Something for Nothing? Increasing Insight in Groups

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Something for Nothing? Increasing Insight in
Groups

• Matthew A. Cronin

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Motivation

• Increase the likelihood of innovation and
  creativity when people work.
• Creativity/innovation improvements to the way a
  problem is solved that come from changing the
  problem conceptualization (e.g., cost reduction
  vs. increased sales)
• Work iterated problem solving

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Outline of talk

• Review the basic individual level cognitive
  theory that is foundation for my work
• Explain my model
• Show simulation
• Show individual level corroborative data
• Show group level corroborative data

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Problem solving processes
(Re)Conceptualize Problem
Solve Problem
GOAL
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Problem solving processes
(Re)Conceptualize Problem
Solve Problem
GOAL
Conscious
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Problem solving processes
(Re)Conceptualize Problem
Solve Problem
GOAL
Conscious
Unconscious
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Conscious/ incremental

• DONALD
• GERALD
• ROBERT
• D 5

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Unconscious/ radical

• A woman who did not have her drivers license on
  her went through a stop sign without stopping,
  then traveled 3 blocks the wrong way down a one
  way street. A cop saw all of this and did
  nothing, why?

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My model
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Simulation

• Corroborate intuition by comparing to established
  pattern (preparation-impasse-illumination)
• Mechanics
• Mental Energy (ME) thinking capacity per unit
  time
• CSdemand unexplored PS/Visible PS
• UCSinflow ME (CSdemand e)

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Simulation of the model
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Further validation of basic concept

• Can we demonstrate that doing simultaneous
  conscious activity increases time to insight?
• Experiment
• Have subjects answer insight questions
• Ss either simultaneously trace a picture, look at
  picture, or do nothing
• 131 Undergraduates, 80 male

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Results
Difference is significant (plt.05)
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Can we use this knowledge to make groups more
creative?

• Divide cognitive labor (some do insight, some do
  incremental)
• Will this lead to more insights and better
  performance?

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Imbalance between incremental/insight processes

• Preference for incremental thinking (even when
  not productive)
• Potential for much redundancy and half starts in
  thinking
• Redundancy I think through ideas you already
  have
• Half starts not thinking an insight through
• Switching costs

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Experiment 1

• Build 3 different types of products from common
  household materials
• Products send eggs to a target
• Type is defined by delivery method
• 90 undergraduates, 50 female, same sex groups of
  3
• Performance eggs thrown to target
• Insights coded via standard categories
  (functional fixedness, constraint relaxation,
  re-encoding)

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Unpartitioned
Partitioned
Group Structure
Group Structure
Cognitive Functions
Cognitive Functions
Think of new approaches
Think of new approaches And Build Products
Build Products
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Removing the conscious demands increased insight,
did nothing for performance
Unpartitioned M(perf) 5.9 M(insite) 9.4
Partitioned M(perf) 5.5 M(insite) 12.3
Group Structure
Group Structure
Mean Insights
Mean Insights
6.6
3.1
2.9
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Follow up experiment

• Performance was equal, but did we get something
  for nothing?
• Is the insight process generalizable to pattern
  recognition

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Experiment 2

• Generate words from given letters and then
  sentences from words (Root Words DULL, BEN,
  IAMBIC)
• Word generation (in, mine, bib, club, I, am,
  climb, a) is mostly UCS
• Sentence generation (I climb in a club) is mostly
  CS
• 156 undergraduates, 50 female, same sex groups
  of 3
• DVs Words, sentences, total performance

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Unpartitioned
Partitioned
Group Structure
Group Structure
Cognitive Functions
Cognitive Functions
Think of sentences
Think of words And Think of sentences
Think of words
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Removing the conscious demands increased word
production
Unpartitioned M(sent) 15.5 M(Zperf) .07
Partitioned M(sent) 12.0 M(Zperf) -.07
Group Structure
Group Structure
Mean Words
Mean Words
28.4
39.5
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Future research

• Model validity
• Interference in both directions?
• Unconscious pull?
• Group issues
• What happens between idea generation and
  implementation?
• Effect of interpersonal processes
• Integrating cognition

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The big question

• How to position this story so I can publish it in
  a top tier journal, get tenure, get fame, demand
  high consulting wages, ignore student complaints
  that I am a hard teacher, and live happily ever
  after.