Designing an Experimental Method for Evaluating Divergent Thinking with a Color Queue under Time Constraints

Abstract: The Alternative Uses Test (AUT) is a common method for evaluating divergent thinking. In the AUT, users are asked to generate as many alternative uses as possible for a given object. Divergent thinking is then assessed based on the quantity and quality of these responses. However, the AUT has its drawbacks: the difficulty of the task can vary depending on the object presented, and differences in native language can also affect the difficulty level. To address these issues, we developed a Color Queue Creation Task (CQCT) where users create a queue of colors, and their divergent thinking is evaluated based on the pattern of this color queue. In this study, we conducted a preliminary experiment to verify that the task and evaluation index of the CQCT are effective for assessing divergent thinking.This task requires users to generate a one-dimensional color queue consisting of 100 elements. It is supposed that the higher the randomness and lack of regularity in the generated color queue, the higher the score for divergent thinking. We hypothesize that individuals with high flexibility—a key aspect of divergent thinking—can recall ideas randomly from a given set of options, leading to less biased thinking. Therefore, they should be able to generate a more random and less structured color sequence.Our evaluation metric for flexibility is based on the idea that even when consciously trying to make random choices, individuals with low flexibility tend to repeatedly select the same options due to inherent cognitive biases or personal preferences. The index assesses the regularity of the color sequence by focusing on the combinations of adjacent colors. A greater bias in these combinations indicates a more regular, and thus less flexible, sequence.We conducted a preliminary experiment in which participants performed the CQCT under two conditions: with and without a time constraint, in addition to completing the traditional AUT. The two primary goals were to verify that the CQCT's flexibility score is affected by the presence of a time constraint and to examine the relationship between the flexibility scores of our new task and the traditional AUT. We hypothesized that adding a time constraint would limit a person's ability to make random choices, thereby revealing their underlying cognitive biases and lowering their flexibility scores. Eight participants with no color vision deficiency joined the experiment and conducted the CQCT under the conditions both with and without a time constraint.The results showed that six out of the eight participants demonstrated higher flexibility scores on the CQCT without a time constraint compared to the condition with a time constraint. This finding suggests that our CQCT has the potential to be a valid tool for measuring the effects of environmental or conditional changes on cognitive flexibility. A significant relationship with the AUT could not be confirmed because of the limited sample size. Future work will involve a larger sample size to further validate these findings and the use of post-task surveys to better understand the participants' thought processes during the task.

Keywords: Creativity, Color Queue Creation Task, Alternative Uses Test, Nonverbal task

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007070

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