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Does Quantity Generate Quality? Testing the Fundamental Principle of Brainstorming

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2014

Alfredo Muñoz Adánez
Alfredo Muñoz Adánez*
Affiliation:
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
*
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Alfredo Muñoz Adanez, Sección Departamental de Psicología Social, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Psicología, Campus de Somosaguas, 28223 Madrid (Spain). E-mail: chaviris@psi.ucm.es
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Abstract

The purpose of this work is to test the chief principle of brainstorming, formulated as “quantity generates quality.” The study is included within a broad program whose goal is to detect the strong and weak points of creative techniques. In a sample of 69 groups, containing between 3 and 8 members, the concurrence of two commonly accepted criteria was established as a quality rule: originality and utility or value. The results fully support the quantity-quality relation (r = .893): the more ideas produced to solve a problem, the better quality of the ideas. The importance of this finding, which supports Osborn's theory, is discussed, and the use of brainstorming is recommended to solve the many open problems faced by our society.

Dentro de un amplio programa cuyo objetivo es detectar los puntos fuertes y débiles de las técnicas creativas, en el presente trabajo ponemos a prueba el principio fundamental del brainstorming formulado en los siguientes términos: “la cantidad genera calidad”. Trabajamos con una muestra de 69 grupos, de entre 3 y 8 miembros cada uno, y establecemos como norma de calidad la conjunción de los dos criterios comúnmente aceptados: originalidad y utilidad o valor. Los resultados obtenidos apoyan plenamente la relación entre cantidad y calidad (r = .893): cuanto mayor sea el número de ideas producidas en relación con un problema, mayor será el número de ideas de calidad. Se comenta la importancia de este hallazgo en apoyo de la teoría de Osborn y se recomienda el uso del brainstorming en la resolución de la multitud de problemas abiertos que nuestra sociedad tiene planteados.

Keywords

brainstormingwithholding judgementcreativityproblem solvingbrainstormingaplazamiento del juiciocreatividadresolución de problemas
Type
Articles
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , November 2005 , pp. 215 - 220
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

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