by Lung Tak Yee. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-111). / by Lung Tak Yee. / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.i / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iv / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vii / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.viii / Chapter Chapter 1 --- INTRODUCTION / Chapter 1.1 --- Background and problem --- p.1 / Chapter 1.2 --- Purpose of the study --- p.4 / Chapter 1.3 --- Significance of the study --- p.5 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE / Chapter 2.1 --- Approaches to creativity research --- p.1 / Chapter 2.2 --- Definitions of creativity --- p.9 / Chapter 2.3 --- Measurement of creativity --- p.11 / Chapter 2.4 --- The process approach to creativity --- p.16 / Chapter 2.4.1 --- Creative process --- p.17 / Chapter 2.4.2 --- Problem discovery --- p.20 / Chapter 2.4.3 --- Problem definition --- p.22 / Chapter 2.4.4 --- Evaluative skill --- p.24 / Chapter 2.4.5 --- Protocol evidence on creative process --- p.26 / Chapter 2.5 --- Brainstorming and Creativity --- p.28 / Chapter 2.5.1 --- Effectiveness of brainstorming --- p.31 / Chapter 2.5.2 --- Real groups versus nominal groups --- p.34 / Chapter 2.5.3 --- Electronic Brainstorming --- p.36 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- RESEARCH METHOD / Chapter 3.1 --- Definitions --- p.40 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Ideational Creativity --- p.40 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- Brainstorming --- p.41 / Chapter 3.1.3 --- Problem definition --- p.41 / Chapter 3.1.4 --- Evaluative skill --- p.41 / Chapter 3.1.5 --- Thinking-aloud protocol --- p.41 / Chapter 3.1.6 --- Protocol analysis --- p.41 / Chapter 3.2 --- Hypotheses --- p.42 / Chapter 3.3 --- Subjects --- p.43 / Chapter 3.4 --- Procedures --- p.44 / Chapter 3.5 --- Materials and instruments --- p.46 / Chapter 3.5.1 --- Pretest --- p.46 / Chapter 3.5.2 --- Posttest --- p.46 / Chapter 3.5.3 --- Scoring ideational creativity --- p.47 / Chapter 3.5.4 --- Brainstorming training --- p.47 / Chapter 3.5.5 --- Problem definition strategy training --- p.49 / Chapter 3.5.6 --- Task-based interview --- p.49 / Chapter 3.6 --- Data analyses --- p.51 / Chapter 3.7 --- Limitations --- p.52 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- RESULTS AND DISCUSSION / Chapter 4.1 --- Quantitative analysis --- p.54 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- Characteristics of subjects --- p.54 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Reliability of the creativity tests --- p.54 / Chapter 4.1.3 --- Ideational creativity scores --- p.56 / Chapter 4.1.3.1 --- Instances test scores --- p.59 / Chapter 4.1.3.2 --- Uses test scores --- p.59 / Chapter 4.1.3.3 --- Line meanings test scores --- p.60 / Chapter 4.1.3.4 --- Real problem test scores --- p.60 / Chapter 4.2 --- Protocol analysis --- p.63 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Practice problem --- p.66 / Chapter 4.2.1.1 --- Strategy used --- p.69 / Chapter 4.2.1.2 --- Variety of categories --- p.70 / Chapter 4.2.1.3 --- Process of generating novel ideas --- p.72 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Problem 1 --- p.73 / Chapter 4.2.2.1 --- Strategy used --- p.74 / Chapter 4.2.3 --- Problem 2 --- p.78 / Chapter 4.2.3.1 --- Strategy used --- p.81 / Chapter 4.2.3.2 --- Variety of categories --- p.83 / Chapter 4.2.3.3 --- Process of generating novel ideas --- p.84 / Chapter 4.2.4 --- Problem 3 --- p.85 / Chapter 4.2.4.1 --- The distractor --- p.86 / Chapter 4.2.4.2 --- The insignificant clue --- p.89 / Chapter 4.2.5 --- Problem 4 --- p.90 / Chapter 4.3 --- Discussion --- p.91 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS / Chapter 5.1 --- Conclusions --- p.95 / Chapter 5.1.1 --- Fluency --- p.95 / Chapter 5.1.2 --- Flexibility --- p.95 / Chapter 5.1.3 --- Uniqueness --- p.96 / Chapter 5.1.4 --- Unusualness --- p.96 / Chapter 5.1.5 --- Creative process --- p.97 / Chapter 5.2 --- Recommendations --- p.99 / REFERENCES --- p.101 / APPENDIX / Chapter A. --- Instructional Material --- p.112 / Chapter A.1 --- First training session for Brainstorming group --- p.113 / Chapter A.2 --- Second training session for Brainstorming group --- p.114 / Chapter A.3 --- First training session for Problem Definition group --- p.115 / Chapter A.4 --- Second training session for Problem Definition group --- p.116 / Chapter A.5 --- First training session for Control group --- p.117 / Chapter A.6 --- Second training session for Control group --- p.118 / Chapter B. --- Item for Task-based Interviews --- p.119 / Chapter C. --- Sample Protocols of Two Subjects in Tasked-based Interviews --- p.121

In this dissertation, two areas of creativity are reviewed. “Fixation” refers to the inability to solve a problem or retrieve a memory due to prior experience or an inappropriate solution path. Brainstorming is the process of generating as many possible ideas on a topic as possible. From this synthesis, it was hypothesized that fixation occurs in brainstorming. Three experiments tested the predictions of this theory. It was revealed that the exchanging of ideas in a group setting leads to members exploring fewer domains of ideas. Through a controlled setting, it was also found that people conform their ideas to ideas suggested by others. The last experiment tested incubation as a mechanism by which to reduce fixation in brainstorming. Findings were mixed but show that taking breaks can be effective in increasing brainstorming efficiency. The dissertation added several new findings to the field. Fixation was found to occur in brainstorming. The induced fixation led to participants decreasing the novelty of their ideas. Temporal analyses provided insight into how various measures (quantity, variety, novelty) fluctuate over the course of a brainstorming session. Lastly, this study showed that taking a break could lead to increasing the effectiveness of a brainstorming session.

Brainstorming is a technique widely used in organisations to help groups of people share their knowledge of an issue. This research explores what happens during JOURNEY Making gatherings, which are similar to electronic brainstorms. It explores the reaction of participants' to the gatherings and builds a rich picture of how the process of facilitation might be enhanced for participants. The thesis reflects on the development of a new format of gathering which aims to enable participants to consider a wider range of issues when decision making, by breaking bounded vision and encouraging an explosion of views. It gives participants incubation with the problem before stimulating them to consider aspects which they may have previously forgotten about. This technique has been used nine times during four workshops with real-world organisations. This thesis reports on the exploration of five sources of data to enable an Integrative Evaluation of how participants work in gatherings, inclu ding computer logs of the participants' ideas and interviews with participants. Findings indicate that this thesis can make contributions to knowledge on three levels. Firstly, the thesis has implications for practice. Facilitators might benefit from knowing that alternative forms of gathering exist and that findings suggest that participants benefit from them. For example, participants working in the proposed format were found to explore, on average, a wider range of themes in the problem than participants of other gathering formats, and might be able to share more contributions to that diverse range. Also participants have difficulty in accurately identifying causal links in the group map. Secondly, this thesis makes contributions to academic knowledge. For example, the thesis develops innovative techniques for analysing participants' contributions and causal links. Finally, this thesis contributes to future research directions by suggesting six areas for future research into JOURNEY Making and Group Decision Support.

abstract: Much of the literature and many of the studies surrounding brainstorming focus on the performance and the quantitative aspects of the process in comparing the efficacy of individual versus group settings, specifically the benefits and pitfalls associated with each. This study looked at using alternate combinations of both individual and group styles of brainstorming to most efficiently maximize production of ideas and satisfaction of participants, while minimizing obstacles and shortcomings typically seen in brainstorming sessions. This research was designed to compare results of three different aspects of these sessions: real efficacy, perceived efficacy, and participant satisfaction. Two cohorts of eight student volunteers each were used to participate in and evaluate the specific session sequence they attended, either that of group then individual or individual then group. Each cohort consisted of four introverts and four extroverts, and the results and responses of each were then compared against each other in the same session and then against the results of the other session to see if there was a difference between the two personality types. The findings of this research revealed that the brainstorming session sequence of group then individual generated a larger quantity of solutions to the given problem and was perceived as more effective by both introverts and extroverts. The study also showed that introverts self-reported a higher satisfaction for the session ending in individual brainstorming, while the extroverts preferred the session ending with the group brainstorming. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S.D. Design 2013

This experiment was designed to compare the before and after ratings of solutions generated by individuals using two problem solving scaffolds, brainstorming and the hierarchical technique. Participants were randomly assigned to one of eight conditions which varied by type of scaffold (procedures to guide thinking), type of tool used to assist solution generation (random word list or thesaurus), and type of technology utilized (computer versus paper and pencil). Using a personal problem, participants generated solutions on paper until they could no longer add to their list. Then participants were taught to use a scaffold, either brainstorming or the hierarchical technique , and allowed to continue generating solutions either on paper or on a computer with one of two tools to stimulate ideas, a random word list or a thesaurus.Results indicated that participants trained on brainstorming generated solutions that were more original than participants trained on the hierarchical technique. The mean number of solutions generated was highest when participants used the computer recording tool paired with a thesaurus. Finally, participants rated solutions higher on practicality when they used a random word list instead of a thesaurus. / Department of Psychological Science

Microtask marketplaces provide shortcuts for automating tasks that are otherwise intractable for computers. Creative tasks fall squarely within this definition, and microtask marketplaces have been heavily leveraged to this end. Brainstorming is often an implicit component of these solutions. This thesis provides the first foundational study of brainstorming in microtask marketplaces, aimed at solving the open problems in brainstorming task design to make this process more accessible and effective. This is achieved by establishing techniques for coding brainstorming data at scale, models for quantifying desirable outcomes of brainstorming, and a qualitative deconstruction of brainstorming strategies employed in this environment. Idea forests are introduced as a data structure to enable the disambiguation of ideas in large corpuses, providing natural measures of two metrics of primary interest in brainstorming research: quantity and novelty. They are constructed via a tree-traversal algorithm, restricting the subset of the corpus which the coder must be aware of when making decisions. A simulation approach is introduced to assess the validity of hypothesis outcomes derived from idea forest metrics. The introduction of idea forests enables the core contribution of this thesis, a set of quantitative models for brainstorming outcomes. This thesis extracts several actionable conclusions from the parameters of these models: the rate of unique idea generation is subject to decay over time; individuals have a significant effect on the rate of idea generation, with productive workers generating dozens more unique ideas; and individuals generate their most novel ideas late in a brainstorming session, after the first 18 responses. Furthermore, a replication of findings by Nijstad and Stroebe is conducted, finding that workers take more time to generate ideas when changing semantic categories and are more likely to remain within a category than expected by chance. Finally, a taxonomy of strategies employed by brainstormers is presented. In particular, this thesis discusses the phenomena of scoping brainstorming problems, providing partial solutions, and riffing on previous solutions.

Exegesis (MA--Art and Design) -- AUT University, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print ([23] leaves : col. ill. ; 30 cm.) in the Archive at the City Campus (T 709.04074 COL)

In this thesis consideration is given to the inter-relationships between a number of key concepts and reports in educational and general public administration which have been produced over the last decade. Networking is the inter-connecting concept. In the first half of the thesis the emphasis is on the current relationships between the key themes and educational and general public administrative structures and strategies. In the second half a variation on the “brainstorming” technique (involving purely the author rather than a group of individuals) has been used to produce a scenario of possible educational and general public administrative structures and strategies in the 1980s and 90s (with and emphasis on the possible inter-relationships between these structures and strategies, the key themes, and communication networks) A case study then follows which links the key themes and the scenario by including discussion of one senior educational administrator’s perceptions of probable futures for a particular education system. It is concluded that there is great potential for new technologies to assist with the restructuring of educational and general public administration. Recommendations on how this could be achieved are given.

In this thesis consideration is given to the inter-relationships between a number of key concepts and reports in educational and general public administration which have been produced over the last decade. Networking is the inter-connecting concept. In the first half of the thesis the emphasis is on the current relationships between the key themes and educational and general public administrative structures and strategies. In the second half a variation on the “brainstorming” technique (involving purely the author rather than a group of individuals) has been used to produce a scenario of possible educational and general public administrative structures and strategies in the 1980s and 90s (with and emphasis on the possible inter-relationships between these structures and strategies, the key themes, and communication networks) A case study then follows which links the key themes and the scenario by including discussion of one senior educational administrator’s perceptions of probable futures for a particular education system. It is concluded that there is great potential for new technologies to assist with the restructuring of educational and general public administration. Recommendations on how this could be achieved are given.

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