Improving the measurement of divergent thinking attitudes in organizations

Three new improved scales measuring three independent divergent thinking at titudes were developed in field research with managers and were labeled "Va luing New Ideas," "Belief that Creativity is Not for Only a Select Few," an d "Not Feeling Too Busy for New Ideas." These three scales represent an imp rovement over three scales initially identified by Basadur and Hausdorf (19 96). Two studies were done. The first was a reliability study in which high er internal consistencies and improved understanding and labeling were achi eved. The second was a field experiment in which preliminary evidence of ex ternal validity of the three scales was established. The scales effectively measured the changes in these attitudes that were expected after training. Opportunities for future research are identified.