Divergent thinking and academic performance of students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder characteristics in engineering

Abstract

Background Creativity is increasingly recognized as an important skill for success in the field of engineering, but most traditional, post‐secondary engineering education programs do not reward creative efforts. Failing to recognize creativity or creative efforts can have particularly negative effects for those students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), who may exhibit enhanced divergent thinking ability yet struggle in the traditional educational environment. Purpose/Hypothesis This study was conducted to investigate how ADHD characteristics, academic aptitude, and one important component of creativity (divergent thinking) contribute to academic performance in engineering programs and how traditional markers of academic performance and ADHD characteristics predict divergent thinking. Design/Method Undergraduate engineering students (n = 60) completed measures of ADHD symptoms and divergent thinking. Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores and grade point average (GPA) were collected from university records, and hypotheses were tested using a series of multivariate regression models. Results Verbal SAT scores were the only positive predictor of overall GPA and engineering GPA. ADHD characteristics did not significantly predict overall GPA but negatively predicted engineering GPA. ADHD characteristics were the only positive predictor of divergent thinking ability. Conclusions ADHD characteristics negatively predict academic performance (i.e., GPA) in engineering programs but are more predictive of divergent thinking ability than traditional markers of academic performance.

The Nuanced Relationship Between Creative Cognition and the Interaction Between Executive Functioning and Intelligence

“…Thus, we examine how daily EF interact with Gf and Gc to predict verbal and figural divergent thinking. Given that previous studies assessing the behavioral concomitants of poor EF have found that they are positively related to creativity (Boot et al, 2017;Taylor, Esmaili Zaghi, et al, 2020;Zabelina et al, 2014), we expect to find a positive association between low EF and divergent thinking (Hypothesis 1). However, the relationship between one indicator of EF (i.e., latent inhibition) and divergent thinking has been shown to depend on IQ (Carson et al, 2003;K eri, 2011) and it has been suggested that this may be the case for EF in general (e.g., Boot et al, 2017).…”

“…However, research assessing daily EF (i.e., self-reports of behavior that reflect individual differences in EF ability) point to an association between poorer EF and creativity. Several studies using self-report assessments of ADHD symptoms in non-clinical samples (e.g., college students) have found that scores are positively related to self-reported creative achievement, behavior, and divergent thinking performance (Boot, Nevicka, & Baas, 2017;Taylor, Esmaili Zaghi, Kaufman, Reis, & Renzulli, 2020;Zabelina, Condon, & Beeman, 2014). For example, Boot et al (2017) found that college students' scores on the ADHD DSM-IV rating scale for adults (Kooij et al, 2005) positively predicted self-reported creative behavior and achievement, as well as originality on a problem construction task asking participants to redefine an everyday problem.…”

The interplay of ADHD characteristics and executive functioning with the GPA and divergent thinking of engineering students: A conceptual replication and extension

“…Understanding both the challenges and strengths of students with ADHD characteristics and executive functioning difficulties is necessary to create a more holistic view of learners and provide insights into how we can best support students that may not fit into the standard definition of “normal” cognitive functioning. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to better understand the relationship between ADHD characteristics and executive functioning difficulties, divergent thinking, and academic performance by conceptually replicating and expanding on a recent study ( Taylor et al, 2020b ) that found that ADHD characteristics negatively predicted major grade point average (GPA) and positively predicted figural divergent thinking in engineering students.…”

“…These characteristics and executive functioning difficulties correspond with poorer academic outcomes for college students, even in cases where students do not meet the diagnostic criteria for ADHD ( Biederman et al, 2006 ; Petersen et al, 2006 ; Norwalk et al, 2009 ; Munro et al, 2017 ). However, these characteristics have also been found to correspond with enhanced performance on divergent thinking tasks, which assess one’s ability to generate many original responses to a stimulus ( Zabelina et al, 2014 ; Boot et al, 2017 ; Taylor et al, 2020b ). Understanding both the challenges and strengths of students with ADHD characteristics and executive functioning difficulties is necessary to create a more holistic view of learners and provide insights into how we can best support students that may not fit into the standard definition of “normal” cognitive functioning.…”

Advancing from outsider to insider: A grounded theory of professional identity negotiation in undergraduate engineering

“…For example, Cech and Waidzunas (2011) revealed conflicts in which LGBTQ students would pass or cover to cope with and navigate heterodominant environments. Current research is expanding this work by exploring the professional identity formation of groups typically not included nor explicitly addressed in engineering education research such as trans, nonbinary, and gender‐nonconforming individuals (Haverkamp et al, 2019) and individuals with disabilities (McCall et al, 2020; Pearson Weatherton et al, 2017; Taylor et al, 2020). By bringing marginalized voices to the forefront of our work, we can challenge existing sociocultural norms that constrain conceptions of what engineering is and who can enter the profession.…”