Q.Explain, with one original example each, the four abilities associated with divergent thinking.

Divergent thinking rests on four abilities - fluency, flexibility, originality and elaboration - each of which can be shown using a common object like an old newspaper. …

Fluency is the ability to produce many ideas for a given task. For an old newspaper, a fluent response would be to list as many uses as possible in quick succession: wrapping fragile items, lining a shelf, packing material, starting a fire, making paper bags, and so on - the sheer number of ideas is what fluency measures.

Flexibility is the ability to produce a variety of different kinds of ideas, not just many similar ones. For the newspaper, a flexible response would deliberately span different categories of use - as reading material, as a wrapping/packing material, as a craft material (making a paper-mache model), and as an improvised costume prop - rather than listing five near-identical packing-related uses.

Originality is the ability to produce rare or unusual ideas by combining old ideas in new ways or looking at something from an unfamiliar angle. An original use of old newspaper might be shredding and weaving it into a woven floor mat or basket - a use most people would not think of immediately, combining the idea of paper with the idea of weaving, which are not normally associated. …