The Interaction of Implicit versus Explicit Processing and Problem Difficulty in a Scientific Discovery Task

The present study examined implicit and explicit approaches to problem solving with a simulated scientific discovery task that involved induction of a rule involving the balance of forces. Strategy (implicit or explicit) and problem difficulty were manipulated, and their interaction was observed in three experiments. The explicit, rule-seeking strategy led to rule induction among some participants. Among nondiscoverers, participants in the implicit condition were faster and more accurate on the most difficult problems than those using the explicit approach. The use of nondiagnostic exemplars led to fixation on inappropriate hypotheses for explicit but not implicit participants. When diagnostic learning exemplars were used, more participants discovered the correct rule, but explicit nondiscoverers still performed worse than implicit participants on the most difficult problems. In two experiments, an implicit approach led to better posttest performance than an explicit approach, suggesting that implicit processing allows the expression of passively acquired knowledge

The Interaction of Implicit versus Explicit Processing and Problem Difficulty in a Scientific Discovery Task

The present study examined implicit and explicit approaches to problem solving with a simulated scientific discovery task that involved induction of a rule involving the balance of forces. Strategy (implicit or explicit) and problem difficulty were manipulated, and their interaction was observed in three experiments. The explicit, rule-seeking strategy led to rule induction among some participants. Among nondiscoverers, participants in the implicit condition were faster and more accurate on the most difficult problems than those using the explicit approach. The use of nondiagnostic exemplars led to fixation on inappropriate hypotheses for explicit but not implicit participants. When diagnostic learning exemplars were used, more participants discovered the correct rule, but explicit nondiscoverers still performed worse than implicit participants on the most difficult problems. In two experiments, an implicit approach led to better posttest performance than an explicit approach, suggesting that implicit processing allows the expression of passively acquired knowledge

Creativity Is Influenced by Domain, Creative Self-Efficacy, Mindset, Self-Efficacy, and Self-Esteem

In this chapter, we examined the relationship between self-perceived creativity, creative performance, and other measures of the self. Past work has shown that global creative self-efficacy was more strongly related to personality or past creative accomplishments than current performance on creative tasks [Pretz, J. E., & McCollum, V. A. (2014). Self-perceptions of creativity do not always reflect actual creative performance. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 8, 227-236]. Here we report two follow-up studies further exploring the relationship between self-perceptions and performance. Study 1 showed that the validity of self-perceptions of creativity varies by domain. In Study 2, we explored how creative self-perceptions are associated with related constructs including general self-efficacy, self-esteem, and creative mindset. We concluded that self-perceptions of creativity are more accurate for the students interested in arts, humanities, and social sciences. Furthermore, we concluded that creative self-efficacy is more strongly associated with actual creative performance than with general self-efficacy. Self-esteem was found to be associated with higher levels of fluency but not originality on a divergent thinking task

Nursing experience and preference for intuition in decision making

This article examines the relationship between domain-specific and domain-general intuition among practicing nurses and student nurses to determine the role of intuition in nurses\u27 decision making. Background. Measures of nursing intuition have not been compared with one another or to measures of general preference for intuition in the psychological literature. Prior research has shown that experienced nurses rely on intuition in clinical judgement, but the various aspects of intuition associated with experience have not been fully explored. Design. A correlational design was used to examine the factor structures and interrelationships of self-reported measures of intuition, as well as their relationship to experience. Method. A web-based survey was given to 175 practicing nurses and student nurses in the fall of 2007 using measures of intuition from the nursing and psychological literatures. Quantitative analyses employed descriptive and inferential statistics. Results. Measures of preference for intuition were combined, resulting in the identification of two independent aspects of nursing intuition uniquely related to general intuition and nursing experience. Results revealed that preference for intuition in nursing was not solely due to general preference for intuition and that use of nursing intuition increased with experience. Conclusion. These results strengthen the knowledge base of decision making in clinical practice by examining differences in preference for use of intuition among nurses. Further interdisciplinary collaboration is recommended. Relevance to clinical practice. Understanding the use of intuition in clinical judgement will promote professional practice and favourable patient outcomes. If experience simply leads to increased self-confidence and preference for the use of intuition, this may not actually be related to accuracy in judgement. However, if experience provides valuable information on associations between patient symptoms and outcomes, then the use of intuition in clinical practice should be encouraged. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Self-perceptions of creativity do not always reflect actual creative performance

Creative metacognition is the ability to know one\u27s creative abilities and recognize when to apply them (Kaufman & Beghetto, in press). Do our self-perceptions reflect our actual creative abilities? Past research has addressed aspects of metacognition by measuring self-reports of creative ability, selfperceptions of creative ability, and creative self-efficacy. Silvia, Wigert, Reiter-Palmon, and Kaufman (2012) argued that self-reported creativity is more reliable and valid than most researchers acknowledge. However, evidence is mixed. Researchers\u27 use of diverse measures of self-perceptions and multiple measures of creativity poses a challenge to drawing any firm conclusions about the accuracy of creative metacognition. We aimed to disentangle these mixed findings to understand the relationship between self-perceptions of creativity and actual creative performance. Ninety 4th-year undergraduate students completed measures of divergent thinking, wrote photo captions and creative essays, and rated their creativity in all of these tasks. Global creative self-efficacy and self-reported past creative achievement were also measured. Results showed that performance on creativity tasks was correlated with selfperceived creativity on those specific tasks, but was unrelated to global assessments of creative self-efficacy. In contrast, global creative self-efficacy was related to past creative achievement. Yet global creative self-efficacy was no better at predicting past achievement than personality variables. Self-perceptions of creativity on specific tasks were better predictors of creative performance than personality. We conclude that creative metacognition is based more strongly on personality than performance unless we ask participants to report their specific self-perceptions based on performance of specific tasks. Implications for future work on creative metacognition are discussed. © 2014 American Psychological Association