinking). Only 3-13% had incorrect answers (i.e. that were neither the analytical nor the intuitive responses). Non-native English speaking students (n = 11) had a lower mean number of correct answers compared to native English speakers (n = 117: 1.0 s 2.12 respectfully: p < 0.01). As students progressed through questions 1 to 3, the percentage of correct System 2 answers increased and the percentage of intuitive answers decreased in both the pre-clinical and clinical students. Up to half of the medical students demonstrated full or partial reliance on System 1 (intuitive) thinking in response to these analytical questions. While their CRT performance has no claims to make as to their future expertise as clinicians, the test may be used in helping students to understand the importance of awareness and regulation of their thinking processes in clinical practice.

Nontraditional teaching techniques and critical thinking in an introductory postsecondary environmental science course

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buerdsell, Sherri Lynn

2009-12-01

As an institution of higher education and as a Hispanic-serving institution, New Mexico State University has a responsibility to its students to provide the skills and experiences necessary for each and every student to become a responsible, reflective citizen, capable of making informed decisions. Postsecondary science has traditionally been taught through lectures. Traditional lecture classes simply do not meet the needs of diverse groups of students in the modern multicultural student body like New Mexico State University's. However, the implementation of nontraditional pedagogy without evaluation of the results is useless as a step to reform; it is necessary to evaluate the results of in situ nontraditional pedagogy to determine its worth. The purpose of this research is to analyze the development and change in students' critical thinking skills, and critical thinking dispositions in single semester in an introductory Environmental Science course. This study utilized a mixed methods approach. The California Critical Thinking Skills Test and the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory were administered in the beginning and at the end of the semester. The pretest was used to provide a baseline for each participant against which the posttest score was compared. In addition, student interviews, field notes, and a survey provided qualitative data, which generated themes regarding the development of student critical thinking in this course. The results indicated there were no significant differences in the critical thinking test scores. However, qualitative analysis indicated that students experienced significant changes in critical thinking. Three themes emerged from the qualitative analysis pertaining to the amount of influence on student learning. These themes are active thinking and learning, dialogue, and professor's influence. Due to the conflict between the quantitative and the qualitative results, it is suggested that the critical thinking tests are not sensitive enough to identify minute but important changes in student critical thinking.

The Impact of Cooperative Learning on Critical Thinking Test Scores of Associate's Degree Graduates in Southwest Virginia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hodges, James Gregory

2013-01-01

This study examined the impact that the teaching technique known as cooperative learning had on the changes between pre- and post-test scores on all sub-categories ("induction, deduction, analysis, evaluation, inference", and "total composite") associated with the "California Critical Thinking Skills Test" (CCTST) for…

Development of inquiry-based learning activities integrated with the local learning resource to promote learning achievement and analytical thinking ability of Mathayomsuksa 3 student

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sukji, Paweena; Wichaidit, Pacharee Rompayom; Wichaidit, Sittichai

2018-01-01

The objectives of this study were to: 1) compare learning achievement and analytical thinking ability of Mathayomsuksa 3 students before and after learning through inquiry-based learning activities integrated with the local learning resource, and 2) compare average post-test score of learning achievement and analytical thinking ability to its cutting score. The target of this study was 23 Mathayomsuksa 3 students who were studying in the second semester of 2016 academic year from Banchatfang School, Chainat Province. Research instruments composed of: 1) 6 lesson plans of Environment and Natural Resources, 2) the learning achievement test, and 3) analytical thinking ability test. The results showed that 1) student' learning achievement and analytical thinking ability after learning were higher than that of before at the level of .05 statistical significance, and 2) average posttest score of student' learning achievement and analytical thinking ability were higher than its cutting score at the level of .05 statistical significance. The implication of this research is for science teachers and curriculum developers to design inquiry activities that relate to student's context.

An Exploration of the Interplay of Students' Dispositions to Critical Thinking, Formal Thinking and Procedural Knowledge in Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ferguson, Nicole; Vazquez-Abad, Jesus

This paper describes part of a study undertaken to examine the relationship between dispositions to critical thinking, procedural knowledge in science, and formal reasoning. Three tests were administered to 346 grade 7 students at the beginning and at the end of the school year: California Critical Thinking Dispositions Inventory, Group Assessment…

Critical Thinking as a Predictor and Outcome Measure in a Large Undergraduate Educational Psychology Course.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Robert L.

This study first determined how well two types of critical thinking measures, generic and subject-specific, predicted performance on course tests. Secondly, the study examined the extent to which critical thinking changed from the beginning to the end of the course. Two generic and one subject-specific measure of critical thinking were used in the…

Probabilistic Learning in Junior High School: Investigation of Student Probabilistic Thinking Levels

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurniasih, R.; Sujadi, I.

2017-09-01

This paper was to investigate level on students’ probabilistic thinking. Probabilistic thinking level is level of probabilistic thinking. Probabilistic thinking is thinking about probabilistic or uncertainty matter in probability material. The research’s subject was students in grade 8th Junior High School students. The main instrument is a researcher and a supporting instrument is probabilistic thinking skills test and interview guidelines. Data was analyzed using triangulation method. The results showed that the level of students probabilistic thinking before obtaining a teaching opportunity at the level of subjective and transitional. After the students’ learning level probabilistic thinking is changing. Based on the results of research there are some students who have in 8th grade level probabilistic thinking numerically highest of levels. Level of students’ probabilistic thinking can be used as a reference to make a learning material and strategy.

Adaptive Genetic Divergence along Narrow Environmental Gradients in Four Stream Insects

PubMed Central

Watanabe, Kozo; Kazama, So; Omura, Tatsuo; Monaghan, Michael T.

2014-01-01

A central question linking ecology with evolutionary biology is how environmental heterogeneity can drive adaptive genetic divergence among populations. We examined adaptive divergence of four stream insects from six adjacent catchments in Japan by combining field measures of habitat and resource components with genome scans of non-neutral Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) loci. Neutral genetic variation was used to measure gene flow and non-neutral genetic variation was used to test for adaptive divergence. We identified the environmental characteristics contributing to divergence by comparing genetic distances at non-neutral loci between sites with Euclidean distances for each of 15 environmental variables. Comparisons were made using partial Mantel tests to control for geographic distance. In all four species, we found strong evidence for non-neutral divergence along environmental gradients at between 6 and 21 loci per species. The relative contribution of these environmental variables to each species' ecological niche was quantified as the specialization index, S, based on ecological data. In each species, the variable most significantly correlated with genetic distance at non-neutral loci was the same variable along which each species was most narrowly distributed (i.e., highest S). These were gradients of elevation (two species), chlorophyll-a, and ammonia-nitrogen. This adaptive divergence occurred in the face of ongoing gene flow (F st = 0.01–0.04), indicating that selection was strong enough to overcome homogenization at the landscape scale. Our results suggest that adaptive divergence is pronounced, occurs along different environmental gradients for different species, and may consistently occur along the narrowest components of species' niche. PMID:24681871

Divergent plate motion drives rapid exhumation of (ultra)high pressure rocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liao, Jie; Malusà, Marco G.; Zhao, Liang; Baldwin, Suzanne L.; Fitzgerald, Paul G.; Gerya, Taras

2018-06-01

Exhumation of (ultra)high pressure [(U)HP] rocks by upper-plate divergent motion above an unbroken slab, first proposed in the Western Alps, has never been tested by numerical methods. We present 2D thermo-mechanical models incorporating subduction of a thinned continental margin beneath either a continental or oceanic upper plate, followed by upper-plate divergent motion away from the lower plate. Results demonstrate how divergent plate motion may trigger rapid exhumation of large volumes of (U)HP rocks directly to the Earth's surface, without the need for significant overburden removal by erosion. Model exhumation paths are fully consistent with natural examples for a wide range of upper-plate divergence rates. Exhumation rates are systematically higher than the divergent rate imposed to the upper plate, and the modeled size of exhumed (U)HP domes is invariant for different rates of upper-plate divergence. Major variations are instead predicted at depth for differing model scenarios, as larger amounts of divergent motion may allow mantle-wedge exhumation to shallow depth under the exhuming domes. The transient temperature increase, due to ascent of mantle-wedge material in the subduction channel, has a limited effect on exhumed continental (U)HP rocks already at the surface. We test two examples, the Cenozoic (U)HP terranes of the Western Alps (continental upper plate) and eastern Papua New Guinea (oceanic upper plate). The good fit between model predictions and the geologic record in these terranes encourages the application of these models globally to pre-Cenozoic (U)HP terranes where the geologic record of exhumation is only partly preserved.

Workplace skills and the skills gaps related to employee critical thinking ability and science education curriculum

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alexander, William A.

In recent years, business and industry have been vocal critics of education. Critics complain the American workforce, particularly young people, are deficient in workplace skills. A survey of 500 randomly selected Ohio businesses was used to determine opinions of respondents related to workplace skills gaps, rising skill levels, and level and type of critical thinking used on the job by all employees and entry-level employees. Four of 18 science outcomes promoted by the Ohio Department of Education had an application in business and these required critical-thinking skills to complete. These four formed the foundation in the survey because they provided a connection between thinking skills required on the Ohio 12 th Grade Proficiency Test and those required on the job. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to identify correlation between responses. The alpha level was p ≤ .05. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to identify significant (p ≤ .05) relationships between variables as represented by responses. In addition, one version of the Science Section of the Ohio 12th Grade Proficiency Test was analyzed for use of critical thinking using the SCAN's critical-thinking attributes as a standard. There were several findings related to workplace skills and critical thinking. Only 17.1% of respondents indicated dissatisfaction with the basic academic skill level of their employees. A majority (71.1%) of responding businesses perceived a lack of work ethic as more important than deficient academic skills. Only 17.1% of respondents reported the skill level of their entry-level employees was rising. Approximately 1/3 of responding businesses required no critical thinking at all from their entry-level employees. Small businesses were significantly more likely to require higher levels of critical thinking from their entry level employees than larger businesses. Employers who reported rising skill levels in entry-level employees required all of their employees to exhibit critical thinking similar to that required on the four tested outcomes on the Science Section, Ohio 12th Grade Proficiency Test.

Instructional designing the STEM education model for fostering creative thinking abilities in physics laboratory environment classes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chanthala, Chumpon; Santiboon, Toansakul; Ponkham, Kamon

2018-01-01

To investigate the effects of students' activity-based on learning approaching management through the STEM Education Instructional Model for fostering their creative thinking abilities of their learning achievements in physics laboratory classroom environments with the sample size consisted of 48 students at the 10th grade level in two classes in Mahasarakham University Demonstration School(Secondary Division) in Thailand. Students' creative thinking abilities were assessed with the with the 24-item GuilfordCreative Thinking Questionnaire (GCTQ). Students' perceptions of their physics classroom learning environments were obtained using the 35-item Physics Laboratory Environment Inventory (PLEI). Associations between students' learning achievements of their post-test assessment indicated that 26% of the coefficient predictive value (R2) of the variance in students' creative thinking abilities was attributable to their perceptions for the GCTQ. Students' learning outcomes of their post-test assessment, the R2value indicated that 35% of the variances for the PLEI, the R2value indicated that 63% of the variances for their creative thinking abilities were attributable to theiraffecting the activity-based on learning for fostering their creative thinking are provided.

Using hot lab to increase pre-service physics teacher’s critical thinking skills related to the topic of RLC circuit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Malik, A.; Setiawan, A.; Suhandi, A.; Permanasari, A.; Samsudin, A.; Safitri, D.; Lisdiani, S. A. S.; Sapriadil, S.; Hermita, N.

2018-05-01

This research purposes to explore the used of Higher Order Thinking Laboratory (HOT-Lab) in enhancing the critical thinking skills of pre-service teachers related to the topic of Resistors, Inductors, Capacitor (RLC circuit). This study utilised a quasi-experiment method with Pretest-Posttest Control Group design. The sample of the study was 60 students that were divided into two groups covering in experiment and control group, consists of 30 students. The instrument for measuring critical thinking skills is essay test. Data has been analyzed using normalized gain average, effect size, and t-test. The results show that students’ critical thinking skills using the HOT Lab are higher than the verification lab. Using HOT-lab was implemented in the form of activity in the laboratory can improve high-order thinking skills. Hence, it was concluded that the use of HOT Lab had a greater impact on improving students’ critical thinking skills on RLC topic. Finally, HOT Lab can be used for other physics topics.

Examining Critical Thinking Skills in Family Medicine Residents.

PubMed

Ross, David; Schipper, Shirley; Westbury, Chris; Linh Banh, Hoan; Loeffler, Kim; Allan, G Michael; Ross, Shelley

2016-02-01

Our objective was to determine the relationship between critical thinking skills and objective measures of academic success in a family medicine residency program. This prospective observational cohort study was set in a large Canadian family medicine residency program. Intervention was the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST), administered at three points in residency: upon entry, at mid-point, and at graduation. Results from the CCTST, Canadian Residency Matching Service file, and interview scores were compared to other measures of academic performance (Medical Colleges Admission Test [MCAT] and College of Family Physicians of Canada [CCFP] certification examination results). For participants (n=60), significant positive correlations were found between critical thinking skills and performance on tests of knowledge. For the MCAT, CCTST scores correlated positively with full scores (n=24, r=0.57) as well as with each section score (verbal reasoning: r=0.59; physical sciences: r=0.64; biological sciences: r=0.54). For CCFP examination, CCTST correlated reliably with both sections (n=49, orals: r=0.34; short answer: r=0.47). Additionally, CCTST was a better predictor of performance on the CCFP exam than was the interview score at selection into the residency program (Fisher's r-to-z test, z=2.25). Success on a critical thinking skills exam was found to predict success on family medicine certification examinations. Given that critical thinking skills appear to be stable throughout residency training, including an assessment of critical thinking in the selection process may help identify applicants more likely to be successful on final certification exam.

Examining patterns of change in the critical thinking skills of graduate nursing students.

PubMed

McMullen, Maureen A; McMullen, William F

2009-06-01

Although critical thinking in undergraduate nursing education has been explored in depth, little is known about the critical thinking skills of graduate nursing students. Prior research on change in critical thinking scores is based primarily on pretest and posttest assessments that provide minimal information about change. This study used individual growth modeling to investigate how critical thinking skills change during a 2-year graduate nurse program. Scores from the evaluation, inference, and analysis subscales of the California Critical Thinking Skills Test comprised the empirical growth record. Change in the three critical thinking skills was more dynamic than that reported in previous studies. Patterns of change differed by critical thinking skill and in relation to students' initial critical thinking skill levels at program entry.

Validating use of a critical thinking test for the dental admission test.

PubMed

Tsai, Tsung-Hsun

2014-04-01

The purpose of this study was to validate the use of a test to assess dental school applicants' critical thinking abilities. The intent was to include this test on the Dental Admission Test (DAT) if it was shown to enhance the DAT's validity. Correlation and regression analyses of undergraduate and dental school performance with scores on each of the tests on the DAT battery and the California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST) were performed. Data were collected from 439 third- and fourth-year dental students who consented to participate and were enrolled at one of the ten accredited dental schools included in the study. These ten dental schools were from most regions of the United States. This study concluded that including the CCTST on the DAT did not significantly enhance the DAT's validity.

Critical Thinking Skills of Students through Mathematics Learning with ASSURE Model Assisted by Software Autograph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kristianti, Y.; Prabawanto, S.; Suhendra, S.

2017-09-01

This study aims to examine the ability of critical thinking and students who attain learning mathematics with learning model ASSURE assisted Autograph software. The design of this study was experimental group with pre-test and post-test control group. The experimental group obtained a mathematics learning with ASSURE-assisted model Autograph software and the control group acquired the mathematics learning with the conventional model. The data are obtained from the research results through critical thinking skills tests. This research was conducted at junior high school level with research population in one of junior high school student in Subang Regency of Lesson Year 2016/2017 and research sample of class VIII student in one of junior high school in Subang Regency for 2 classes. Analysis of research data is administered quantitatively. Quantitative data analysis was performed on the normalized gain level between the two sample groups using a one-way anova test. The results show that mathematics learning with ASSURE assisted model Autograph software can improve the critical thinking ability of junior high school students. Mathematical learning using ASSURE-assisted model Autograph software is significantly better in improving the critical thinking skills of junior high school students compared with conventional models.

Statistical Issues in Performance Testing: Collected Papers.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-09-01

Video Games and Convergence or Divergence with Practice by M. B. Jones, R. S. Kennedy, and A. C. Bittner, Jr .................. Convergence-Divergence...Seenth Psychology in the DOD Symposium USAF Academy, Colorado Springs, CO 17 April 1980 Video Games and Convergence or Divergence with Practice Marshall B...Laboratory Detachment New Orleans, LA 70189 Abstract Video Games In 1972 a coin-operated video game called Pong and manufactured by Atari, Inc., a

Biogeography of “Cyprinella lutrensis”: intensive genetic sampling from the Pecos River ‘melting pot’ reveals a dynamic history and phylogenetic complexity

PubMed Central

Osborne, Megan J.; Diver, Tracy A.; Hoagstrom, Christopher W.; Turner, Thomas F.

2015-01-01

Thorough sampling is necessary to delineate lineage diversity for polytypic “species” such as Cyprinella lutrensis. We conducted extensive mtDNA sampling (cytochrome b and ND4) from the Pecos River, Rio Grande, and South Canadian River, New Mexico. Our study emphasized the Pecos River due to its complex geological history and potential to harbor multiple lineages. We used geometric-morphometric, morphometric, and meristic analyses to test for phenotypic divergence and combined nucDNA with mtDNA to test for cytonuclear disequilibrium and combined our sequences with published data to conduct a phylogenetic re-assessment of the entire C. lutrensis clade. We detected five co-occurring mtDNA lineages in the Pecos River, but no evidence for cytonuclear disequilibrium or phenotypic divergence. Recognized species were interspersed amongst divergent lineages of “C. lutrensis”. Allopatric divergence among drainages isolated in the Late Miocene and Pliocene apparently produced several recognized species and major divisions within “C. lutrensis”. Pleistocene re-expansion and subsequent re-fragmentation of a centralized lineage founded younger, divergent lineages throughout the Rio Grande basin and Edwards Plateau. There is also evidence of recent introductions to the Rio Grande, Pecos and South Canadian Rivers. Nonetheless, deeply divergent lineages have coexisted since the Pleistocene. PMID:26858464

Contrasting patterns of genetic and phenotypic differentiation in two invasive salmonids in the southern hemisphere

PubMed Central

Monzón-Argüello, Catalina; Consuegra, Sofia; Gajardo, Gonzalo; Marco-Rius, Francisco; Fowler, Daniel M; DeFaveri, Jacquelin; Garcia de Leaniz, Carlos

2014-01-01

Invasion success may be expected to increase with residence time (i.e., time since first introduction) and secondary releases (i.e., those that follow the original introduction), but this has rarely been tested in natural fish populations. We compared genetic and phenotypic divergence in rainbow trout and brown trout in Chile and the Falkland Islands to test the prediction that adaptive divergence, measured as PST/FST, would increase with residence time and secondary releases. We also explored whether interspecific competition between invaders could drive phenotypic divergence. Residence time had no significant effect on genetic diversity, phenotypic divergence, effective population size, or signatures of expansion of invasive trout. In contrast, secondary releases had a major effect on trout invasions, and rainbow trout populations mostly affected by aquaculture escapees showed significant divergence from less affected populations. Coexistence with brown trout had a positive effect on phenotypic divergence of rainbow trout. Our results highlight an important role of secondary releases in shaping fish invasions, but do not support the contention that older invaders are more differentiated than younger ones. They also suggest that exotic trout may not have yet developed local adaptations in these recently invaded habitats, at least with respect to growth-related traits. PMID:25469171

Collaborative testing: assessing teamwork and critical thinking behaviors in baccalaureate nursing students.

PubMed

Wiggs, Carol M

2011-04-01

The purpose of this study was to foster teamwork and critical thinking behaviors in baccalaureate nursing students using a collaborative testing environment. Collaborative testing affords the nurse educator a unique opportunity to actively influence the development of critical thinking skills directly influencing the nursing student's ability to solve complex patient problems. Using a quasi-experimental approach exam scores from students in prior semesters were compared to students in several semesters using collaborative testing in one undergraduate course taught by the same faculty. In the experimental group collaborative testing was used in the two unit examinations, while the final examination remained individual. For collaborative testing the students were grouped by random assignment. They were not allowed the use of notes, textbooks, or other resource materials. Any student who wished to work alone was allowed do so and any student coming late (within 15 min of examination beginning) was required to work alone. Each student submitted individual examination answer forms, and groups were not required to reach consensus. Collaborative testing is one means to foster critical thinking by allowing students to solve complex patient problems within an examination environment. This better prepares them for national certification exams. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Achievement Emotions and Achievement Goals in Support of the Convergent, Divergent and Criterion Validity of the Spanish-Cognitive Test Anxiety Scale

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sánchez-Rosas, Javier; Furlan, Luis Alberto

2017-01-01

Based on the control-value theory of achievement emotions and theory of achievement goals, this research provides evidence of convergent, divergent, and criterion validity of the Spanish Cognitive Test Anxiety Scale (S-CTAS). A sample of Argentinean undergraduates responded to several scales administered at three points. At time 1 and 3, the…

An experimental test of alternative population augmentation scenarios.

PubMed

Kronenberger, John A; Gerberich, Jill C; Fitzpatrick, Sarah W; Broder, E Dale; Angeloni, Lisa M; Funk, W Chris

2018-01-19

Human land use is fragmenting habitats worldwide and inhibiting dispersal among previously connected populations of organisms, often leading to inbreeding depression and reduced evolutionary potential in the face of rapid environmental change. To combat this augmentation of isolated populations with immigrants is sometimes used to facilitate demographic and genetic rescue. Augmentation with immigrants that are genetically and adaptively similar to the target population effectively increases population fitness, but if immigrants are very genetically or adaptively divergent, augmentation can lead to outbreeding depression. Despite well-cited guidelines for the best practice selection of immigrant sources, often only highly divergent populations remain, and experimental tests of these riskier augmentation scenarios are essentially nonexistent. We conducted a mesocosm experiment with Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) to test the multigenerational demographic and genetic effects of augmenting 2 target populations with 3 types of divergent immigrants. We found no evidence of demographic rescue, but we did observe genetic rescue in one population. Divergent immigrant treatments tended to maintain greater genetic diversity, abundance, and hybrid fitness than controls that received immigrants from the source used to seed the mesocosms. In the second population, divergent immigrants had a slightly negative effect in one treatment, and the benefits of augmentation were less apparent overall, likely because this population started with higher genetic diversity and a lower reproductive rate that limited genetic admixture. Our results add to a growing consensus that gene flow can increase population fitness even when immigrants are more highly divergent and may help reduce uncertainty about the use of augmentation in conservation. © 2018 Society for Conservation Biology.

Exploring the Different Trajectories of Analytical Thinking Ability Factors: An Application of the Second-Order Growth Curve Factor Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Saengprom, Narumon; Erawan, Waraporn; Damrongpanit, Suntonrapot; Sakulku, Jaruwan

2015-01-01

The purposes of this study were 1) Compare analytical thinking ability by testing the same sets of students 5 times 2) Develop and verify whether analytical thinking ability of students corresponds to second-order growth curve factors model. Samples were 1,093 eighth-grade students. The results revealed that 1) Analytical thinking ability scores…

A test of the ABC model underlying rational emotive behavior therapy.

PubMed

Ziegler, Daniel J; Leslie, Yvonne M

2003-02-01

The ABC model underlying Ellis's Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy predicts that people who think more irrationally should respond to daily stressors or hassles differently than do people who think less irrationally. This study tested this aspect of the ABC model. 192 college students were administered the Survey of Personal Beliefs and the Hassles Scale to measure irrational thinking and daily hassles, respectively. Students who scored higher on overall irrational thinking reported a significantly higher frequency of hassles than did those who scored lower on overall irrational thinking, while students who scored higher on awfulizing and low frustration tolerance reported a significantly greater intensity of hassles than did those who scored lower on awfulizing and low frustration tolerance. This indicates support for the ABC model, especially Ellis's construct of irrational beliefs central to this model.