Convergent and Divergent cognitive abilities Psychology Research Paper (Research Paper Sample)

Meta Trait and Creativity
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Abstract
A considerable scholarly focus has been geared towards ‘openness to experience’ as an important aspect of creativity. However not much is known about plasticity. This research seeks to examine how Meta traits impact the tasks requiring convergent and divergent cognitive abilities and the degree of variations in the manner in which plasticity impacts the two high order personality traits. The sample size consisted of 57 Yale University students (10 boys and 47 girls) with a mean age of 24.4 (SD= 6.75). Measures on quality of convergent and divergent thinking and fluency were completed. The results indicated that stability and plasticity did have almost similar effects. Outcomes related to behavioral control, variability and impulsiveness were predicted by the two huge factors. It was also found that people high in plasticity exhibit higher divergent thinking and lower convergent cognitive abilities. Depleted self-control was found to have a greater negative impact on convergent cognitive tasks compared to divergent cognitive tasks. This is because convergent thinking requires optimal thinking which is hampered when self-control is depleted.
Keywords: Self-control depletion, divergent, convergent, Meta traits, personality
Authors note:
Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Abstract PAGEREF _Toc535834171 \h 2Introduction PAGEREF _Toc535834172 \h 4Method PAGEREF _Toc535834173 \h 7Participants PAGEREF _Toc535834174 \h 7Measurements PAGEREF _Toc535834175 \h 7Procedure PAGEREF _Toc535834176 \h 8Results PAGEREF _Toc535834177 \h 8Discussion PAGEREF _Toc535834178 \h 11References PAGEREF _Toc535834179 \h 14
Introduction
In the science of creativity, the study of personality is one of the oldest topics (Batey & Furnham, 2006). Research has focused on the big five personality domains and openness to experience has been found to be critically important to creativity since it predicts creativity in various levels of analysis across a wide range of domains. The other four have been found to be less consistent in predicting creativity. Several researchers have however justified that the big five are not the most important. Two traits have been found to be of critical significance. Silvia, Nusbaum, Berg, Martin, & O’Connor (2009), argue that there is no one single way in which people are creative. Thus there is a need to capture a wide range of domains. While a good number of studies have focused on the big five personality traits Silvia et al., (2008) found that the huge two which include plasticity comprised of (openness to extraversion and experience) and stability comprised of (conscientiousness, agreeableness and emotional stability) subsume the five factors. (DeYoung, 2006) found that stability reflects a tendency to avoid disruption in motivational, emotional and social domains.
Deyoung asserts that individuals with high stability tend to be lower in externalizing tasks, higher in morningness and lower in divergent thinking. In contrast (Silvia et al., 2008), argue that Individuals in high plasticity tend to be higher in externalizing tasks, lower in morningness and lower in conformity. Such people tend to have higher divergent cognitive abilities. However, Stability and plasticity have been found to have opposing effects. Critical thinking (convergent thinking) and creative thinking (divergent thinking) are considered necessary problem-solving abilities as well as important abilities for tasks. Thus, it is crucial to conduct a comprehensive examination of the factors influencing convergent and divergent cognitive abilities. This study seeks to explore the correlation between creativity and personality. The research aims to examine the two meta-traits of personality and how they relate to creative self-concept and performance on creativity tasks requiring (a) convergent cognitive abilities and (b) divergent cognitive abilities. The study will also assess how self-control depletion affects performance on creativity tasks requiring (a) convergent cognitive abilities and (b) divergent cognitive abilities. In this research it was hypothesized that: Plasticity is strongly correlated to creativity compared to stability; the two Meta traits predict the outcomes related to control, impulsiveness and variability; individuals high in plasticity are lower in conformity and higher in externalizing behaviors (higher in divergent cognitive behaviors); Self-control depletion exerts a negative impact on convergent thinking to a greater extent compared to divergent thinking; There is no correlation between the two Meta traits and cognitive components.
Divergent cognitive abilities imply that an individual can propose unique solutions for a given task. For instance, in the Guilford's Alternative Uses Test, participants have to come up with as many uses for an item as they are able to think of. Indicators of fluency are used to evaluate the test results, for example, the ability to come up with a number of ideas, originality, and flexibility. Convergent thinking, on the other hand, is concerned with the ability to come up with an optimum solution for a given problem. The most important aspect of convergent thinking is that the derived answer has to be the most appropriate with fewer ambiguities.