Enhancement of ideational fluency by means of computer-based training

Training of divergent thinking, which is commonly regarded as an important component underlying creativity, often involves the administration of a large number of moderated sessions. This exploratory study examines a computer-based divergent thinking training program with respect to its effectiveness in enhancing ideational fluency and originality on the basis of practice. Two training versions were developed: (a) a training of verbal creativity and (b) a training of functional creativity. Both training versions consisted of 9 sessions with 8 divergent thinking tasks each. Two training groups (consisting of 11 participants each) and a control group (n = 14) were matched for creativity, intelligence, age, and gender; the groups were tested in a pre-posttest design. The computer training was found to effectively enhance the intelligent-independent aspect of ideational fluency (d = 0.54), whereas no training effects with respect to the originality of ideas were observed. The findings point to the usefulness of a computer-based training to enhance creativity-relevant abilities.