Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Research has shown that individuals produce fewer ideas in interactive brainstorming groups than when brainstorming alone. However, group brainstorming remains a popular technique in organizations and industry. One basis for this popularity may be the perceived productivity of group brainstorming. A survey of expected performance in group brainstorming revealed that most individuals believed they would generate more ideas in groups than alone. Individuals who, in a second experiment, actually performed in brainstorming groups also perceived their performance more favorably than individuals who brainstormed alone. The results of a third experiment indicate that the illusion of group productivity may derive in part from the opportunity for social comparison that is available in group brainstorming. It also appears that individuals tend to take credit for a disproportionate amount of the brainstorming activity in groups.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Bond, C. F. , Van Leeuwen, M. D. (1991). Can a part be greater than a whole? On the relationship between primary and meta-analytic misinterpretations. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 12, 33-40.

Bouchard, T. J. , & Hare, M. (1970). Size, performance, and potential in brainstorming groups. Journal of Applied Psychology, 54, 51-59.

Casey, J. T. , Gettys, C. F. , Pliske, R. M. , & Mehle, T. (1984). A partition of small group predecision performance into informational and social components. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance 34, 112-139.

Diehl, M. , & Stroebe, W. (1987). Productivity loss in brainstorming groups: Toward the solution of a riddle. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 497-509.

Diehl, M. , & Stroebe, W. (1991). Productivity loss in brainstorming groups: Tracking down the blocking effect Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61, 392-403.

Gallupe, R. B. , Bastianutti, L. M. , & Cooper, W. H. (1991). Unblocking brainstorms. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 137-142.

Goethals, G. R. , & Darley, J. M. (1987). Social comparison theory: Self-evaluation and group life. In B. Mullen & G. R. Goethals (Eds.), Theories of group behavior (pp. 21-48). New York: Springer-Verlag.

Greenberg, J. , & Folger, R. G. (1983). Procedural justice, participation, and the fair process effect in groups and organizations. In P. B. Paulus (Ed.), Basic group processes (pp. 235-256). New York: Springer-Verlag.

Hackman, J. R. , & Morris, C. G. (1978). Group process and group effectiveness: A reappraisal. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Group process (pp. 57-66). New York: Academic Press.

10.

Harkins, S. (1987). Social loafing and social facilitation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 23, 1-18.

11.

McGrath, J. E. (1984). Groups: Interaction and performances. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

12.

Mullen, B. , Johnson, C. , & Salas, E. (1991). Productivity loss in brain-storming groups. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 12, 324.

13.

Osborn, A. E. (1957). Applied imagination. New York: Scribner.

14.

Paulus, P. B. , & Dzindolet, M. T. (in press). Social influence processes in group brainstorming. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

15.

Ross, M. , & Sicoly, F. (1979). Egocentric biases in availability and attribution. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 322-336.

16.

Seaman, M. A. , Levin, J. R. , & Serlin, R. C. (1991). New developments in pair wise multiple comparisons: Some powerful and practicable procedures. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 577-586.

17.

Seta, J. J. , Seta, C. E. , & Donaldson, S. (1991). The impact of comparison processes on coactors' frustration and willingness to expend effort. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 17, 560-577.

18.

Steiner, I. D. (1972). Group process and productivity. New York: Academic Press.

19.

Stroebe, W. , & Diehl, M. (1991). You can't beat good experiments with correlational evidence: Mullen &Johnson's meta-analytic minister-pretations. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 12, 25-32.

20.

Wicklund, R. A. (1989). The appropriation of ideas. In P. B. Paulus (Ed.), Psychology of group influence (pp. 493-523). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Perception of Performance in Group Brainstorming: The Illusion of Group Productivity

Abstract

Get full access to this article

References