OBJECTIVE: Two studies were performed to assess both divergent and convergent thinking in adults with ADHD. METHOD: The first study compared the problem-solving abilities of healthy participants (N = 144) and unmedicated adults with ADHD (N = 144). In the second study, problem-solving abilities of adults with diagnosed ADHD (N = 22) were examined twice, that is, on and off methylphenidate (MPH), and compared with the performance of a healthy control group (N = 22). Convergent thinking was measured using a Tower of London task, whereas divergent thinking was assessed using verbal fluency tasks. RESULTS: Adults with ADHD off MPH displayed marked deficits of both divergent and convergent thinking. MPH treatment resulted in a marked improvement of convergent thinking, while no effect of medication was found regarding divergent thinking. CONCLUSION: Pharmacological treatment of adults with ADHD revealed a differential effect of MPH on problem solving abilities.
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Tucha et al. (2010) studied this question.
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