Group GeniusChapter 4:

From Groupthink to Group Genius

Bo BonningAaron Frederick

Brainstorming

• Term coined in the 1950’s by Alex Osborn• Key Principles for Brainstorming– No criticism/evaluation of ideas at first– Quantity over quality– Wilder ideas are better– Find combinations and

improvements on otherideas

Groupthink

• Coined by Irving Janis• The illusion of group effectiveness• A team of smart people often end up with a solution dumber than

they would have come up with alone.• Caused by the fun of a group vs. the bore of individual study• “Everybody’s doing it” mentality

Faults of Brainstorming

Production BlockingListening to other’s ideas uses mental energy needed to think of new ideas.Topic FixationIdeas tend to cluster to a few categories.Social InhibitionIdeas are held back for fear of what others will think,

Social LoafingResponsibility is distributed, so apathy sets in with less individual accountablity for production.

Solutions

• Nominal Groups• Brainwriting/Electronic Brainstorming• Environment of Equality• Assess Individuals on Productivity• Instructions– Criteria: Creativity, Uniqueness, and Value– Quality > Quantity

Nominal GroupsSolution to Production Blocking

• Individuals are given the problem to think about alone, and then after they are assigned to groups to join ideas with others

• This has an additive effect with ideas.• Research compared regular brainstorming to nominal groups.• Result:

– More ideas, more original ideas, and better ideas!

Brainwriting/Electronic BrainstormingSolution to Topic Fixation

Brainwriting is where each individual writes down their ideas for a few minutes before sharing them.• In Electronic Brainstorming,

ideas are typed onto a shared screen like a chat room, reducing topic fixation.

Environment of EqualitySolution to Social Inhibition

• Feelings of inferiority lead tomore closed discussions.

• People are reluctant to discusscontroversial issues if theyfear they will be judged fortheir input.

• All participants must follow the same rules.• Anonymity and facilitators also can help.

Assess Individuals on ProductivitySolution to Social Loafing

• If individuals can share responsibility, they can also share blame.

• A measure must be in place to access each individual’s contribution so no one can let their mind “loaf.”

Instructions

• Against the principles of brainstorming, studies show that it is better to give the following criteria when brainstorming:– Creativity, Uniqueness, and Value– Quality > Quantity

• Given these, less ideas are generated, but more good ideas are generated.

• This methodology also combines the step of evaluation, which is more efficient.

Nominal vs. Improv Groups

• Different tasks require different groups• Nominal Groups are better for tasks that can be

performed by an individual, but the additive effect makes the group more productive.

• Some tasks cannot be performed alone, such as improved music, and in these cases nominal groups cannot function as a replacement for a group working together at once.

Review of Solutions

• Nominal Groups• Brainwriting/Electronic Brainstorming• Environment of Equality• Assess Individuals on Productivity• Instructions– Criteria: Creativity, Uniqueness, and Value– Quality > Quantity