Before reflexivity comes preflexivity

Metacontrol of human creativity: The neurocognitive mechanisms of convergent and divergent thinking

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

: The present experiment was designed to determine differential effects if any, on high- and low-creative Ss' need for novelty after being satiated with experiences requiring convergent and divergent thinking. High- or low-creative Ss were identified by the remote associates test. The S was assigned to either a divergent satiation thinking condition or to a convergent satiation thinking condition and performed the requisite tasks in each. Following satiation, the S performed a task which enabled E to identify differences in Ss responsiveness to novelty. The general hypothesis of the study was that high-creatives who were satiated with convergent thinking tasks would choose significantly more words of the class (nouns or nonnouns) of words which lead to novel associations than would high-creatives who were satiated with divergent thinking tasks. Among the low-creatives, those Ss who were satiated with convergent thinking experiences were hypothesized to choose more words of the class of words which led to novel associations than the low-creatives who were satiated with divergent thinking experiences.

This study investigates neural mechanisms of divergent and convergent thinking in the verbal knowledge domain while taking into account activation related to working memory (WM). Divergent thinking was assessed using the Alternate Uses Task (AUT) and convergent thinking using the Compound Remote Associates task (RAT). We analyzed upper alpha band (10–12 Hz) oscillatory activity, in which we accounted for the temporal dynamics of both thinking processes by investigating three different time points during each trial for both tasks. We subtracted WM-related oscillatory activity measured by a serial recall task within the same knowledge domain and by using highly similar stimulus material as in both divergent and convergent thinking tasks. Our results show a strong upper alpha synchronization during divergent relative to convergent thinking, most pronounced at fronto-parietal electrodes. Moreover, we observed highest synchronization towards the middle (in contrast to the beginning and end) of each trial during both thinking processes. The results of the present study extend previous findings in the visuo-spatial knowledge domain, using a highly similar analytical approach to investigate divergent and convergent thinking. Together, these findings provide theoretical implications on how divergent and convergent thinking interact beyond WM across different knowledge domains by emphasizing their complex interplay.

Creativity-related cognitive processes and personality traits are not often examined together in educational contexts, particularly when discussing high-achieving subgroups of medical students. This study investigated these predictors of academic performance among high-achieving and typical-achieving medical students within a problem-based learning (PBL) environment of a medical school. Data were collected from 274 Doctor of Medicine students at Arabian Gulf University during the 2024–2025 academic year. Participants completed assessments of convergent thinking (Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices and Watson–Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal), divergent thinking (Alternative Uses Test and Figural Divergent Thinking Test), and openness to experience (NEO-FFI). Students’ grade point averages (GPAs) were obtained from institutional records. Hierarchical regression analyses and moderation tests were performed, controlling for age and sex. Convergent thinking (β = 0.20, p < .001) and divergent thinking (β = 0.25, p < .001) emerged as modest-to-moderate positive predictors of GPA, whereas openness to experience showed a small negative association (β = −0.13, p = .026). Achievement status, defined as high-achieving versus typical-achieving GPA, significantly moderated the effects of both convergent and divergent thinking, such that the academic benefits of higher thinking skills were meaningfully stronger among high-achieving students, while these associations were weaker among their typical-achieving peers. No moderating effect was observed for openness to experience. Convergent and divergent thinking independently enhance academic performance in medical students, with amplified effects for high-achieving students. In contrast, openness to experience was negatively linked with GPA, reflecting the complex interplay between personality traits and structured medical training. These findings underscore the need for medical curricula that balance convergent reasoning with creative problem-solving while considering diverse student cognitive and personality profiles.

Effects of the interaction between exercising self-control and PhoPhiKat on divergent and convergent thinking

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the effects of risk-taking, exploitation, and exploration on creativity by taking a model-based computational approach to both divergent and convergent thinking as primary ingredients of creativity. We adopted a reinforcement learning framework of Q learning to provide a simple, rigorous account of behavior in the decision-making process and examined the determinants of divergent and convergent thinking. Our findings revealed that risk-taking has positive effects on divergent thinking, but not related to convergent thinking. In particular, divergent thinkers with a high learning capacity were more likely to engage in risk-taking when facing losses than when facing gains. This risk-taking behavior not only contributes to the rapid achievement of learning convergence, but is also associated with high performance in divergent thinking tasks. Conversely, both exploitation and exploration had no significant effects on creativity once these risk attitudes were considered. Moreover, while convergent thinking relied on personality characteristics, it was not associated with risk-taking, exploitation, or exploration.

Contemporary creativity support tools (CSTs) primarily support divergent thinking, while often neglecting convergent thinking. Currently, research is limited concerning how these complementary aspects of creative thought could be integrated into a unified approach. This article theoretically conceptualizes the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) as a facilitator within CSTs to enhance design students' divergent and convergent thinking during ideation processes in higher education. The research employed the concept-driven design research methodology and conducted qualitative interviews with ten design students to evaluate and refine a theoretically underpinned design concept. The study identified four key themes that informed the crafting of a revised design concept: clarity and comprehension requirements, visualization of user journeys, the role of AI, and the balance between predictable and unpredictable interactions. Through iterative refinement, the research established a theoretically and empirically underpinned design concept that demonstrates how AI facilitation can support both divergent and convergent thinking while preserving student agency in creative processes. This research contributes to the theoretical grounding of AI-enhanced creativity support and provides practical insights for integrating AI facilitation in CTSs for design education.

Computer-aided design (CAD) is a standard design tool used in engineering practice and by students. CAD has become increasingly analytic and inventive in incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) approaches to design, e.g., generative design (GD), to help expand designers' divergent thinking. However, generative design technologies are relatively new, we know little about generative design thinking in students. This research aims to advance our understanding of the relationship between aspects of generative design thinking and traditional design thinking. This study was set in an introductory graphics and design course where student designers used Fusion 360 to optimize a bicycle wheel frame. We collected the following data from the sample: divergent and convergent psychological tests and an open-ended response to a generative design prompt (called the generative design reasoning elicitation problem). A Spearman's rank correlation showed no statistically significant relationship between generative design reasoning and divergent thinking. However, an analysis of variance found a significant difference in generative design reasoning and convergent thinking between groups with moderate GD reasoning and low GD reasoning. This study shows that new computational tools might present the same challenges to beginning designers as conventional tools. Instructors should be aware of informed design practices and encourage students to grow into informed designers by introducing them to new technology, such as generative design.

Divergent and Convergent Thinking Abilities in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

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.

Beyond alpha-band: The neural correlate of creative thinking

Cultural intelligence (CQ), defined as ‘an individual’s ability to be effective in situations characterized by cultural diversity’ (Ang, Van Dyne, 2008), can be developed and strengthened through experience, education and training. For a number of years, research on cultural intelligence has found important and recurring results for individuals with higher levels of CQ: better cross-cultural adjustment, improved job performance and enhanced personal well-being. More recent works have focused on the relation between cultural intelligence, creativity and innovation, opening new horizons for studies in the field. In light of these recent developments, the paper explores the link between cultural intelligence and creativity in a specific context: a program for American college students doing their traineeship in Rome, Italy. The research is based on the analysis of field journals written by trainees. While reading and coding them, we looked for ‘proofs’ of divergent and critical thinking, assuming, based on a literature review, that they are important components of the creative process. Results show that divergent and critical thinking are consistently present in the journals written by trainees who have been positively assessed by their academic tutors and placement supervisors. Critical and divergent thinking, and subsequently creativity, are likely to be higher among individuals who demonstrate interest and openness to the new culture they encounter and are capable not only to describe it, but also to compare it with their own. This re-confirms the importance of cross cultural training to enhance the learning outcomes of a traineeship abroad.

Functional organization of different brain areas during convergent and divergent thinking: an EEG investigation

The role of executive functioning in creative thinking is under debate. Some authors suggested that increased inhibitory control, a component of executive functioning, is detrimental to creative solutions, whereas others argued that executive functions are central to creative problem-solving, thus questioning Guilford’s classical distinction between divergent and convergent thinking. Executive functions decline with age. In this study, we investigated the contributions of executive functioning and its age-related decline and divergent thinking to creative problem-solving. To this aim, we divided our sample of sixty healthy adults into two age groups of young adults (20–26 years) and elderly (60–70 years) and we assessed their creative problem-solving abilities (using the compound remote associate problems) as well as other potential cognitive predictors of creative problem-solving (i.e., impulsivity, divergent thinking, verbal working memory, and decision-making style). A linear regression model revealed that the ability to solve problems creatively is negatively predicted by older age and impulsivity, while positively predicted by divergent thinking and verbal working memory. These findings reveal a combined contribution of executive functions and divergent thinking to creative problem-solving, suggesting that both convergent and divergent processes should be considered in interventions to contrast age-related decline.