ABSTRACT

Divergent thinking (the ability to generate creative ideas by combining diverse types of information) has been previously linked to the ability to imagine novel and specific future autobiographical events. Here, we examined whether divergent thinking is differentially associated with the ability to construct novel imagined future events and recast future events (i.e., actual past events recast as future events) as opposed to recalled past events. We also examined whether different types of creative ideas (i.e., old ideas from memory or new ideas from imagination) underlie the linkage between divergent thinking and various autobiographical events. Divergent thinking ability was measured using the Alternate Uses Task (AUT). In Experiment 1, the amount of episodic details for both novel and recast future events was associated with divergent thinking (AUT scores), and this relationship was significant with AUT scores for new creative ideas but not old creative ideas. There was no significant relationship between divergent thinking and the amount of episodic detail for recalled past events. We extended these findings in Experiment 2 to a different test of divergent thinking, the Consequences Task. These results demonstrate that individual differences in divergent thinking are associated with the capacity to both imagine and recast future events.

摘要

发散思维（通过结合不同类型的信息产生创造性想法的能力）以前与想象新颖和特定的未来自传事件的能力有关。在这里，我们研究了发散思维是否与构建新的想象未来事件和重铸未来事件（即，将过去的实际事件重铸为未来事件）的能力不同，而不是回忆过去的事件。我们还研究了不同类型的创造性想法（即记忆中的旧想法或想象中的新想法）是否是发散思维与各种自传事件之间联系的基础。发散思维能力是使用替代用途任务（AUT）测量的。在实验 1 中，小说和重铸未来事件的情节细节的数量与发散性思维（AUT 分数）相关，这种关系与 AUT 新创意而非旧创意的得分显着相关。发散性思维与回忆过去事件的情节细节数量之间没有显着关系。我们将实验 2 中的这些发现扩展到不同的发散思维测试，即后果任务。这些结果表明，发散思维的个体差异与想象和重塑未来事件的能力有关。我们将实验 2 中的这些发现扩展到不同的发散思维测试，即后果任务。这些结果表明，发散思维的个体差异与想象和重塑未来事件的能力有关。我们将实验 2 中的这些发现扩展到不同的发散思维测试，即后果任务。这些结果表明，发散思维的个体差异与想象和重塑未来事件的能力有关。