Generating a Creative Idea through Collaboration with Others —An Experiment Study on University Students Comparing Three-Person Group Collaboration and Individual Work—

Abstract

The generation of creative ideas through collaborative efforts is a critical issue. We conducted an experiment to investigate whether ideas cultivated within a collaborative group are perceived as more original and beneficial than those originating from an individual or nominal (non-collaborative) group. Additionally, we sought to ascertain whether providing conversation guides for collaborative idea generation would result in more creative ideas. The findings of the experiment indicated that ideas stemming from group collaboration were rated as more original but perceived as less useful than those from individuals. However, ideas generated by collaborative groups were on par in terms of originality but deemed less useful than those generated by nominal groups. Furthermore, our conversation guides had little impact on the generation of creative ideas. In this discussion, we will explore potential avenues for research on collaboration and evolution of creative ideas.