Improving The Measurement of Divergent Thinking Attitudes in Organizations

Three new improved scales measuring three independent divergent thinking attitudes were developed in field research with managers and were labeled “Valuing New Ideas,” “Belief that Creativity is Not for Only a Select Few,” and “Not Feeling Too Busy for New Ideas.” These three scales represent an improvement over three scales initially identified by Basadur and Hausdorf (1996). Two studies were done. The first was a reliability study in which higher internal consistencies and improved understanding and labeling were achieved. The second was a field experiment in which preliminary evidence of external validity of the three scales was established. The scales effectively measured the changes in these attitudes that were expected after training. Opportunities for future research are identified.     

Effects of Marijuana Use on Divergent Thinking

This research sought to evaluate the effect of marijuana use on creativity as defined by the term divergent thinking. Another objective was to verify if there was a difference in the creativity of regular users (60 participants) and that of novice users of marijuana (60 participants) under 3 experimental conditions: without marijuana, with placebo, and with marijuana. The 4 divergent thinking factors (fluency, flexibility, originality, and elaboration) were measured by the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (Form A, Figural scale). The results showed that the use of marijuana had no positive effects on divergent thinking (creativity) in novice users and reduced it in regular users.     

中学生发散思维能力培养的实验研究

本研究以初中一年级学生为被试 ,对学生进行发散性思维训练 ,探讨培养中学生创造力的可行性及有效措施。研究结果表明 :对中学生进行发散思维训练是可行的 ,学生在流畅力、精进力、变通力、独创力等方面都有所进步。另外 ,实验还考察了发散思维训练对推理能力和学习成绩的影响 ,结果未发现明显作用     

The Effects of Affect Manipulation and Information Exposure on Divergent Thinking

This study examined how affective states and exposure to diverse information influence figural divergent thinking using a pretest-posttest design. A total of 148 participants were divided into 4 conditions: positive affect, negative affect, information, and control. In the positive and negative affect conditions, participants respectively listened to the elation and depression statements of the Velten procedure. In the information condition, participants listened to the neutral statements of the Velten procedure. In the control condition, participants listened to word-processing instructions. Divergent thinking was measured using the figural form of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), and affect was measured using a mood questionnaire and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Multivariate analyses of covariance were conducted using the TTCT, mood, and state-trait anxiety premeasures as covariates; the TTCT, mood, and state-trait anxiety postmeasures as the dependent variables; and treatment condition as the independent variable. Results showed a significant effect of condition on posttreatment TTCT scores, F(3, 140) = 3.37, p = .0203; mood, F(3, 140) = 7.44, p = .0001; and state anxiety, F(3, 140) = 6.27, p = .0005. Comparison tests showed that the information exposure treatment resulted in significantly higher TTCT scores than the control condition, indicating that exposure to diverse information can enhance divergent thinking. Results further indicated that, although the positive affect manipulation was effective in enhancing mood and reducing state anxiety, it did not enhance divergent thinking scores. The negative affect manipulation did not appear to be effective. Possible explanations for these results are discussed.     

Crossing the Border: Latino Attitudes Toward Immigration Policy

In the midst of the ongoing and highly polarized immigration debate, it seems that little attention has been paid to how Latinos view efforts to address the issues of undocumented immigrants residing in the United States and enhanced enforcement efforts along the U.S.–Mexico border. Consequently, questions arise as to the degree of support for or rejection of such measures within the Latino community and among the various segments of that community. Do U.S.-born Latinos, foreign-born naturalized citizens, and undocumented immigrants from various parts of Latin America have similar or divergent views on these issues? It is generally assumed that ethnicity is an important factor in influencing attitudes toward immigrants and immigration policies. Some studies have found that foreign-born Latinos have more positive attitudes toward immigration than native-born Latinos due in part to their shared immigration experience. There are, however, other studies demonstrating that Latino immigrants have often expressed support for more restrictive immigration policies. It may hold true, in fact, that many Latinos have ambiguous and conflicting attitudes about these issues. This article will try to shed some light on Latinos’ attitudes regarding specific policy measures by analyzing data from the Pew Hispanic Center National Survey of Latinos, which allows for considerable differentiation among various sectors of the Latino population.     

Enhancing the Effects of Sexual Orientation Diversity Training: The Effects of Setting Goals and Training Mentors on Attitudes and Behaviors

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of goal-setting theory (Locke, Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 3, 157–189, 1968; Locke and Latham, 1990, A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall; Locke and Latham, American Psychologist, 57, 705–717, 2002) within a diversity training context to enhance training outcomes. In particular, the training focused on an understudied group—gay men and lesbians—and examined both the short- and long-term outcomes associated with diversity training.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Using experimental methods in a field setting, participants (college students) were randomly assigned to a 2(goal-setting condition: self-set goals and no goals) × 2(mentor goal condition: mentor goals and no mentor goals) factorial design, where behavioral and attitudinal data were collected at two points in time: 3 months and 8 months subsequent to training.

Findings

Participants who developed sexual orientation supportive goals reported more supportive behaviors and attitudes toward gay and lesbian individuals than those who did not. Sexual orientation supportive behaviors mediated the relationship between goal-setting and sexual orientation attitudes.

Implications

The pattern of results suggests that time was the key for participants to meet the goals that were set during the diversity training. Both behaviors and attitudes were influenced by the goal setting at 8 months, but not after 3 months. This study demonstrates the importance of measuring both behaviors and attitudes in assessing diversity training.

Originality/Value

This is one of the first studies to integrate goal-setting theory (Locke and Latham, 1990, A theory of goal setting and task performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall; Locke and Latham, American Psychologist, 57, 705–717, 2002) into the area of diversity training in an experimental field setting. We used a longitudinal design, addressing limitations of past research that usually examine short-term reactions to diversity training.     

Turkish College Students' Attitudes Toward Women Managers: The Effects of Patriarchy,Sexism, and Gender Differences

The authors examined how patriarchy, sexism, and gender influence Turkish college students' attitudes toward women managers. Turkish undergraduate students (N = 183) from Middle East Technical University completed questionnaires measuring attitudes toward women managers as well as attitudes toward the concepts of hostile and benevolent sexism and support for patriarchy. Participants were of upper- or middle-class Turkish backgrounds. The results showed that male participants exhibited less positive attitudes toward women managers than did female participants. In addition, participants who held more favorable attitudes toward patriarchy and who scored high on hostile sexism also held less positive attitudes toward women managers than those who held less favorable attitudes toward patriarchy and who scored low on hostile sexism. A regression analysis showed that support for patriarchy and hostile sexism was more important for explaining less favorable attitudes toward women managers than was benevolent sexism.     

Considerations and Strategies for Enhancing the Supervision and Training of Foreign-Born Spanish-Speaking Supervisees

Journal of Contemporary Psychotherapy - Efforts to train clinicians proficient in the delivery of Spanish services have expanded in response to the mental health needs of the growing Spanish...     

Parental Training for Incarcerated Fathers: Effects on Attitudes,Self-Esteem,and Children's Self-Perceptions

Abstract

The effects of parent education programs on the parenting attitudes and abilities of 30 U.S. male inmates and on the self-perceptions of their children (aged 8-17 years) were examined. Inmates were pre- and posttested with the Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory and the Index of Self-Esteem. The children were administered the Self-Perception Profile for Children or the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents. Participants in the experimental group completed a 6-week program including parental training and behavior-management training. The control group's 6-week program consisted of viewing family-related videotapes, answering questions, and discussing the contents of the videotapes. Parent education improved the attitudes of inmates toward appropriate parenting but did not significantly change their children's self-perceptions.     

Children's Original Thinking: An Empirical Examination of Alternative Measures Derived From Divergent Thinking Tasks

Children's creative potential is often assessed using cognitive tests that require divergent thinking, such as the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT; E. P. Torrance, 1974, 1976, 1990). In this study the authors investigated the effect of various scoring systems on the originality index, evaluating the high intercorrelation of fluency and originality measures found in the TTCT scoring system and the applicability of TTCT scoring norms over time and across age groups. In 3 studies, the originality of elementary school children was measured using TTCT norms and various sample-specific scoring methods with the TTCT Unusual Uses of a Box test as well as social-problem-solving tasks. Results revealed an effect of scoring technique on creativity indices as well as on the reliability of originality scores and the relationship between originality and other ability measures. The usefulness of the various measures for understanding children's original thinking are discussed.     

Developmental Trends in the Evaluative and Divergent Thinking of Children

The purpose of this study was to investigate divergent thinking and evaluative skill as important processes in the development of creative thinking in elementary schoolchildren. Children from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades (N = 117) received divergent thinking tasks and measures of evaluative accuracy. The latter indicated how well they liked various ideas (i.e., their preferences) and the degree to which the children believed those ideas to be original. Results indicated that the accuracy of their originality judgments increased significantly with age, as did the preference for appropriate ideas. Unlike previous research, evaluative scores were not related to divergent thinking test scores. Also somewhat surprising, given earlier research, was the lack of a "4th-grade slump." In fact, there was a significant peak, rather than slump, in the divergent thinking of 4th-grade children, at least in the raw fluency scores. When fluency ratio scores were compared, there were still some incidents of a 4th-grade peak, but there was also a significant decline with grade in the proportions of 1 index of highly appropriate ideas. Although a relation was not found between evaluative skill and divergent thinking raw fluency scores, an increasing preference for appropriate square ideas was found to contribute significantly to the prediction of decreases in the proportion of high-quality round ideas given. Possible explanations are given to account for this unexpected finding, including differences in interpersonal and intrapersonal evaluative skills, and the distinction between the ability to accurately identify original or appropriate ideas and choosing to selectively express such ideas.     

Participating in Research: Attitudes within the African American Church

We assessed associations between pastor and congregant characteristics and congregant attitudes about research participation among African American churches. Respondents shared their attitudes regarding how willing, ready, and confident they were about research participation. The outcome measure, the index of research preparedness, summed responses across the domains of willingness, readiness, and confidence. Pastor age and pastor educational attainment were independently associated with a congregants’ higher index of research preparedness. Young and educated pastors were significantly associated with congregant attitudes about participation preparedness, a finding that highlights the importance of the pastor regarding congregant research participation decisions.     

Affective Expression in Children's Fantasy Play,Primary Process Thinking on the Rorschach,and Divergent Thinking

The relationships among expression of primary process thinking on the Rorschach, affective expression in fantasy play, and divergent thinking were investigated in first and second grade children. Sixty children received the Rorschach (Holt's scoring system), a play task (Affect in Play Scale), and the Alternate Uses Test. Major hypotheses were supported because the amount of primary process thinking on the Rorschach (frequency and percent) was significantly, positively related to amount of affective expression and primary process expression in play. Also, expression of affect in play (frequency, variety, integration, and comfort) was significantly, positively related to divergent thinking, independent of IQ for both boys and girls. On the Rorschach, percent of primary process was significantly related to divergent thinking for boys. The results suggest that the ability to think imaginatively in a free-association style and the ability to have access to affect-laden material are related processes.     

Crossing the Threshold: Men's Incomes,Attitudes Toward the Provider Role,and Marriage Timing

The later marriages of recent cohorts have been attributed, in part, to men's declining real wages and women's preferences for high-earning mates. This study was designed to investigate the influence of men's gender role attitudes and income on their entrance into marriage. Data come from the longitudinal High School and Beyond survey. The results show that if men anticipated being the primary economic provider in their marriages, their incomes predicted their likelihood of marriage. Income had little effect on marriage for men who expected to share the provider role. The findings indicate that the relationship between men's income and marriage is influenced by their gender role attitudes.     

Gender Differences in Divergent Thinking: Use of the Test of Creative Thinking-Drawing Production on an Egyptian Sample

The issue of gender differences in creativity has been a controversial and much-disputed subject for decades. The purpose of this study was to explore gender differences in divergent thinking and the effect of gender-grade level interaction on divergent thinking. The sample consisted of 901 (367 boys and 534 girls), from K to 6, who were recruited from 7 coeducational schools in various rural and urban school districts in southern Egypt. The students’ divergent thinking was assessed using the Test of Creative Thinking-Drawing Production (TCT-DP), a nonverbal measure of creative potential. The results of the study indicated no gender differences in divergent thinking, but the grade level effect was statistically significant, as was the interaction effect between gender and grade level (in 3 of the TCT-DP subscales).     

How We Conceptualize Our Attitudes Matters: The Effects of Valence Framing on the Resistance of Political Attitudes

Three studies tested the valence-framing effect: that merely conceptualizing one's preferences as opposing something will make that preference more resistant to persuasion than will thinking about the same preference in terms of supporting something . In Study 1, participants who were led to conceptualize their political preferences as being against a candidate were more resistant to a counterattitudinal message than were participants who were led to conceptualize the same preference as being in favor of the other candidate. Study 2 showed that this effect was not due to a priming process, while Study 3 provided evidence for the effect's generalizability.