Problem Variables that Promote Incubation Effects

Three studies sought to determine whether incubation effects could be reliably generated in a problem‐solving task. Experimental variables manipulated were the duration of the interval between two problem‐solving opportunities and the activity performed by the problem solvers during the interval. A multi‐solution anagram task was used which required problem solvers to generate five‐letter words from the letters in a ten‐letter “starter” word until they could produce no more words. After a break (the incubation period) the problem solvers returned to the anagram task anew. Some participants also engaged in an activity related to the anagram task during the break which was expected to prime potential solutions that would emerge during the second problem‐solving attempt. In all conditions problem solvers were able to generate new responses after the break, thus demonstrating a reliable incubation effect. The optimal incubation period was between 15 and 30 min long. The priming task increased the number of solutions to the anagram task on the second attempt, suggesting that exposure to solution ideas during the incubation period may facilitate an incubation effect during problem solving.     

Celebrating 50 years of Reflective Practice: Versions of Creative Problem Solving

The original work of Alex Osborn making the creative process more explicit, and the following 50 years of research and development on creative problem solving, have made an important and wide‐spread contribution to those interested in the deliberate development of creative talent. This article provided a summary of the many versions of creative problem solving and the key scholarly issues underpinning their development for one main group of collaborators. Future research and development needs were also identified.     

A Cross Cultural Examination of Creative Problem Solving Style: The Dutch Translation of VIEW

Creativity and Creative Problem Solving are globally important. This study examined the cross‐cultural applicability of creative problem solving styles by translating VIEW: An Assessment of Problem Solving Style from its native English into Dutch and examining its psychometric properties and preliminary validation evidence. In general, support was found for the Dutch translation of VIEW in that it performed similarly to its original with regard to item performance on factor analysis, had acceptable levels of internal consistency and stability over time, and correlated in a similar manner with two alternative measures of style. Implications for future translations were identified.     

THE RELATION OF INSTRUMENTAL and SYMBOLIC ATTRIBUTES TO A COMPANY'S ATTRACTIVENESS AS AN EMPLOYER

This study adds a new marketing-based angle to the study of the attractiveness of organizations in the early stages of the recruitment process. Drawing on the instrumental-symbolic framework from the marketing literature, we expected that the meanings (in terms of inferred traits) that prospective applicants associate with employing organizations would play an important role in applicants' attractiveness to these organizations. Two groups of prospective applicants (275 final-year students and 124 bank employees) were drawn from the applicant population targeted by the bank industry. These applicants were asked to rate a randomly assigned bank in terms of job/organizational factors and to ascribe traits to this bank. In both samples, trait inferences about organizations accounted for incremental variance over job and organizational attributes in predicting an organization's perceived attractiveness as an employer. Moreover, it was easier to differentiate among organizations on the basis of trait inferences versus traditional job and organizational attributes. Practical implications for image audit and image management are discussed.     

Decision Development in Computer-Assisted Group Decision Making

New computer technologies to aid group communication and decision making are becoming increasingly widespread. This study analyzes how one such technology, a group decision support system (GDSS), affected how group decisions developed over time. The study contrasted decision paths in groups using the GDSS with groups using the same procedural structures incorporated in the GDSS manually and with groups using no procedural structures. A flexible phase mapping method was employed to map group decision paths. The resulting set of seven decision paths varied in both sequence and number of decision phases. An optimal matching procedure was used to compute similarity measures among the 40 paths, and cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling were used to generate an empirical taxonomy of decision paths. Results indicated that the nature of decision paths varied both across the three conditions and within conditions. The decision path types were also related to three outcome variables: consensus change, perceived decision quality, and decision scheme satisfaction. Results indicated that those decision paths that most resembled logical normative sequences had superior outcomes to those that did not.     

Microlevel Structuration in Computer-Supported Group Decision Making

The theory of Structuration focuses on how actions by members of social collectives create the structures that enable and constrain future action. Most previous research on Structuration in groups and organizations used qualitative case studies because Structuration is quite complex. This study introduces a method for the study of Structuration in larger samples of groups or organizations. A category system for the identification of structuring moves is described, along with several methods for characterizing short- and long-term trends in Structuration processes. The method is used to study how groups incorporate a computerized group decision support system (GDSS) into their decision processes. GDSSs are part of a class of new computer and communication technologies designed to help groups improve their meetings and make better decisions. Because GDSSs must be used by a group rather than an individual, social processes are critical in determining their effects on group outcomes. GDSSs influence groups by structuring their activities, and structurational processes are critical mediators of the impacts of GDSSs on group decision making. The study focused on the effects of restrictiveness of GDSS technology on Structuration processes and, in turn, on the relation of Structuration to a key group outcome, consensus change. The results suggest that two major types of structuring processes occur in computer-supported groups and that the nature of structuration is related to degree of consensus change.     

The Search for Reliable Generalizations About Messages A Comparison of Research Strategies

Two ways of conducting the search for generalizations about messages are considered: Morley's (this volume) proposal that single-message research designs be used, with subsequent meta-analytic summaries, and Jackson and Jacobs's (1983) proposal that multiple-message designs be used, with messages treated as a random factor in the statistical analysis. Jackson and Jacobs's approach is shown to provide a more dependable, efficient, and practical means for gathering the requisite evidence for dependable generalizations. The charge that multiple-message designs suffer from irreparable problems of experimenter bias is refuted. The treatment of messages as a random factor is defended as statistically appropriate and as clearly preferable to the statistical alternatives.