Predicting Ideational Behavior From Divergent Thinking and Discretionary Time on Task

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test Runco and Chand's (1995) hypothesized relation between divergent thinking (DT), motivation to be creative, and ideational behavior. Participants included 95 American and 117 Korean undergraduates who completed a battery of DT tests, attitudinal surveys, a demographic questionnaire, and the Runco Ideational Behavior Scale (RIBS). Time on task was collected as a measure of motivation to be creative. Using multiple regression, DT scores were the primary significant predictors of RIBS scores. Subsequent analyses suggested that the relation between time, DT scores, and ideational behavior was not curvilinear. Overall, the analyses provide surprisingly little evidence of a relation between time on task and either ideational behavior or DT. In addition, significant cultural differences were not observed. Possible explanations for these results are discussed.