Set-shifting and task-switching make differential contributions to divergent thinking in adolescence

Cognitive flexibility, as the capacity to adaptively shift between mental sets, comprises multiple subprocesses, including set-shifting and task-switching, and goes through changes in capacity throughout development. Divergent thinking, a core aspect of human creativity, also goes through substantial development during adolescence, a period marked by rapid refinement of executive functions. Despite their developmental interdependence, the distinct contributions of cognitive flexibility subcomponents to divergent thinking during adolescence remain insufficiently understood.

We examined cognitive flexibility and divergent thinking in a large sample of adolescents (N = 344). Participants completed established cognitive flexibility measures (e.g., Wisconsin Card Sorting Task; Task-Set Switching), additional cognitive tasks (i.e., working memory, inhibitory control and abstract reasoning) and the Alternate Uses Task to assess fluency and originality in divergent thinking.

Findings provide novel evidence that cognitive flexibility subprocesses differentially contribute to divergent thinking. Specifically, set-shifting, as indexed by Wisconsin Card Sorting Task performance, was a positive predictor of both fluency (i.e., number of ideas generated) and originality (i.e., creative quality of those ideas). In contrast, task-switching performance predicted lower originality, suggesting that rapid, cue-driven shifts may impede the deeper idea exploration required for producing novel responses. This dissociation suggest that cognitive flexibility is not a unitary construct; rather, its distinct components exert separable and, at times, opposing influences on divergent thinking.

These results underscore the importance of distinguishing cognitive flexibility subprocesses when understanding the cognitive mechanisms underlying creativity. The findings carry educational implications, suggesting that fostering strategic, self-guided flexibility, while tempering overly rapid shifting, may support adolescents' capacity to generate original solutions to complex problems.