Creativity often involves divergent thinking. Which one of the following is the best example of divergent thinking?
a. Lacking any wooden blocks to build an arch for his toy soldiers to march under, Thomas builds an arch using upside-down paper cups.
b. Frank solves several multiplication problems using a general trick he has learned for solving 9's problems.
c. Marsha builds a bookcase by following directions she has found in a hobby magazine.
d. After reading in a library book about what hamsters like to eat, Jennifer gives the class hamster a diet of vegetables, fruit, and hamster pellets to help him grow faster.
Question 2
William is trying to calculate the price of his groceries in his head. He has four apples for 35 each, five potatoes for 15 each, and three cake mixes for 2.25 each. He begins by thinking to himself, Let's see, four times 35 is what?
Two times 35 is 70, and then two times 70 is 1.40. And then what do I do next? Oh, yes, I need to know what five times fifteen equals. I can't remember, but let's see if I can figure it out.... From the perspective of psychology, William may have trouble solving the problem because:
a. His working memory capacity may be insufficient to hold and process all the information.
b. He is encoding the problem incorrectly.
c. He is demonstrating a mental set with regard to his knowledge of multiplication facts.
d. He is using an inappropriate heuristic.