I stumbled across an article in the Metro last week that struck a chord with me. The article suggested that brainstorming restricts creativity. It caught my attention as I had spent two days locked in a room brainstorming with a few people on a tough brief that didn't want to crack easily and so I was in a collaboration mindset.
The article read:
Brainstorming 'makes you less creative', researchers say
It will come as no surprise to those of us who have groaned at the thought of another session of ‘blue-sky thinking’ – brainstorming does not work.
Far from generating a raft of brilliant new ideas, thrashing out random thoughts in the boardroom on a Monday morning is counter-productive.US researchers have concluded we get the best ideas when sitting quietly on our own.
‘Fixation to other people’s ideas can occur unconsciously and lead to you suggesting ideas that mimic your brainstorming partners,’ said psychologist Nicholas Kohn.
‘You potentially become less creative.’
He and his colleagues at Texas A&M University carried out three experiments using groups of two, three and four subjects and found working together caused a gradual decline in the number of fresh thoughts they came up with.
Brainstorming can lead people to becoming fixated by just one possibility, blocking out alternatives and eventually leading to conformity.
‘Exchanging ideas in a group reduced the number of domains of ideas that were explored by participants. Additionally, ideas given by brainstormers conformed to ideas suggested by other participants,’ said Mr Kohn.
The study concluded that group creativity may be an overestimated method to generate ideas and individual exercises may be more effective.
So, what do I think? Working with a copywriter everyday often means we collaborate on briefs and so discussing concepts is a natural daily event. I however can understand where the research rings true. Often break-through moments for me come when i'm alone, completely absorbed and train of thought is clear from conflicting conversations and distractions. This is usually when i'm maniacally scribbling with a good Spotify list blasting through my headphones to keep me ticking along, or on the tube where no one actually cares if your unsocial and lack of eye contact is encouraged. For me I feel I have to have a moment alone to absorb the brief and think it through myself. However I see these first thoughts as just germs of ideas, I think the ideas come alive when people collaborate and expand on them. Often steering ideas into a clearer and stronger direction.
Here's a little more research (found here) that also suggests mainly negative outcomes of brainstorming.
In a [1987 study, researchers] concluded that brainstorming groups have never outperformed virtual groups. Of the 25 reported experiments by psychologists all over the world, real groups have never once been shown to be more productive than virtual groups. In fact, real groups that engage in brainstorming consistently generate about half the number of ideas they would have produced if the group’s individuals had [worked] alone.
In addition, in the studies where the quality of ideas was measured, researchers found that the total number of good ideas was much higher in virtual groups than in real groups.
So the evidence is there. Poor little Brainstorming (or "Thought Showers", if i'm to be politically correct) is getting some right jipp. However I find it hard to believe that the greatest adverts of all time came from one person's vision alone. Often anyone that's at the top of their game has a fantastic team supporting them. Also, if the method of brainstorming didn't work so well then perhaps the "creative team" structure wouldn't have passed the test of time as being a winning formula to produce award winning ideas in agencies that we still see today.
