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Abstract Creativity is a key 21st-century skill and a consistent predictor of academic learning outcomes. Despite decades of research on creativity and learning, little is known about the cognitive mechanisms underlying their relationship. In two studies, we examined whether creativity supports associative learning through associative thinking—the ability to generate novel word associations—an ability central to creativity which has not been previously tied to associative learning. In Study 1, we found that students who generated more novel word associations learned more words on a foreign language learning test 24 h later. In Study 2, we replicated and extended the effect to naturalistic creativity tasks (i.e., writing short stories and sketching line drawings), finding associative thinking mediated the relationship between creativity and associative learning. Importantly, both studies controlled for general intelligence. Our findings suggest that creativity’s contribution to learning operates partly through a shared cognitive capacity for making new connections. 

Standard learning assessments like multiple-choice questions measure what students know but not how their knowledge is organized. Recent advances in cognitive network science provide quantitative tools for modeling the structure of semantic memory, revealing key learning mechanisms. In two studies, we examined the semantic memory networks of undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory psychology course. In Study 1, we administered a cumulative multiple-choice test of psychology knowledge, the Intro Psych Test, at the end of the course. To estimate semantic memory networks, we administered two verbal fluency tasks: domain-specific fluency (naming psychology concepts) and domain-general fluency (naming animals). Based on their performance on the Intro Psych Test, we categorized students into a high-knowledge or low-knowledge group, and compared their semantic memory networks. Study 1 (N = 213) found that the high-knowledge group had semantic memory networks that were more clustered, with shorter distances between concepts—across both the domain-specific (psychology) and domain-general (animal) categories—compared to the low-knowledge group. In Study 2 (N = 145), we replicated and extended these findings in a longitudinal study, collecting data near the start and end of the semester. In addition to replicating Study 1, we found the semantic memory networks of high-knowledge students became more interconnected over time, across both domain-general and domain-specific categories. These findings suggest that successful learners show a distinct semantic memory organization—characterized by high connectivity and short path distances between concepts—highlighting the utility of cognitive network science for studying variation in student learning. 

Crystallized intelligence (Gc)—knowledge acquired through education and experience—supports creativity. Yet whether Gc contributes to creativity beyond providing access to more knowledge, remains unclear. We explore the role of a “flexible” semantic memory network structure as a potential shared mechanism of Gc and creativity. Across two studies (N = 506 and N = 161) participants completed Gc tests of vocabulary knowledge and were divided into low, medium, and high Gc groups. They also completed two alternate uses tasks, to assess verbal creativity, and a semantic fluency task, to estimate semantic memory networks. Across both studies, the semantic memory network structure of the high Gc group was more flexible—less structured, more clustered, and more interconnected—than that of the low Gc group. The high Gc group also outperformed the low Gc group on the creativity tasks. Our results suggest that flexible access to semantic memory supports both verbal intelligence and creativity.