Divergent Motor Learning Programs Improve Motor and Figural Creativity in University Sports Students

Abstract

Based on studies reporting a link between creative thinking and motor creativity, we investigate whether training motor creativity also positively influences creative thinking. In a longitudinal study design spanning two‐and‐a‐half years, we analyzed the relationships between the development of motor and figural creativity based on two distinct programs: a convergent‐oriented sport study program (COSP) and a divergent‐oriented study program (DOSP). Thirty‐three COSP and 31 DOSP students participated in a comprehensive creativity assessment at the beginning and end of their sport studies. A modified version of the BAST® movement analysis was developed to assess motor creativity. Figural creativity was tested via the TTCT. Although both groups were matched for motor and figural creativity, by the end of their sport studies, the DOSP students outperformed the COSP students in all analyzed motor creativity measures (fluency, elaboration, originality). Furthermore, DOSP students also developed significantly in aspects of figural creativity compared to COSP students. Nonlinear structure and teaching methods in the divergent‐oriented learning environment significantly enhance creativity in sports students by broadening not only their movement repertoire but also transferring these new bodily experiences into the figural domain. These findings support the concept of an underlying supramodal base for motor and figural creativity.