Introducing the fusion innovation test as a new paradigm for studying realworld creative problem solving

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Creativity Research
• Innovation Studies

Background:

• Creative problem-solving involves both generating ideas (divergent thinking) and refining them (convergent thinking).
• The Alternative Uses Test (AUT) primarily measures divergent thinking, lacking assessment of convergent thinking crucial for real-world problem-solving.
• Existing creativity assessments often lack real-world relevance and domain-general applicability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the Fusion Innovation Test (FIT), a novel task integrating divergent and convergent thinking for assessing creative problem-solving.
• To evaluate the FIT's ability to measure goal-directed innovation and its relationship with other creativity measures.
• To develop and validate an automated scoring system for the FIT using large language models.

Main Methods:

• Participants completed the FIT, combining two random elements to achieve a specified goal (self-improvement or sustainable development).
• FIT solutions were evaluated for novelty, feasibility, and goal achievement, with data collected from 144 participants.
• An automated scoring system was trained using human evaluator ratings (n=122) and a large language model; participants also completed the AUT and creativity questionnaires.

Main Results:

• The FIT captured a unique dimension of creativity—goal-directed innovation—not assessed by the AUT.
• FIT performance correlated with scientific creativity, while AUT performance aligned more with artistic creativity.
• The automated scoring system demonstrated initial promise for efficiently evaluating FIT performance.

Conclusions:

• The Fusion Innovation Test (FIT) is a promising tool for studying real-world creative problem-solving, integrating both divergent and convergent thinking.
• FIT offers a complementary measure to existing tests like the AUT, providing insights into goal-directed innovation.
• The findings highlight the importance of assessing both idea generation and solution refinement in creativity research.