Electronic Group Brainstorming

Abstract

The development of electronic brainstorming systems (EBS) forces the process of idea generation to be rethought. These systems can greatly change the interface between the individual and the group, affecting the behavior of both. This study examines how the feedback on group performance provided by the public screen can affect individual motivation and idea generation. Prior psychosocial research has shown that feedback can have positive and negative effects. In a laboratory experiment, two of these psychosocialfactors were studied: social matching and social loafing. The effectiveness of continuous display versus display at the end versus no display was compared for 230 subjects. Results show mixed evidence of social loafing and significant evidence of social matching, that is, participants use EBSfeedback to adjust their level of effort to that of the group. Thesefindings have major implications for the development of better EBS and raise important questions on the theory of EBS-supported groups.