Measuring Divergent Thinking in Youth and the impact of culture

工作的重点是理论上适当的心理测量模型的发散思维测试，新的客观评分指标的发展和比较这些指标与主观评分的独创性的基础研究。 第二个焦点是发散性思维与文化变量的关系。 发散思维（DT）是创造性思维和潜力的重要组成部分。因此，创造性思维能力的测量是创造性潜能评价的核心问题之一。通常，DT测试可以以三种不同的方式进行评分，结果是流畅性，灵活性或原创性得分。流畅性只是一个人在完成任务时产生的想法的数量，灵活性是不同类别的数量，而独创性是指创造性意义上的独特性。对于DT测试性能的所有这些指标，将检查几个研究问题。关于流畅性分数，将应用心理测量模型，该模型考虑到流畅性分数是自然计数数据：Rasch-Poisson计数模型（RPCM）。此外，该模型具有Logistic Rasch模型的所有有利性质。这个模型还没有被应用到流利的分数从DT测试和方法论问题，关于这个模型也将被检查。RPCM也将适用于灵活性分数。此外，关于灵活性，我们将考察如何导出用于分配概念的范畴系统是否重要。通常情况下，这样的分类系统是由受过训练的评分员得出的，然后根据它分配想法。另一种可能性是要求参与者建立自己的类别，这种方法从未与专家得出的类别进行比较。此外，我们还将探讨有关原创性的问题。独创性评分存在以下方法学问题：1）流利性和独创性的混淆; 2）统计罕见性的模糊性; 3）对样本量的依赖性。没有一个拟议的客观指数考虑到所有这些问题。此外，主观原创性评分出现的问题，如由于评分者的个性变量而导致的评分混淆，也将被研究，其中包括不同的主观和客观评分方法的比较。对于所有三种不同的DT分数（流利性，灵活性和独创性），我们将研究它们与文化变量的关系，特别是接触多种文化，这是一个维度，预计将与DT测试中的表现呈正相关。总之，各种评估问题将审查与多元文化的额外重点。法国和德国团队的互补技能对于项目的成功至关重要。说明了该项目每年的计划任务。

The focus of the work is fundamental research on theoretically appropriate psychometric models of divergent thinking tests, the development of new objective scoring indices and comparison of these indices with subjective scoring of originality. A secondary focus is the relations of divergent thinking to cultural variables. Divergent thinking (DT) is a crucial component of creative thinking and potential. Thus, the measurement of DT one of the core issues of assessment of creative potential. Typically, DT tests can be scored in three different ways, resulting in fluency, flexibility or originality scores. Fluency is simply the counted number of ideas a person generated during task fulfillment, flexibility is the number of different categories, whereas originality refers to the uniqueness in an inventive sense. For all of these indices for DT test performance, several research questions will be examined. With respect to fluency scores, a psychometric model will be applied that takes into account that fluency scores are naturally count data: the Rasch-Poisson counts model (RPCM). Moreover this model has all the favorable properties of the logistic Rasch model. This model has not yet been applied to fluency scores from DT tests and methodological issues regarding this model will be examined as well. The RPCM will be applicable to flexibility scores as well. Furthermore, with respect to flexibility we will examine if it matters how the category system for assigning the ideas is derived. Typically, such category systems are derived by trained raters and then ideas are assigned according to it. Another possibility is to ask participants to build up their own categories, an approach that has never yet been compared to expert derived categories. In addition, we will examine issues regarding originality. Originality scores suffer from the following methodological problems: 1) confounding of fluency and originality; 2) ambiguity of statistical rarity; and 3) dependence on sample size. None of the proposed objective indices take all of these problems into account. Moreover, problems occurring with subjective originality scoring, such as confounding of the ratings due to, for example, personality variables of the raters, will be examined too, whereby a comparison of different subjective and objective scoring methods will be included. For all three different DT scores (fluency, flexibility and originality) we will examine their relationships with cultural variables, in particular exposure to multiple cultures, which is a dimension that is expected to be positively related to performance in DT tests. To summarize, various assessment issues will be examined with the additional focus on multiculturalism. The complementary skills of the French and German teams are crucial for the success of the project. Planned tasks for each year of the project are described.