Compendium of psychological studies of cultural congruence and divergent thinking in adolescents

The purpose of this research is to study the level of differences between divergent thinking and normative behavior of teenagers in both early and late stages of adolescence. The data analysis is based on the study of the social situation of teenagers who developed divergent thinking. The research was conducted in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, at specialized lyceums. A hundred teenagers (aged 13–16) participated in the survey and were divided into two equal age groups: younger and older teenagers, each group included 50 individuals. The interviews with teenagers were conducted according to ethical principles, including voluntary participation, signing of informed voluntary consent forms, and maintaining confidentiality. Over the course of the empirical study, the adolescents completed three tests aimed at identifying the development of conformity in normative situations and studying divergent thinking. The results showed a difference between younger and older adolescents. The analysis indicated that conformity in behavior and divergent thinking were more frequently displayed in younger adolescents, while qualitative transformation of divergent thinking occurred in older adolescents. These transformations may be associated with changes in the social situation of adolescent development and biological restructuring. Therefore, this study sheds light on the formation of creative thinking in teenagers in the socio-cultural environment.