The impact of working memory on divergent thinking flexibility

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cris.lastimport.scopus2025-07-05T03:12:22Z
dc.abstract.enThe current study focuses on the relationship between working memory (WM) and flexibility, which is a dimension of divergent thinking. The research consisted of two experiments in which the participants’ task was to categorize given objects into as many categories as possible. We assumed that manipulation of the visual or relational complexity of a set of figures would respectively affect WM’s ability to maintain and process goal-relevant information. Additionally, the dual-task paradigm was used to observe the relocation of attention resources in the task because WM capacity is limited by attention resources. We hypothesized that both attentional control and the ability to maintain/process goal-relevant information in WM would affect the level of flexibility. The results show that an increased load on WM storage and on processing mechanisms leads to a decline in flexibility scores, which becomes especially apparent when the secondary task, which makes WM capacity more vulnerable, is applied. We conclude that the flexibility of divergent thinking is equally positively associated with the efficiency of WM mechanisms, i.e., storage and processing of current information, and the ability to use controlled attention.
dc.affiliationWroclaw Faculty of Psychology, Department of Cognitive Psychology and Psychology of Individual Differences
dc.affiliationWydział Psychologii we Wrocławiu
dc.affiliationInstytut Psychologii
dc.contributor.authorOrzechowski, Jarosław
dc.contributor.authorGruszka, Aleksandra
dc.contributor.authorMichalik, Kamil
dc.date.access2024-10-12
dc.date.accessioned2023-12-13T08:33:33Z
dc.date.available2023-12-13T08:33:33Z
dc.date.created2022-06-30
dc.date.issued2023-10-12
dc.description.accesstimeafter_publication
dc.description.grantnumber2013/09/B/HS6/02649
dc.description.granttitleNatura dostępności reprezentacji poznawczych w pamięci roboczej
dc.description.issue4
dc.description.physical643-662
dc.description.versionfinal_author
dc.description.volume29
dc.identifier.doi10.1080/13546783.2022.2109730
dc.identifier.eissn1464-0708
dc.identifier.issn1354-6783
dc.identifier.urihttps://share.swps.edu.pl/handle/swps/212
dc.identifier.weblinkhttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13546783.2022.2109730
dc.languageen
dc.pbn.affiliationpsychologia
dc.rightsCC-BY-NC
dc.rights.questionYes_rights
dc.share.articleOPEN_REPOSITORY
dc.subject.encreativity
dc.subject.endivergent thinking
dc.subject.enflexibility
dc.subject.enworking memory
dc.subject.enattentional control
dc.swps.sciencecloudsend
dc.titleThe impact of working memory on divergent thinking flexibility
dc.title.journalThinking and Reasoning
dc.typeJournalArticle
dspace.entity.typeArticle