Divergent thinking and constructing episodic simulations
Open accessAbstract
Divergent thinking likely plays an important role in simulating autobiographical events. We investigated whether divergent thinking is differentially associated with the ability to construct detailed imagined future and imagined past events as opposed to recalling past events. We also examined whether age differences in divergent thinking might underlie the reduced episodic detail generated by older adults. The richness of episodic detail comprising autobiographical events in young and older adults was assessed using the Autobiographical Interview. Divergent thinking abilities were measured using the Alternative Uses Task. Divergent thinking was significantly associated with the amount of episodic detail for imagined future events. Moreover, while age was significantly associated with imagined episodic detail, this effect was strongly related to age-related changes in episodic retrieval rather than divergent thinking.
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The correlation between alternate uses performance and episodic details was specific to imagined future events and was not observed for recalled or imagined past events.
“This correlation with divergent thinking, however, was specific to imagined future events and was not observed for recalled or imagined past events.”
From Creative Cognition and Brain Network Dynamics (2016) · cites this paper as [71]
The Results (Relation between Divergent Thinking and Episodic Simulation; page unavailable) report that all five Alternative Uses measures correlated significantly with episodic detail in imagined future events. But elaboration also correlated significantly with detail in imagined past events and showed a trend for recalled past events. The paper further reports no significant difference between the future and imagined-past relationships, so the claim of a future-specific correlation overstates the findings. (LLM, conf=0.90)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredEpisodic details from past versus future events do not correlate strongly with divergent thinking.
“and that episodic details from past (vs.future) events do not correlate strongly with divergent thinking (Addis et al. 2016).”
From Neural Mechanisms of Episodic Retrieval Support Divergent Creative Thinking (2019) · cites this paper as Addis et al. 2016
The Results section reports significant correlations between all five divergent-thinking measures and detail in imagined future events, but only one significant correlation for imagined past events. It also reports that the past–future difference was not statistically significant, so the source does not establish a strong contrast between them. (LLM, conf=0.86)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredBoth the AUT and OAT involve assembling, integrating, and generating information in response to an object cue, but the AUT involves divergent thinking and episodic imagery.
“Both the AUT and OAT involve assembling, integrating, and generating information in response to an object cue, but the AUT involves divergent thinking and episodic imagery (Madore et al. 2015(Madore et al. , 2016a;;Addis et al. 2016).”
From Neural Mechanisms of Episodic Retrieval Support Divergent Creative Thinking (2019) · cites this paper as Addis et al. 2016
The Materials and Methods section (page unavailable) describes the AUT as generating multiple uses for an object, scored for divergent thinking. The paper also links AUT performance to detail in imagined episodes, but it does not establish that the AUT itself involves episodic imagery. Our copy does not describe the OAT or compare its processes with those of the AUT. (LLM, conf=0.88)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredPerformance on the alternate uses task was positively correlated with the number of episodic details participants reported when they imagined future personal experiences.
“Moreover, a study of healthy young and older adults reported that performance on the alternate uses task was positively correlated with the number of episodic details that participants reported when they imagined future personal experiences [71].”
From Creative Cognition and Brain Network Dynamics (2016) · cites this paper as [71]
Cognitive and neuroimaging evidence indicate a connection between episodic future thinking and divergent creative thinking.
“both cognitive and neuroimaging evidence indicate a connection between episodic future thinking and divergent creative thinking (94–95)”
From Episodic Future Thinking: Mechanisms and Functions (2017) · cites this paper as [94]
Kernels of evidence suggest that neural processes supporting episodic memory may be involved in divergent thinking.
“Kernels of evidence suggest that neural processes supporting episodic memory-the retrieval of particular elements of prior experiences-may also be involved in divergent thinking, but such processes have typically been characterized as not very relevant for, or even a hindrance to, creative output.”
From Neural Mechanisms of Episodic Retrieval Support Divergent Creative Thinking (2019) · cites this paper as Addis et al. 2016
The specificity and episodic detail of imagined future events correlate with divergent thinking.
“the specificity (Ononye et al. 1993) and episodic detail (Addis et al. 2016) of imagined future events correlate with divergent thinking.”
From Neural Mechanisms of Episodic Retrieval Support Divergent Creative Thinking (2019) · cites this paper as Addis et al. 2016
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- Authors
- Addis, D. R., Pan, L., Musicaro, R., & Schacter, D. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Auckland (NZ)
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Addis, Donna Rose
- Venue
- Memory
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2014-12-06
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 89-97
- ISSN
- 0965-8211 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-0686
- PMC
- PMC4458228
- OpenAlex
- W2161540786
- Cited by
- 140
- References
- 40
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 9 · 2015: 2
- FWCI
- 3.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Memory (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (AG08441)
- Rutherford Discovery Fellowship (RDF-10-UOA-024)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Functions and Memory
- Keywords
- divergent thinking, episodic simulation, autobiographical memory, episodic detail, episodic memory retrieval, aging, older adults, age differences, autobiographical interviews, alternative uses task
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aging, Female, Humans, Imagination, Male, Mental Recall, Thinking, Young Adult, Memory, Episodic
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