Remote associates test: An empirical proof of concept

Abstract

Associative processes play a major role in research on human thinking, especially creativity. One of the most influential models emphasizing associative processes in creative thinking was introduced by Mednick (Psychological Review, 69, 220-232, 1962), who developed the remote associates test (RAT) as a domain-general measure of individual differences in associative hierarchies. Although S. Mednick's theoretical framework has recently regained much attention, the fundamental psychometric assumptions and underlying cognitive processes involved in the RAT remain controversial. We carried out two studies to evaluate these issues. In the first, a confirmatory factor analysis showed that a single latent factor accounted for the ability to solve RAT problems, despite their psycholinguistic heterogeneity. Subsequent regression analyses indicated that cue-solution associative remoteness substantially determined the difficulty of RAT problems, accounting for about 80% of variance. In the second study we used a newly developed associative chain test (ACT), which assesses lexical-semantic and executive measures during associative processing. We found that performance on the RAT was related to lexical-semantic (higher response remoteness and lower response commonness) but not to executive (response inhibition and switching) ACT measures. Overall, our findings indicate that the RAT reflects a coherent ability to access and combine remote elements in lexical-semantic and associative networks without considerably engaging executive attention. Although the validity and utility of the RAT was supported, we propose that the ACT provides a more complex and fine-grained tool for the assessment of associative processing. Keywords Semantic memory. Executive functions. Creativity. Research methods. Psychometrics Although it is common in various research fields (e.g., memory, language, and problem solving), assessing word associations has played an especially major role in research on creative cognition (Campbell, 1960; Eysenck, 1995; Mednick, 1962). A particularly influential model relating associative processes and creative thinking was proposed by Mednick (1962). According to this model, creative ideas are achieved by forming mutually remote associative elements into new and useful combinations. These

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“…To date, there has been discussion about the nature of crystallized and fluid intelligence in creativity, and compound remote associates by proxy ( Benedek and Fink 2019 ; Cortes et al 2019 ; Marko et al 2018 ; Kim 2005 ; Silvia 2015 ). Replicating Lee and Therriault ( 2013 ) we find a positive relation between measures of intelligence and problem-solving ability.…”