Crossing Cultures: Training Effects on the Divergent Thinking Attitudes of Spanish-Speaking South American Managers

ABSTRACT: Field experiments investigated the effects of training Spanish-speaking South American managers in creative thinking and problem solving. The Spanish translations of two attitude measures associated with divergent thinking practice (an important aspect of creative thinking and problem solving) were tested and validated. The two attitudes were measured both before and after training. The results indicate that the concepts and methods of similar training provided in previous Japanese and North American research are applicable to Spanish-speaking South American managers. The first experimental group (n = 149) showed significant gains on both measures versus a placebo control group. The second and third experimental groups (n = 54 and n = 14) were given revised versions of the 14-item questionnaire, and the results showed significant improvement in the reliability of the Spanish translations. Future directions for research include increasing the reliability of the Spanish versions of the two attitudinal measures and extending the training effect investigation beyond attitude changes to include behavior changes and long-term persistence and portability to the job.