PERCEPTIONS OF BRAINSTORMING IN GROUPS - THE QUALITY OVER QUANTITY HYPOTHESIS

Our research focused on the implicit beliefs of potential brainstormer s about the possible outcomes of brainstorming. We conducted four stud ies to assess the relative importance of quality and quantity as goals of brainstorming. In Study 1, we found evidence for a quality over qu antity hypothesis: participants indicated that it was more important t o produce creative, original, and high quality ideas than to generate a large number of ideas. In Studies 2 and 3, participants displayed su pport for the quality over quantity hypothesis by showing in group fav oritism for a quality dimension but not a quantity dimension. Study 4 showed that participants believed brainstorming would enhance the qual ity of others' ideas more than one's own ideas, but they did not displ ay a similar bias about idea quantity.