Most people aren’t good at creative problem solving for two reasons: First, they are not trained in how to be creative. Second, they don’t understand group strength well enough to harness(驾驭) their power to maximize group creativity.
A key element of creativity is applying existing knowledge to a new problem. The more people getting involved in solving it, the more knowledge there is to work on it. Unfortunately, research shows that the traditional brainstorming methods fail to achieve that goal. When groups get together to exchange ideas, they actually come up with fewer ideas overall than if they each had worked alone.
To fix this problem, you should consider the two stages of group problem-solving: divergence(分散) and convergence(集中). Divergence happens when the group considers as many different potential solutions as possible. Convergence happens when the various proposed solutions are evaluated and reduced to a smaller set of candidate solutions to the current problem.
The essential principle of group creativity is that individuals working alone diverge, whereas group members working together converge. In groups, once a member states a potential solution, it makes others think about the problem similarly. That is why groups working together diverge less than individuals working alone.
Therefore, be aware of when to diverge and when to converge. For example, early in the problem-solving process, have group members work alone to write down statements describing the problem. Then get them back to discuss their descriptions. The group discussion will lead everyone to accept one or a small number of these statements to work on—this is healthy convergence.
When starting to generate solutions, you again want divergence. Have people work alone to start. Then collect people’s initial ideas and send them around to others and allow the divergence to continue as everyone individually builds on the ideas of other members. Finally, let the group discuss the resulting ideas. This discussion will gradually lead the group to converge on a small number of candidate solutions.
This simple method works effectively, because it respects what individuals and groups do best.
【小题1】We can infer that the traditional brainstorming methods ______.| A．enable people to form more ideas together |
| B．greatly encourage group creativity |
| C．actually limit group creativity |
| D．prevent people’s involvement in the problems |
| A．think the other way round | B．follow his way of thinking |
| C．be more confident in their own ideas | D．be less willing to share their own ideas |
| A．Discuss the problem. | B．Put down group statements together. |
| C．Simplify the problem. | D．Write down their individual descriptions. |
| A．A simple way to make group thinking more effective |
| B．Difficulties in organizing group thinking |
| C．Differences between divergence and convergence |
| D．Advantages of group thinking over individual thinking |
