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Creativity supports learning through associative thinking
Simone A Luchini1, James C Kaufman2, Benjamin Goecke3
1Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, Philadelphia, USA, PA. skl5875@psu.edu.
NPJ Science of Learning
|July 1, 2025
Summary
Creativity enhances learning by improving associative thinking, the ability to form novel connections. This skill helps students learn more, even when general intelligence is controlled.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Educational Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Creativity is a vital 21st-century skill linked to academic success.
- The cognitive mechanisms connecting creativity and learning remain underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if creativity supports associative learning via associative thinking.
- To determine if associative thinking mediates the relationship between creativity and learning outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Two studies were conducted, involving foreign language learning tests and naturalistic creativity tasks (story writing, sketching).
- Participants' ability to generate novel word associations was measured.
- General intelligence was controlled for in all analyses.
Main Results:
- Students generating more novel word associations demonstrated better learning of new words.
- Associative thinking was found to mediate the link between creativity and associative learning.
- These findings held true across different creativity measures and learning contexts.
Conclusions:
- Creativity contributes to learning, in part, through enhanced associative thinking.
- The capacity for making novel connections is a shared cognitive mechanism underlying both creativity and learning.
- Understanding these mechanisms can inform educational strategies to foster both creativity and learning.
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