The be-creative effect in divergent thinking: The interplay of instruction and object frequency

• Instruction (be-fluent vs. be-creative) and word-stem frequency of the objects influence idea generation and creativity performance
• Both, associative bottom-up processes and top-down cognitive control, are important in divergent thinking
• Item-response theory models were used to model divergent-thinking fluency scores and creativity ratings

Associative thinking and executive functions are discussed as possible underlying cognitive processes in divergent thinking. In the current study, the impact of these processes was investigated in an Alternate Uses Task. Whereas lemma frequency (word stem frequency) was manipulated to draw conclusions on the influence of associations, the instructions (standard vs. creative) were designed to influence the involved executive functions. Ideas for eight alternate uses objects were generated by 249 participants. The interaction of lemma frequency and instruction provided the best prediction of fluency in an extended Rasch Poisson counts model. Increasing lemma frequencies led to increased fluency. Whereas the fluency with high-frequency objects was higher in the standard compared to the “be-creative” instruction condition, the fluency with low-frequency objects remained roughly equal in both instruction conditions. Moreover, we analyzed the same effects on creativity ratings of the idea sets in a linear response tree model. Here frequency had differential effects over the rating scale, whereas the expected be-creative effect on creativity was found. Interactive effects of frequency and instruction on creativity indicated higher response probabilities for low-frequency objects at the lowest scale point with a be-fluent instruction and at the two highest scale points with a be-creative instruction. Altogether, this study demonstrates a role of both, associative processes and executive control.