Training effects on the divergent thinking attitudes of South American managers

Abstract

<p>A field experiment made a preliminary investigation of the effects of training Chilean managers in creative problem solving. Two attitudes associated with divergent thinking practice (an important aspect of creative problem solving) were measured before and after training. This research establishes the Spanish translations of the two attitudinal measures. It also indicates that the paradigms and methods of similar training provided in previous Japanese and North American research are applicable to South American managers. The experimental group (n = 149) showed significant gains on both measures versus a control group. Future directions for research include increasing the reliability of the Spanish versions of the two attitudinal measures and extending the training effect investigation beyond attitude changes to include behaviour changes and long term persistence and portability to the job.</p>