The Role of Structure and Instruction on Creative Idea Evaluation and Selection

While most creative cognition models include three core processes (problem identification and construction, idea generation, and idea evaluation and selection), the majority of research has focused on idea generation. Limited attention has been given in the literature to the processes that take place before and after idea generation. In this study, we seek to partially fill this gap by examining the processes that take place after idea generation, that is, idea evaluation and selection. Specifically, we evaluate the role of providing instructions and structure for idea evaluation (in the form of definitions and rubrics) and idea selection (by creating a two-step procedure) on the accuracy of evaluation and ultimate idea selection. We examine the impact of the level of specificity and detail provided in the evaluation process on the accuracy of team evaluation and selection of creative solutions. We also examine how structured and unstructured selection processes influence the selection of creative solutions. Our findings suggest that having a rubric to support evaluating quality and originality does not necessarily increase the accuracy of team evaluation. Further, following an iterative solution selection process results in the selection of lower quality solutions, but having instructions and structure during both evaluation and selection processes results in selection of most original ideas. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.