Hello barbernst-ga
Your questions were intriguing and led to a very interesting and
enjoyable research project. Brainstorming is fairly ubiquitous in
corporate and educational settings and it is usually promoted with the
claim that “more heads are better than one.” In order to determine
whether introverts or extroverts are better at brainstorming I first
wanted to find authoritative information about what constitutes
effective brainstorming.
I assumed that the research would confirm what I had been led to
believe about the claim that teams and groups are better at
problem-solving than individuals alone. This may be true for some
types of creative problem-solving, but is not confirmed by research
into effective brainstorming. It seems that both the quantity and
quality of ideas produced is better for the same group of people
working individually rather than as a group. I’ve collected a
selection of research reports and articles to help you confirm this
conclusion.
Next, I collected some information about personality types and their
characteristics. One of the most popular system for describing
personality typology is the MBTI or Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.
Thousands of people have taken this assessment either in school or at
work. It is frequently used in corporate settings for team building
and organizational and individual development. Academic institutions
use it in combination with theories of learning styles.
According to the MBTI Introverts prefer their internal world of
thoughts and feelings while Extroverts prefer the external world of
things and people and activities. This central preference is expressed
through typical behaviors and attitudes for each type. Extroverts are
energized by interaction while Introverts are depleted by it and need
private time to energize. Extroverts tend to “think out loud” while
Introverts prefer to think things out before saying anything. The MBTI
is a complex instrument and in addition to the Introvert/Extrovert
there are three other pairs of functions that lead to the 16 types.
Sensing/Intuition and Thinking/Feeling refer to how you look at the
world and take action toward it. Judging/Perceiving describes how you
make decisions. I’ve included a collection of links to help you
explore the MBTI at your leisure.
After examining what is effective brainstorming and what are the
characteristics of Introverts and Extroverts, we can finally address
your questions about who’s better at brainstorming and who enjoys it
more. As you would assume, Extroverts are usually more enthusiastic
participants in brainstorming than Introverts. They tend to be
verbally facile and are able to express themselves quickly in group
settings. Because they’re more vocal, they’re likely to overwhelm the
Introverts in the group. Both Introverts and Extroverts are effective
at producing ideas and contributing to the group but their method of
operation is different. Many of the evaluations of brainstorming
suggest that private brainstorming using the Nominal Group Technique
may be more productive. Introverts are less likely to be verbally
overwhelmed by the Extrovert using this technique. Introverts and
Extroverts also tend to contribute different strengths to the idea
evaluation stage of brainstorming. Extraverts can generate ideas
quickly and avoid the tendency to judge them prematurely. Introverts
frequently think more deeply and their skills are needed for the
evaluative stage of the brainstorming process. I’ve included lots of
articles to help you explore this further.
This is a big topic as reflected in the wealth of resources available
online. I’ve included links to enhance your explorations. Please ask
for clarification before rating my answer if anything I’ve provided is
not clear.
I hope you’ll enjoy your explorations.
czh
================================================
BRAINSTORMING – GENERAL INFORMATION AND RESEARCH
================================================
http://www.cpsb.com/resources/downloads/public/%23302-Brainstorm.pdf
A Review of Brainstorming Research: Six Critical Issues for Inquiry
Monograph #302, June 1998
Abstract:
Brainstorming is one of the most well-known tools for creative
thinking. Many empirical studies have been conducted regarding the
effectiveness of this approach to group idea generation. Few previous
reviews have considered more than one or two dozen studies and they
have ignored a few fundamental issues outlined by the inventor of the
tool. This condition has led to some unfortunate misconceptions about
brainstorming. This article provides a review of 50 studies done from
1958 to 1988. They are examined on the basis of six major issues and
interpreted by considering 40 additional studies conducted since 1988.
The aim is to take stock of what we know and point out productive
pathways for future research.
***** This is a 28-page report that gives a comprehensive review of
brainstorming research and includes a lengthy bibliography. It’s a
great place to start.
http://www.stanford.edu/~mmorten/orgweb/summaries/mse/content/Stroebe.html
Stroebe, W. and Diehl, M. (1994) - "Why groups are less effective than
their members: On productivity loss in idea generating groups."
Published in European Review of Social Psychology
Key Points
Research on brainstorming has shown that brainstorming in groups (vs
individual brainstorming) can lead to productivity losses of two
general types: motivation losses and coordination losses. Motivation
losses include free-riding and production matching, while coordination
losses include evaluation apprehension and production blocking.
http://www.josseybass.com/cda/product/0,,0471950270%7Ctoc%7C2678,00.html
European Review of Social Psychology, Volume 5
Wolfgang Stroebe, Miles Hewstone
ISBN: 0-471-95027-0
Hardcover
372 Pages
January 2002
US $300.00 Add to Cart
http://www.nonprofit.net/hoax/personal/papers/hymes.html
Unblocking Brainstorming Through the Use of a Simple Group Editor
Idea generation is a critical component of many problem solving tasks.
Everyone's intuitions are that to generate many ideas one ought to
convene a group of people and brainstorm [5]. However, thirty years of
research on brainstorming have led to a very clear and surprising
outcome: For a given set of individuals, one can get both more ideas
and more quality ideas by having them work by themselves and pooling
their ideas (the so-called nominal group) than by working together as
an interacting group [6].
http://www.institute.virginia.edu/services/csa/nominal.htm
NOMINAL GROUP TECHNIQUE (NGT)
It is a process for a group of people who become a group in name in
only (hence the name, nominal group) when they are using the
technique. The purpose of NGT is to eliminate social and psychological
dynamics of group behavior which tend to inhibit individual creativity
and participation in roup decisions. For the time that the group uses
the technique they avoid the normal problems of a few individuals
doing all the talking, the rest listening, and very few people taking
the time to actually think about the issue at hand. Individuals can be
more creative and everyone is given a structured opportunity to
participate. This helps to overcome these common problems often
encountered in small group meetings organized for the purpose of
generating ideas, planning programs, and problem solving
***** This is a step-by-step outline of how to set up a workshop to
teach the Nominal Group Technique
http://www.industrialrelationscentre.com/Pubs%20PDFs/high_performance.pdf
High Performance in Self-Managing Industry Teams: A Review of the
Literature
One of the most common tasks for groups in organizations is generating
ideas, and much research has investigated whether groups produce more
and better ideas than individuals, especially that to do with
brainstorming. Research on brainstorming consists of two distinct
streams. The first assesses the effectiveness of the original
brainstorming technique, and the second tests a variety of newer
methods of idea generation. The consensus from this first stream of
research is that brainstorming groups do not outperform unstructured
or nominal groups. The second stream of research focuses on the
development and testing of new techniques for idea generation.
Although some studies have shown that these structured techniques can
improve idea generation, most have found that nominal groups
outperform interacting groups, that structured idea generation
techniques provide little advantage over unstructured interaction, and
that large groups do not generate more ideas than small groups (e.g.
Diehl & Stroebe, 1987; Jablin & Seibold, 1978; Lamm &
Trommsdorff,1973).
The two reasons identified are production blocking and evaluation
apprehension. Production blocking occurs when individuals cannot
express their ideas because someone else is talking. Evaluation
apprehension occurs when individuals withhold their ideas out of
concern that others may not approve of them. In addition to production
blocking and evaluation apprehension, other inhibitors, such as social
loafing (Latane, Williams, & Harkins, 1979), maybe likely present in
brainstorming group interaction. Moreover, the magnitude of inhibitors
may grow as group size increases (Steiner, 1972).
http://www.stuart.iit.edu/ipro/papers/html/vissers.htm
A Group Approach to Team Creativity; The case of new product
development teams
Nijmegen Business School, University of Nijmegen, Netherlands
Are new products accomplished by highly creative individuals, or by
creative teams? This paper will start from the assumption that some
creative team achievements cannot be reduced to the work of separate
team members. … After a brief discussion of research on
idea-generation techniques, the paper concludes that research on the
creativity of organizational teams must take the organizational
context into account, by distinguishing different ways to organize
innovation and by acknowledging that the perceptions (or judgments) of
others in the organization are relevant if an answer is to be given on
some basic questions: Is this a creative group? Is this a creative
idea?
http://cispom.boisestate.edu/murli/home/research/hicss94/hicss94.html
The Structuring of Creative Processes: Implications for GSS Research
3.2.4 Identifiability of participants
A number of studies have investigated the effects of identifiability
on group idea generation with GSS. Jessup, Connolly, and Galegher
(1990) found that anonymity resulted in more inputs from participants.
There was also a small but statistically insignificant increase in the
number of original ideas generated. Similar results were obtained by
Connolly, Jessup, and Valacich (1990), and Jessup and Tansik (1991).
Connolly et al. (1990) also found that the ideas produced were of a
higher "quality" when groups worked anonymously. Any factor that
enhanced relative anonymity increased the effect observed.
Participants found the system less threatening because individuals
were not identified. Anonymity promotes depersonalization, a
phenomenon that encourages an uninhibited expression of ideas
(Festinger, Pepitone, and Newcomb, 1952). The mere opportunity to act
in an uninhibited manner, however, does not imply that people will
indeed act uninhibitedly. It may be that anonymity encourages
individuals to generate ideas that are consonant with their preferred
cognitive styles. Thus,
==================================================
INTROVERTS VS EXTROVERTS – GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS
==================================================
http://directory.google.com/Top/Science/Social_Sciences/Psychology/Personality/Myers-Briggs_and_Keirsey/
Google Web Directory
Science > Social Sciences > Psychology > Personality > Myers-Briggs
and Keirsey
**** Offers an excellent and large collection of links on this popular
topic.
http://gbr.pepperdine.edu/003/loop/
Jung's Personality Typology
% of population who are Extroverts - 75
% of population who are Introverts - 25
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/2003/03/rauch.htm
Caring for Your Introvert: The habits and needs of a little-understood
group
How many people are introverts? I performed exhaustive research on
this question, in the form of a quick Google search. The answer: About
25 percent. Or: Just under half. Or—my favorite—"a minority in the
regular population but a majority in the gifted population."
http://www.plexusinstitute.org/edgeware/archive/think/main_diff3.html
Helping Others to Learn About Complexity: Learning Style
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) in one very popular way to
understand differences in style. Figure 4 provides an overview of this
approach, which traces its roots back to the 1920s and the work of
psychologist Carl Jung. Many people know their Myers-Briggs "type,"
and there are good instruments for determining types for the members
of any learning community you might assemble.
http://keirsey.com/
Temperament: Different Drums, Different Drummers
http://keirsey.com/pumII/ei.html
Extraversion or Introversion (E/I)
So to make the E-I distinction useful at all, we must define the two
concepts, not in terms of mental focus or interest, but in terms of
social address or social attitude. Thus when someone is observed to be
talkative and sociable (the so-called "extravert") he or she can be
described as "expressive." In contrast, people who are more quiet and
private (the so-called "introverts") can be described as "reserved."
Interestingly, because Reserved persons tend to hold their fire
verbally, they tend to listen carefully to what others say, while
Expressive persons tend not to listen very well, so eager are they to
tell others of what they have on their minds. So in general, the
Expressive are quick to speak and slow to listen, while the Reserved
are quick to listen and slow to speak.
http://edp5285-01.sp02.fsu.edu/Guide5.html
GROUP PROCESSES
Virtually every taxonomy of personality describes an
"introversion-extroversion" dimension, or a "moving away from people"
versus a "moving toward people" orientation. … The general theory goes
that individuals with relatively high internal levels of neural
stimulation seek quieter surroundings (introverts) to dampen down
neural excitement, while those with relatively low internal levels of
neural stimulation seek more exciting surroundings (extroverts) in
order to maintain a comfortable internal equilibrium of neural
stimulation.
http://www.cpp.com/
CPP, Inc. (formerly Consulting Psychologists Press)
Myers-Briggs Type IndicatorŪ (MBTIŪ)
http://www.aptcentral.org/
The Association for Psychological Type, an international membership
organization, promotes the practical application and ethical use of
psychological type. (MBTI)
http://www.typelogic.com/typelinks.shtml
TypeLogic Resources
http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html
So what do all those cryptic MBTIŪ code letters mean?
***** Good summary tables of the four pairs of functions and 16 types.
=======================================
BRAINSTORMING – EXTROVERT VS. INTROVERT
=======================================
http://www.bluesuitmom.com/career/management/brainstorming.html
Creating the Perfect Storm -- A Creative Brainstorming Session
Shirley explains that it is important to keep personality types in
mind when holding a brainstorming session. Her experience has shown
her that some personality types are better at pure idea generation,
while others are better at drawing parallels between various ideas.
Still others work better when writing or drawing as a means of
expression, rather than working in a group discussion. The differences
are most noticeable between introverts and extroverts.
"Extroverts love to talk things out," she continues. "But introverts
like to go off and think about something. You need to be sensitive to
both types."
http://www.astdla.org/articles/article_display.asp?artID=81
Bridging The Communication Gap Between Introverts and Extroverts
http://chiron.valdosta.edu/whuitt/files/prbsmbti.html
Problem Solving and Decision Making: Consideration of Individual
Differences
Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
Separate research on personality and cognitive styles has identified
important individual differences in how people approach and solve
problems and make decisions. This paper relates a model of the
problem-solving process to Jung's theory of personality types (as
measured by the MBTI) and identifies specific techniques to support
individual differences.
http://www.vr.clemson.edu/credo/AID/classes/ME893/teaming/3890.pdf
Using Student Preferences to Guide Design Team Composition
This is a report on a research study conducted at Stanford
University’s Mechanical Engineering Design Division to measure whether
choosing design teams based on MBTI personality profile information
made a difference in creativity as measured by prizes won in the
nationwide Lincoln Foundation Design Competition.
***** Although the study does not address brainstorming directly, it
does comment on the relationship of creativity and personality type.
http://www.think-inc.co.uk/jot_brainstorm.asp
BRAINSTORMING: THE NEW BOOM
Brainstorming also suits the national psyche, reckons one business
psychologist. Critics point out that brainstorming suits extroverts
more than introverts, who might prefer, like Newton, to do their
thinking alone.
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/learning/styles.html
Learning Styles
Or, How We Go From the Unknown To the Known
Kolb's Learning Style Inventory
Carl Jung and Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)
Multiple Intelligences
Learning styles come from three schools of thought: Perceptual
Modality, Information Processing, and Personality Patterns (Conner &
Hodgins, 2000).
***** This article combines several different inventories and comments
on how the traits of extroversion and introversion are viewed by each
and in combination. See the diagrams for additional insight.
http://www.meridianconsult.com/article_Leader's%20Impact.Meridian.htm
THE LEADER’S IMPACT ON MEETING SUCCESS
Because extroverts “think to talk,” they are usually going to be much
more willing to speak without having to think through exactly what
they want to say. Thus, if the meeting leader does not manage the
process, extroverts in the group will totally dominate the meeting.
Meanwhile, introverts with important things to contribute can’t get
their thoughts on the table because by the time an introvert “thinks
to talk” some extrovert has jumped in.
http://cte.rockhurst.edu/hcl/Faculty/working%20papers/Ldr_Dilemma_FINAL_020402.pdf
THE LEADER'S DILEMMA: INTEGRATING BEHAVIORAL STYLE, JOB FIT AND
CULTURAL COHESION
Abstract
It is generally believed that organizations benefit from workforce
diversity, including diversity of individual behavioral styles.
Organizations also benefit from cultural cohesion, or the sharing of
vision, purpose and values among members of the organization. Because
individuals with diverse behavioral styles tend to have different
values and prefer diverse job assignments, a challenge exists for
organizations. Emphasizing behavioral style diversity and job fit,
while also creating cultural cohesion, would seem to be impossible.
This article explores those challenges and discusses the leadership
issues that are inherent in homogenous, individualistic and conforming
organizations.
***** This is a 30-page paper. The discussion of the use of the MBTI
for evaluating behavioral style is especially pertinent.
http://www.ptk.org/hallmarks/lead01.htm
Hallmark Awards Resources
LEADERSHIP – CULTIVATING THE SEEDS
LIKE MINDS COME TOGETHER
Applying a participatory leadership style, not forcing a decision, the
Vice-President of Leadership let the ideas circulate and develop,
never really eliminating any one idea initially. One morning while
brainstorming, we asked members to move to one of several tables where
their ideas were similar to those of other people present. What
transpired was astounding - a study in human personalities.
At the first table, the most introverted grouped. People with a strong
inclination to reading comprised this group of six.
People most outspoken gathered at the second table. Included were
people with an interest in theatre and artistic expression. Extroverts
with strong ideas, they were anxious to implement them.
Self-expression was important to this group. It had the largest
membership.
The smallest group (future social workers and teachers) went to the
third table. Individuals of this group desired to relate to others
personally, especially young people.
http://www.industryweek.com/Columns/Asp/columns.asp?ColumnId=469
The nature of creativity.
According to Burley, while brainstorming techniques and other
creativity tools can give a temporary shot to a group's
idea-generation capability, individual creativity in the final
analysis is God given, that is to say, genetic.
http://www.leonardconsulting.com/Whole%20Brain%20Learning2.htm
Whole Brain Teaching and Learning
This article reviews the concepts of Ned Herrmann’s Brain Dominance
theory and instrument.
As Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTIŪ) enthusiasts might speculate,
there is a correlation between MBTIŪ preference and HBDI preference.
Hermann Developed an instrument, the Herrmann Brain Dominance
Instrument™ (HBDI) in 1979. The HBDI™ is a thinking styles assessment
tool which allows a person to learn more about how his or her brain
functions and thinking and learning preferences.
===============
SEARCH STRATEGY
===============
brainstorming research
"research on brainstorming"
brainstorming extroverts introverts
brainstorming personality styles
introverts extroverts population |
Clarification of Answer by
czh-ga
on
25 Apr 2003 16:21 PDT
Hello Barb,
I’m sorry you found “little that is usable” in my research. I’m
wondering “usable for what”? You didn’t say you had some specific goal
in mind so I gave you a general overview. I had no way of knowing the
degree of research you’ve completed on your own so I gave you what I
felt was important about both aspects of your question --
brainstorming and personality type.
I think you’re right in your conclusion that there haven’t been
significant studies explicitly tying together brainstorming and
personality type. Nevertheless, the information I’ve collected can
help you with taking the existing research and drawing conclusions for
yourself.
http://www.cpsb.com/resources/downloads/public/%23302-Brainstorm.pdf
A Review of Brainstorming Research: Six Critical Issues for Inquiry
This is a thorough review of the research literature on brainstorming
and can be used for exploring behavioral issues. On page 10 the author
discusses Brainstorming as a Tool for Group Application. He highlights
the research results that show that “group participation inhibits
ideative productivity during brainstorming” and goes on to a
discussion of the types of groups being evaluated. This discussion
relates to your question of who likes to brainstorm in groups and who
doesn’t. The brainstorming research simply hasn’t measured the
personality types of the group members. You can draw your own
conclusion about the who is more likely to be productive in
brainstorming situations by looking at the characteristics of
introverts vs. extroverts.
The literature review also shows that even the types of groups being
compared are not clearly delineated so comparing nominal groups to
“real groups” leads to confusing results. It is important to know what
kinds of groups you’re evaluating to be able to approach the question
of what type of personality is likely to enjoy it. The discussion of
“evaluation apprehension” on page 12 might also be relevant. Are
extroverts more likely to care about what others think and be
impacted? The examination of “productivity blocking” on page 13 is
especially relevant to thinking about introverts and extroverts. It’s
much more likely that extroverts do the talking and introverts “can’t
get a word in.”
The section on Group Leadership and Facilitation is also very
interesting since it highlights the importance of training and the
role of the facilitator. There is quite a lot of organizational
development literature on team formation and creative problem solving
that discusses the importance of workgroup selection and having a
range of talents and personalities in highly effective work teams.
Some of the research on personality types might give you additional
insight into whether introverts or extroverts enjoy brainstorming. The
recent research report that show that sensitivity to rewards may
distinguish extraverts from introverts directly relates to who might
enjoy brainstorming. Since brainstorming is a social activity and
extroverts enjoy social activity more than introverts, it seems that
they would be more likely to experience rewards in this type of
activity.
I hope you find these additional resources and discussions helpful.
Good luck with your project.
czh
http://www.apa.org/journals/psp/psp793452.html
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
September 2000 Vol. 79, No. 3, 452-468
Cross-Cultural Evidence for the Fundamental Features of Extraversion
Most modern taxonomic approaches to personality and most major
personality inventories include some form of extraversion ( Watson &
Clark, 1997 ). Yet after almost a century of study, psychologists are
still unsure of the fundamental nature and defining characteristics of
the extraversion personality dimension.
**** See full article and excerpts below.
http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr03/acting.html
Acting extraverted spurs positive feelings, study finds
Volume 34, No. 4 April 2003
People who display extraverted characteristics--such as being
talkative or energetic--are happier at those moments than when acting
introverted, suggests a recent study published in the Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 83, No. 6). …
Fleeson says the results surprised him. While he assumed acting
extraverted would be pleasurable for extraverts, he did not anticipate
that acting extraverted would also be pleasurable for introverts. In
fact, in comparing introverts to extraverts, Fleeson found that
introverts were happier when they were displaying extraverted
characteristics than when they acted introverted.
http://www.apa.org/releases/extraverts.html
September 3, 2000 -- SENSITIVITY TO REWARDS MAY DISTINGUISH EXTRAVERTS
FROM INTROVERTS RATHER THAN HIGHER SOCIABILITY, ACCORDING TO NEW STUDY
Findings in United States Replicated in 39 Other Countries
Washington - A new study which looks at the cross-cultural fundamental
features of the extraversion personality trait indicates that
extraverts find social situations more rewarding than introverts, not
because they are more sociable, but because they are more sensitive to
the rewards inherent in most social situations.
The article in the September issue of the Journal of Personality and
Social Psychology, published by the American Psychological Association
(APA), involved four studies which tested how extraversion and reward
sensitivity are linked. Results show that although sociability
(individual differences in the enjoyment of social activities and the
preference for being with others over being alone) is an important
part of extraversion, it may actually be a by-product of reward
sensitivity, rather than a core feature of extraversion
FOR RELEASE: 3 SEPTEMBER 2000 AT 18:00 ET US American Psychological
Association http://www.apa.org/
Sensitivity to rewards may distinguish extraverts from introverts
A new study which looks at the cross-cultural fundamental features of
the extraversion personality trait indicates that extraverts find
social situations more rewarding than introverts, not because they are
more sociable, but because they are more sensitive to the rewards
inherent in most social situations. … In analyzing the results from
the cross-cultural aspect of the study, the researchers argued that
social activity may serve different functions in different cultures.
Specifically, because people in collectivistic cultures (such as
China, Korea, Indonesia) tend to place more importance on societal
norms than do people in individualistic cultures (such as Australia,
Puerto Rico, Germany), social activity may be more constrained and
less rewarding in collectivistic cultures. In support of this
argument, the researchers found that there was less of a relation
between extraversion and pleasant affect in the collectivistic sample.
The current study did not directly assess extravert's and introvert's
enjoyment of rewarding and nonrewarding social and nonsocial
situations.
http://www.personalityresearch.org/papers/jang.html
The PEN Model: Its Contribution to Personality Psychology
The ARAS is a primitive part of the brain that is not involved with
higher cortical functions. It is responsible for general arousal and
regulates patterns of wakefulness and attention. According to
Eysenck's arousal model, introverts are more aroused than extraverts
because the ARAS is regulated differently in introverts as opposed to
extraverts. As Jang mentioned, introverts and extraverts seek optimal
arousal in daily life. Jang does not explain, however, that because
introverts are more aroused to begin with, they can tolerate less
increase in arousal than extraverts. The introvert's cerebral cortex,
therefore, must exert more inhibition over primitive lower brain
centers, resulting in more inhibited behavior in introverts as opposed
to extraverts. Introverts, therefore, perform better than extraverts
under low levels of stimulation but perform worse at high levels of
stimulation (Eysenck, 1967).
**** This is an excellent article that provides a good review of the
study of introversion and extroversion in personality psychology.
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