Abstract
What factors predict the originality of domain-specific idea generation? Replicating and extending an earlier study using a Design Product Ideation task in an introductory university design course, the present research, grounded in the componential theory of creativity, assessed the relative contributions to originality of design ideation from five factors: divergent thinking, personality traits, general cognitive ability, prior creative experience, and task-specific challenge/interest. The Design Product Ideation task asked participants, at two different timepoints, to propose ideas for products to improve either the experience of urban gardening or of outdoor picnics. Four divergent thinking tasks were used, including the predominantly conceptually-based Alternative Uses Task, a newly developed perceptually-based Figural Interpretation Quest, and two modified verbal tasks from the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (Torrance Suppose and Torrance Product). Regression analyses revealed that, at both timepoints, originality on the Design Product Ideation tasks was predicted by multiple divergent thinking, personality, and task-based factors. Originality of responses to the Figural Interpretation Quest was a significant predictor at both timepoints, and continued to add incremental value after controlling for the other divergent thinking measures. Collectively, these findings indicate that the four divergent thinking tasks, though related, do not measure identical constructs, and that many individual difference components, both trait-based (e.g., openness to experience) and more specifically task-based (e.g., perceived challenge of the task), shape creative performance. Methodologically, and from a practical standpoint, these findings underscore the value of incorporating both conceptual and perceptual measures of divergent thinking as contributors to originality in domain-specific idea generation.
Highlights
From within a componential model of creativity, creative performance is understood as being motivated by a number of personality, cognitive, and environmental factors [4–8]
There was no control group in this study, as all participants participated in pre- and post-tests as well as the intervention, and the present study is not concerned with course-related improvement in creative performance over time but rather assesses what cognitive-behavioral and individual difference factors predict original ideation on an applied design task at the two timepoints
Despite the heavy reliance on Alternative Uses Task (AUT) in creativity research, including in cognitive neuroscience studies of creativity [62–64], the present study found that AUT originality was predictive of Design Product Ideation performance at pre-test, it was not significantly predictive at post-test when other predictive factors were included in a multiple regression model
Summary
Creativity is a broad concept in psychology that involves developing new or alternative and valuable ideas to create art, solve problems, communicate, and more [1–3]. Predicting originality of design product ideation we are able to make progress in science and technology, as well as to create new music, movies and video games. Beyond these perhaps more commonly noted domains, creativity can lead to solutions to social injustices and global inequity. A component of creative problem solving, is defined as a person’s ability to start with a singular object or idea and produce as many alternative solutions or representations as possible [9–11]. There are numerous measures available to evaluate divergent thinking, many serving as predictors of creative potential rather than directly measuring creative output [12]
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