Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Divergent thinking (creative problem solving) is content-specifc?

Results from a large scale study (n=1300+) of German subjects (Kuhn & Holing, 2009;  European Journal of Psychological Assessment) suggests that the factor structure of divergent thinking (idea generation, creative problem solving, etc.) abilities may be domain-specific (numerical, verbal, figural), consistent with the BIS intelligence theory (which was the framework for the study). 

My only criticism is that no attempt was made to relate (test a model?) or interpret the results as per the divergent abilities that are subsumed as the fluency/rate factors under Glr in the CHC theory of intelligence.  Without detailed descriptions of the tests in the manuscript, it is not possible to do a post-hoc BIS-CHC "cross-walk."  My hunch is that the content-classified divergent thinking tests used in this study may tap a content facet or intermediate stratum of the CHC taxonomy.  A number of the CHC Glr fluency factors would appear, at face value, to be readily classified (on a logical basis) as per these three content dimensions/facets.

I find these BIS-based results interesting and in need of integration within the CHC taxonomy (click here for recent CHC overview article in Intelligence)...and vice-versa.

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