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Abstract

Research has demonstrated that individuals provided with examples in a creative idea generation task tend to fixate on the most salient aspects of the examples and incorporate those features into their own creative products. The purpose of this study is to ascertain the extent to which this occurs within the context of interacting groups. The process by which groups generate creative products under two conditions was investigated, with examples provided and without. Groups were also compared to participants working alone. Participants who saw examples before beginning to draw created toy drawings with more features of examples than those who did not see examples. Individuals also created toy drawings with more fixated features than did groups. Participants who saw examples also chose toy drawings with more fixated features as their best than those who did not see examples. Groups who saw examples chose best drawings with significantly fewer fixated features than groups who did not see examples. Conversely, individuals who saw examples chose drawings with significantly more fixated features than those who did not. The first three creature drawings that groups created were compared to the fourth, fifth,and sixth creature drawings. Those who saw examples first created three creatures with more fixated features, but there was no effect of examples on the fourth, fifth, and sixth creatures drawn. The possible reasons for discrepancies between toy and creature drawings are discussed, as well as direction for future research.

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