Ind v Group Creativity and the Generation of Ideas: Current Evidence

The generation of ideas and the encouragement of creativity is important for business growth and development and in many other applications, including those of purely artistic merit (however that might be defined), yet current research increasingly suggests that accepted wisdom regarding creativity and innovation can be more detrimental to the process than it is helpful. A variety of perspectives and levels/types of research have been brought to bear on this issue, and though they are not entirely consistent some clear trends appear to be emerging that directly counter decades of accepted "knowledge" and practice when it comes to creativity and collaboration. Through a synthesis of this current information, some more reliable and nuanced practices and perspectives can be recommended for better personal and individual understanding as well as for more effective business development and growth.

Alex Osborn, a highly successful advertising executive who shared some of his experience and beliefs in his 1948 book Your Creative Power, has remained one of the most influential personalities and voices in the understanding of creativity and business collaboration to the present day (Cain, 2012; Lehrer, 2012). It was Osborn that developed the concept (and coined the phrase) of "brainstorming," and it was largely at his insistence that groups of many individuals working actively and uncritically towards solving a certain problem became seen as the best method of approaching complex or novel situations (Cain, 2012; Lehrer, 2012). Empirical examinations of Osborn's brainstorming theories have shown them to be all but unequivocally false, with collections of individuals working independently capable of generating more ideas -- and usually better ideas, as well -- than can collections of the same size where the individuals work in groups and actually interact...

Indeed, according to Cain's perspective solitude -- and even perhaps a certain degree of the personality trait of introversion -- are necessary to drive true creativity. Society generally and the Olson-derived brainstorming theory specifically reward extroversion and make it far easier for the ideas of extroverts to rise to prominence, but this fails to fully account for the true creative and innovative potential of any population, which according to basic statistics will have introverts as one-third to one-half of its members (Cain, 2012).
On the other hand, this does not mean that collaboration is not a good thing. Many successful companies and organizations have been built on the ability for different perspectives and knowledge areas to come together, often in semi-random meetings, and though this can be achieved somewhat through explicit practices there has been a great deal of efficacy shown in the designing of spaces to encourage the occurrence of random meetings and exchanges of information (Lehrer, 2012). It is also important to note that this type of random or at least less explicitly controlled interaction and collaboration is highly different from the purposeful brainstorming proposed and supported by Osborn and his influence (Cain, 2012; Lehrer, 2012). Instead of selecting a specific problem and bringing individuals into an interactive group for the explicit purpose of generating ideas for addressing or solving that problem, this type of collaborative interaction is generally un-purposed and leads to true creativity by not presenting any real bounds on the meetings, conversations, and exchanges that take place. The Bose Corporation was founded by Amar Bose when he was supposed to be working on his dissertation but found himself somewhat randomly seeking out advice and knowledge from the Acoustics Lab down the hall from his own offices for a personal hobby, as…