Creativity in FRC/The Workplace

FIRST General Forum
1

Hey all,

Sometimes I like to share things that I’ve read for side projects and essays on here.

While researching a school I’m interested in, I came across a really interesting research paper from Professor Jack Goncalo of Cornell University.

The paper titled “The Bias Against Creativity: Why People Desire But Reject Creative Ideas” was extremely relevant to issues within FRC and any problem solving enterprise - the potential stifling of creativity and possibly, innovation. The entire paper isn’t very long at all, but here’s a highlight of it that I thought many folks would enjoy and could relate back to the initial brainstorming and design meetings that occur in week 1.

Creative ideas are both novel and useful, and novelty is the key distinguishing feature of creativity beyond ideas that are merely well done [2]. Yet the requirement that creative ideas contain novelty can also promote a tension in evaluators’ minds when they judge whether to pursue an idea. Indeed, evaluators have a hard time viewing novelty and practicality as attributes that go hand in hand, often viewing them as inversely related [3]. There are several reasons why. Practical ideas are generally valued [4]. However, the more novel an idea, the more uncertainty can exist about whether an idea is practical, useful, error free, and reliably reproduced [5]. When endorsing a novel idea, people can experience failure [6], perceptions of risk [7], social rejection when expressing the idea to others [8], and uncertainty about when their idea will reach completion [9]. Uncertainty is an aversive state [10][11] which people feel a strong motivation to diminish and avoid [12]. Hence, people can also have negative associations with novelty; an attribute at the heart of what makes ideas creative in the first place.

[1] Hennessey & Amabile, 2010
[2] Amabile, Barsade, Mueller, & Staw, 2005
[3] Rietzschel, Nijstad, & Stroebe, 2009
[4] Sanchez-Burks, 2005
[5] Amabile, 1996
[6] Simonton, 1984
[7] Rubenson & Runco, 1995
[8] Moscovici, 1976; Nemeth, 1986
[9] Metcalfe, 1986
[10] Fiske & Taylor, 1991
[11] Heider, 1958
[12] Whitson & Galinsky, 2008

The full paper isn’t very long at all and is worth taking a look! It can be found here. If anyone takes the time to read parts of it, I’d be interested in hearing about past experiences with things regardingthis on your teams.

-Akash

2

Down with parenthetical citations!

Creative ideas are both novel and useful, and novelty is the key distinguishing feature of creativity beyond ideas that are merely well done [2]. Yet the requirement that creative ideas contain novelty can also promote a tension in evaluators’ minds when they judge whether to pursue an idea. Indeed, evaluators have a hard time viewing novelty and practicality as attributes that go hand in hand, often viewing them as inversely related [3]. There are several reasons why. Practical ideas are generally valued [4]. However, the more novel an idea, the more uncertainty can exist about whether an idea is practical, useful, error free, and reliably reproduced [5]. When endorsing a novel idea, people can experience failure [6], perceptions of risk [7], social rejection when expressing the idea to others [8], and uncertainty about when their idea will reach completion [9]. Uncertainty is an aversive state [10][11] which people feel a strong motivation to diminish and avoid [12]. Hence, people can also have negative associations with novelty; an attribute at the heart of what makes ideas creative in the first place.

[1] Hennessey & Amabile, 2010
[2] Amabile, Barsade, Mueller, & Staw, 2005
[3] Rietzschel, Nijstad, & Stroebe, 2009
[4] Sanchez-Burks, 2005
[5] Amabile, 1996
[6] Simonton, 1984
[7] Rubenson & Runco, 1995
[8] Moscovici, 1976; Nemeth, 1986
[9] Metcalfe, 1986
[10] Fiske & Taylor, 1991
[11] Heider, 1958
[12] Whitson & Galinsky, 2008

3

Haha, thanks. It does clear things up this way :stuck_out_tongue:

4

Nice snippet. Be sure to keep thinking inside the box! :stuck_out_tongue:

One of the greatest things I see happening in the marketplace today is the rise of the Creative Economy. The true innovators have advanced to fill the large void caused by the traditional economy. You only need to spend 10 minutes on Kickstarter or Indiegogo to see how much of an effect this has had. Crowd sourcing is one of the best ways to “test the waters” when you have a unique or creative solution to a problem, and in many ways addresses the doubt and uncertainty noted in the paper.

So, what I’m trying to say is… Keep taking risks and advance society!