Thinking About Applications: Effects on Mental Models and Creative Problem-Solving

Many techniques have been used to train creative problem-solving skills. Although the available techniques have often proven to be effective, creative training often discounts the value of thinking about applications. In this study, 248 undergraduates were asked to develop advertising campaigns for a new high-energy soft drink. Solutions to this problem were evaluated for quality, originality, and elegance. Prior to preparing these advertising campaigns, participants were provided with training in strategies for thinking about the potential applications of creative problem-solutions. It was found that training people to think about the uses of ideas and preparation for idea implementation contributed to the acquisition of stronger mental models and production of advertising campaigns evidencing greater quality, originality, and elegance. The implications of these findings for creative though and creative education are discussed.     

Social Innovation: Enhancing Creative Performance Through Causal Analysis

ABSTRACT

Prior qualitative research has indicated that social innovation, the generation and implementation of new ideas about social relationships and social organization, requires active analysis of the causes operative in a social system. To provide some quantitative evidence bearing on this proposition, 180 undergraduates were presented with six social innovation problems drawn from the business and educational domains. Training in the analysis of causes was provided and manipulations were made to induce analysis through distancing and forecasting. It was found that induction of causal analysis through training and distancing contributed to the originality of obtained problem solutions especially in less familiar domains. The implications of these findings for understanding social innovation are discussed.     

Effects of Time Frame on Creative Thought: Process Versus Problem-Solving Effects

Time and people's perceptions of it have commonly been held to influence creative thought. One critical concern is the effect of temporal orientation, a focus on the past, present, or future, on creative thought. To address this issue, 197 undergraduates were asked to produce a solution to an educational creative problem-solving task. Solutions to this problem were scored for quality, originality, and elegance; preparatory activities were scored for effective execution of requisite creative problem-solving processes. Temporal orientation, time pressure, and framing were manipulated. It was found that temporal orientation, time pressure, and framing did not exert strong effects on solution quality, originality, and elegance. However, temporal orientation, time pressure, and framing exerted stronger, albeit different, effects on the effectiveness of process execution with time pressure contributing to effective execution of some processes, but not others. The implications of these findings for understanding the ways in which time influences creative thought are discussed.     

The Effects of Leader Support for Creativity and Leader Gender on Subordinate Creative Problem-Solving Performance

Ample correlational research shows that leader support for creativity is related to subordinate creativity, yet research examining the causality of this relationship experimentally is scant. Furthermore, most studies that demonstrate support for this relationship have used relatively subjective creativity measures that do not tap as effectively into the creative problem-solving process. Thus, we experimentally examined whether leader support for creativity affects subordinate creative problem-solving performance. We also examined whether this relationship depends on leader gender. We used experimental vignette methodology and a sample of 247 working adults to test these relationships. We found that high (vs. low) leader support for creativity resulted in a significantly higher number of ideas generated. Additionally, posthoc analyses showed that high (vs. low) leader support for creativity resulted in a significantly higher number of original ideas and higher number of quality ideas generated. We also found that when the leader was a woman (vs. man), average originality of ideas was significantly higher. We found no significant interactive effects of leader support for creativity and leader gender. We discuss how this study further elucidates our understanding of leader support for creativity, as well as avenues for future creativity research involving leader gender.     

The Effects of Forecasting on Creative Problem-Solving: An Experimental Study

Prior research suggests that forecasting may play a critical role in both the evaluation of new ideas and planning for idea implementation. In the present study, 141 undergraduates were asked to formulate advertising campaigns for a new product. These campaign proposals were evaluated for quality, originality, and elegance. Prior to formulating these campaigns, participants were asked to forecast the implication of their ideas and forecast the effects of a plan for implementing their best idea. It was found that the extensiveness of forecasting the implication of ideas and the extensiveness of forecasting the implications of plans were related to the quality, originality, and elegance of the advertising campaigns proposed. The effectiveness of these forecasts was influenced by analysis of causes and goals and the use of case models. The implications of these findings for understanding the role of forecasting in creative thought are discussed.     

Errors and Understanding: The Effects of Error-Management Training on Creative Problem-Solving

People make errors in their creative problem-solving efforts. The intent of this article was to assess whether error-management training would improve performance on creative problem-solving tasks. Undergraduates were asked to solve an educational leadership problem known to call for creative thought where problem solutions were scored for quality, originality, and elegance. Prior to beginning work on their problem solutions, participants were provided with training in 0 to 4 error-management strategies. It was found that error-management training was beneficial for talented people (as indicated by scores on the pretraining exercise) resulting in solutions of greater originality. The implications of these findings for improving performance on creative problem-solving tasks are discussed.     

The Effect of Team Mental Models Divergence on Creative Performance During Situational Changes

This study developed a model of team mental models’ influence on team adaptive performance at different stages. It proposed that mental models have different relationships with adaptive performance as a function of the performance stage when teams experience changes: early on (i.e., during situation assessment) more divergent mental models are needed for performance; later on (i.e., during plan execution) more convergent mental models are needed. The model was tested in an experiment with 33 teams (N= 99) faced with unforeseen change at task midway. Partially supporting the predictions of a divergence-convergence model, at situation assessment, teams that developed more dissimilar mental models attained a higher performance originality, but not higher efficiency or usefulness. However, at plan execution, team mental models’ convergence did not lead to higher performance. Implications for research on team mental models are discussed.     

Applying Multiple Knowledge Structures in Creative Thought: Effects on Idea Generation and Problem-Solving

Prior studies have indicated that multiple knowledge structures, schema, associations, and cases, are involved in creative thought. Few studies, however, have examined how these different knowledge structures operate together in idea generation and creative problem-solving. Accordingly, in the present study 247 undergraduates were asked to generate ideas relevant to a social innovation problem and then provide a potential solution to the problem. A training manipulation was used to encourage application of schematic, associational, or case-based knowledge either alone or in combination. It was found that prompting use of a single knowledge structure, specifically schema or associational knowledge, resulted in the production of more high quality ideas. However, prompting use of multiple knowledge structures, specifically combining either schema or associations with cases, resulted in the production of higher quality and more original problem-solutions. The implications of these findings for understanding the role of different knowledge structures in creative thought are discussed.     

职务绩效评估的因果模型

职务绩效评估是人力资源管理中的一个关键问题。本文着重介绍了几种有关职务绩效评估的因果模型 ,揭示了这些模型的演变过程及其背后的理论变化。同时也指出了以往研究在理论、方法和研究范围上的一些不足 ,并对今后的研究提出了建议。     

Team Mental Models,Team Goal Orientations,and Information Elaboration,Predicting Team Creative Performance

This study aimed to enhance understanding of team creativity by investigating the type of team mental models that team members develop during their work on a creative problem solving task. We hypothesized that teams that develop dissimilar team mental models, compared to similar and complementary team mental models, will achieve a higher information elaboration. This effect will be moderated by the development of a high learning-performance team goal orientation. Information elaboration in turn was hypothesized to predict team creative performance. In a 3 (similar/dissimilar/complementary team mental models) × 3 (learning/performance/learning-performance goal orientation) experimental study on a sample of 33 teams (N = 98) we found that teams that developed more dissimilar team mental models and experienced a learning-performance goal orientation intervention engaged in more information elaboration. Information elaboration, in turn, mediated the relationship between the interaction between team mental models and team goal orientations and team creative performance. Implications for research on team mental models and team creativity are discussed.     

共享心智模型影响团队绩效的权变模型

共享心智模型指团队成员关于团队关键要素的共同的知识结构, 诸多研究表明其能有效提高团队运作效能。本研究从权变的角度入手, 以负责通讯网络监控与维护的106个高技术团队为分析对象, 探讨团队的共享心智模型与团队绩效的关系, 并揭示团队互依性作为权变因素对共享心智模型与团队绩效关系的调节效应。层次回归分析结果表明, 共享心智模型能显著预测团队绩效, 而团队互依性则负向调节两者之间的关系, 即在互依性程度较低的团队里, 共享心智模型才显著提高团队绩效。作者从共享心智模型的测量和权变因素的作用两个角度展开讨论, 并基于此提出了后续的研究方向。     

Creativity and Ethics: The Relationship of Creative and Ethical Problem-Solving

Students of creativity have long been interested in the relationship between creativity and deviant behaviors such as criminality, mental disease, and unethical behavior. In the present study we wished to examine the relationship between creative thinking skills and ethical decision-making among scientists. Accordingly, 258 doctoral students in the health, biological, and social sciences were asked to complete a measure of creative processing skills (e.g., problem definition, conceptual combination, idea generation) and a measure of ethical decision-making examining four domains, data management, study conduct, professional practices, and business practices. It was found that ethical decision-making in all four of these areas was related to creative problem-solving processes with late cycle processes (e.g., idea generation and solution monitoring) proving particularly important. The implications of these findings for understanding the relationship between creative and deviant thought are discussed.     

Creativity and Ethics: The Relationship of Creative and Ethical Problem-Solving

Students of creativity have long been interested in the relationship between creativity and deviant behaviors such as criminality, mental disease, and unethical behavior. In this study we wished to examine the relationship between creative thinking skills and ethical decision-making among scientists. Accordingly, 258 doctoral students in the health, biological, and social sciences were asked to complete a measure of creative processing skills (e.g., problem definition, conceptual combination, idea generation) and a measure of ethical decision-making examining four domains: data management, study conduct, professional practices, and business practices. It was found that ethical decision-making in all four of these areas was related to creative problem-solving processes with late-cycle processes (e.g., idea generation and solution monitoring) proving particularly important. The implications of these findings for understanding the relationship between creative and deviant thought are discussed.