Creating while taking turns, the choice to unlocking group creative potential

Abstract

This study aimed to examine how communication modes affect creative idea generation in groups. Three communication mode conditions were created: natural (N), turn-taking (T), and electronic brainstorming (E). Participants were randomly recruited and grouped in dyads to solve one alternative uses task (AUT) in each condition, during which functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based hyperscanning was used to record interpersonal neural responses. No difference was observed in AUT fluency across the three conditions, but AUT uniqueness was higher in the T condition than in the E condition. In addition, AUT uniqueness, AUT fluency, and perspective-taking behaviours increased faster in the T condition than in the other conditions. The T condition also showed higher perspective-taking behaviours than did the other conditions. Moreover, fNIRS data showed higher interpersonal brain synchronisation (IBS) increments at the right angular gyrus in the T condition than in the other conditions, which positively predicted perspective-taking behaviours between individuals during group creativity tasks. These findings indicate that when group members create together while taking turns, both creative performance and interpersonal interaction processes can be stimulated.

Keywords: Communication mode; Group creativity; Hyperscanning; IBS; fNIRS.