Brainstorming is one of the most common methods of stimulating group creativity. It is based on four basic principles: 1) express as many ideas as possible, 2) prioritize unusual and original ideas, 3) connect and refine the ideas and 4) refrain from criticism. It is an informal process which relies on two psychological premises. The first premise is that the mere presence of others increases the motivation of individuals to perform better. The second is the expectation that the quantity of ideas will increase their quality.
Scientists have been researching the effectiveness of brainstorming since the 1950s. The past six decades of research, however, have shown only minimal evidence that team brainstorming could create better ideas than the same number of individuals working independently. On the contrary, more evidence indicates that brainstorming reduces the results of creative thinking and causes a loss of performance in working groups.
That is at least, the opinion of a recognized expert in psychometric testing Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, professor of organizational psychology at University College London and vice president of Hogan Assessment Systems. In an article on the Harvard Business Review website he described the following reasons why brainstorming does not work.
1. Social loafing
People working in teams tend to try less than when they are working alone. We simply feel less responsibility to do something, someone else might do it.
2. Social anxiety
People are afraid of the reactions of others to their ideas. When they feel other members have more experience, their performance begins to decline. This is particularly true for introverted people and those with lower self-esteem.
3. Regression to the mean
The most talented members of a group gradually tend to perform in the same mediocre way as others. Typically this can be seen in sports when highly talented individuals are training with with less able ones.
4. Idea blocking
An individual can express his idea only when others are silent. The larger the group, the fewer ideas can be express by each member.
These conclusion provoke the question why is brainstorming still used so often. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic sees two basic reasons.
1. Growing specialization of company workforce
Problems are solved better when people with knowledge of different areas are involved. That is why organizations seek to bring together the right combination of people. They assume when more experts meet, better solution will be found. In practice, however, this would involve a very careful selection of people with a coordination of their efforts.
2. Apparent democracy
While brainstorming does not bring more ideas or more quality of idea, it is a more democratic solution than many other alternatives to creative thinking. Brainstorming has the power to engage participants and facilitate the subsequent implementation of new ideas regardless of their quality. It is still being used because we intuitively feel that this is rightly so.
"So go ahead, schedule that brainstorming meeting. Just don’t expect it to accomplish much, other than making your team feel good." says Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic.
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