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Divergent thinking test

What is your capacity for verbal creativity and unconventional thinking? Discover it using our free online divergent thinking test. Get immediate feedback that you can share.

Scientific assessments, with this quiz aimed at testing creative problem-solving.

This psychometric assessment measures unconventional thinking skills and creativity in problem-solving. It is a great way for testing creative thinking online.

Benefits

Gyfted’s free online divergent thinking assessment provides you with insights into your creative problem-solving skills. You will be able to better understand whether you are an unconventional thinker who generates multiple original solutions and ideas to open-ended verbal problems.

Why is this of value to me?

Jobs in the IT, tech, creative and entertainment industries require a high level of creativity in various aspects of work. Creative work is especially important in innovative and product-centric organizations. People with higher levels of divergent thinking have a greater chance of dealing well with tasks that require unconventional thinking. Use this test to learn if you are good at finding connections between distant, seemingly unrelated concepts and finding novel uses for ordinary objects.

How you can use this test?

Use this free creative problem-solving quiz to:
Get instant feedback on whether you are a divergent thinker based on your answers
Become more aware of what your unconventional thinking skills are
Grow personally, professionally and share your online verbal creativity test results with friends

How it works?

1
Take this assessment when
you’re at ease, undisturbed
and ready to focus.
2
Our instructions will guide
you through the process. It’s
easy - just go with your gut
feeling.
3
After completing the test,
you will receive your
feedback immediately
4
Share your results with
anyone, with just a click of a
button

What's Inside? Get immediate feedback by measuring these traits in you

Divergent Thinking Score
this scale quantifies your ability to generate a multitude of unique solutions to a problem, indicative of your creative thinking capabilities. A high score on this scale suggests strong divergent thinking skills, characterized by the ability to think 'outside the box', explore various possibilities, and approach problems from different perspectives. This score reflects the breadth and depth of your innovative thinking and is crucial for fostering creativity and effective problem-solving.

Divergent thinking test

The Divergent Thinking Test, also known as creative thinking assessment or problem-solving skills test, helps determine your ability to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions. It's a key tool for anyone seeking to foster innovation, improve problem-solving skills, and enhance creative thinking capabilities.
The Divergent Thinking Test is rooted in the creativity research of J.P. Guilford, who proposed that divergent thinking, a thought process used to generate creative ideas, is a crucial component of creativity.

Assessment Insights

This Divergent Thinking Test can promote personal growth by encouraging innovative thinking and creativity. In interpersonal settings, understanding one's divergent thinking capacity can foster appreciation for diverse thought processes and facilitate collaborative problem-solving.

For example, in a workplace setting, the Divergent Thinking Test can be used to identify employees who possess a high level of creativity and innovation. These individuals can then be assigned to projects that require out-of-the-box thinking and problem-solving skills. Additionally, the test can be used to identify areas where employees may need additional training or support to improve their divergent thinking abilities.

In team settings, the Divergent Thinking Test can be used to promote collaboration and teamwork. By understanding each team member's unique thinking style, team leaders can create a more inclusive and supportive environment that encourages diverse perspectives and ideas. This can lead to more effective problem-solving and decision-making, as well as increased job satisfaction and engagement among team members.

Overall, the Divergent Thinking Test is a valuable tool for promoting personal growth and fostering collaboration in the workplace and team settings. By encouraging innovative thinking and creativity, organizations can stay ahead of the curve and achieve greater success in today's rapidly changing business landscape.

Scientific and Empirical Foundations

J.P. Guilford's original research on divergent thinking: Guilford, J. P. (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist, 5(9), 444-454.

Studies on the measurement of divergent thinking: Torrance, E. P. (1974). Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. Scholastic Testing Service, Inc.

Divergent thinking and personal growth: Cropley, A. J. (2006). In praise of convergent thinking. Creativity Research Journal, 18(3), 391-404.

Divergent thinking in the workplace: Shalley, C. E., & Zhou, J. (2008). Organizational creativity research: A historical overview. In Handbook of organizational creativity (pp. 3-31). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Divergent thinking in team dynamics: West, M. A. (2002). Sparkling fountains or stagnant ponds: An integrative model of creativity and innovation implementation in work groups. Applied Psychology, 51(3), 355-424.

Role of divergent thinking in leadership development: Mumford, M. D., Scott, G. M., Gaddis, B., & Strange, J. M. (2002). Leading creative people: Orchestrating expertise and relationships. The Leadership Quarterly, 13(6), 705-750.

Impact of divergent thinking on problem-solving: Paulus, P. B., & Nijstad, B. A. (Eds.). (2003). Group creativity: Innovation through collaboration. Oxford University Press.

Divergent thinking test

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      Frequently asked questions

      What is divergent thinking?

      Divergent thinking is an unstructured way of problem-solving through the generation of multiple original solutions and ideas to open-ended verbal problems. Divergent reasoning is a type of thinking that can offer quick and spontaneous production of numerous ideas most people do not think of and ways to solve a problem as well as ways to develop and improve the ideas. This makes it an important part of creative problem-solving in the workplace. Divergent thinkers are often independent and curious risk-takers.

      Why is divergent thinking important?

      Solving complex problems and dealing well with tasks requires one to think in an unconventional way. Since divergent thinking is a type of creative process where several solutions and ideas are offered to address a challenge, this process can help increase creativity and innovation in problem-solving. While the benefits of divergent thinking include coming up with multiple ideas and creating choices, convergent thinking focuses on reaching one or more well-defined solutions to a problem or making choices out of multiple ideas. The difference between convergent and divergent thinking makes them perfect partners in so-called design thinking where these two methods are used together to achieve results by practicing divergent thinking first to gather ideas and then using convergent thinking to choose the best idea or organize those ideas into a specific result. It is especially valuable in innovative, product-centric organizations.

      What are some examples of divergent thinking?

      Divergent thinking implies finding connections between distant, seemingly unrelated concepts, finding novel uses for ordinary objects, or coming up with original metaphors and analogies. Examples of divergent thinking in the workplace include hosting brainstorming sessions, group or individual activities thinking of 50 ideas in 5-10 minutes, use of collaboration tools to encourage frequent communication and ideas exchange, daily journal of ideas, free-writing, subject mapping, bubble mapping, facilitation and many more.

      How are divergent thinking and creativity related?

      Divergent thinking is a type of creative process where several solutions and ideas are offered to address a challenge. Therefore, divergent thinking is one of the aspects of creativity as it can be one of the key components of creative problem-solving and decision-making. This process can help increase creativity and innovation in problem-solving.

      What is verbal creativity?

      All inventions and innovations in history rely upon us to overcome traditional thinking and create something novel. 'Verbal Creativity' is defined as the production of novel and useful responses in verbal forms such as written and spoken words (Torrance, 1962). In other words, it is the ability to think creatively and translate ideas into a verbal form, i.e. words and sentences.

      How to measure creative thinking?

      Creative thinking and intelligence can be measured in various ways with different tests, while taking a distinct approach to each type of creativity, such as visual or verbal creativity. Our test specifically measures verbal creativity. However, creativity is a broad concept that encompasses multiple aspects and relies on various traits, skills, and abilities. No single task can measure all of them.

      How to measure creativity?

      Measuring creativity is a very complex task because creativity is a really multifaceted concept that can manifest in so many different ways. However, there are several methods that researchers and professionals use to measure creativity.
      One of the most common ways to measure creativity is through the use of standardized tests, such as the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking. These tests evaluate a person's ability to generate original ideas, think flexibly, and solve problems in innovative ways. However, it's important to note that standardized tests are not always a perfect measure of creativity, as they can be influenced by factors such as cultural background, education, and experience.
      Another way to measure creativity is through observation and evaluation of creative work. This can include analyzing creative writing, artwork, music, or other forms of creative expression – looking at criteria such as originality, fluency, and flexibility.
      Self-report measures are also sometimes used to measure creativity. These measures involve asking individuals to rate their own creativity or answer questions about their creative experiences and tendencies, but they can also be subject to biases and inaccuracies.