ERIC Number: EJ1199182
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Dec
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0175
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
The Effect of Wording and Placement of Task Instructions on Problem-Solving Creativity
Di Mascio, Rita; Kalyuga, Slava; Sweller, John
Journal of Creative Behavior, v52 n4 p335-353 Dec 2018
Prior research has used many variants of "be creative" or brainstorm instructions to enhance creativity in a variety of tasks. However, differences in instruction wording may lead to differences in instruction interpretation, and varying the placement of instructions before or after a written problem description may lead to differences in problem interpretation. This study investigated the effect of varying the wording and placement of creativity instructions on idea novelty, workability, and effectiveness. A randomized field experiment in two classrooms found that: (a) brainstorming and "be creative" instructions impact some dimensions of idea creativity, relative to standard instructions; (b) combining the two instructions increased the number of ideas only slightly compared with the "be creative" instruction; (c) the effect of the combined instruction varied across classrooms; and (d) the placement of instructions before or after a written problem description influenced novelty slightly. These results suggest that participant-constructed meaning of instruction may differ from the researcher-ascribed meaning and that enhancing the salience of the creativity requirement in instructions does not enhance novelty. The results also lead to propositions that creativity instructions induce a promotion focus during problem-solving and that creativity climate may moderate the impact of instructions.
Descriptors: Problem Solving, Creativity, Brainstorming, Task Analysis, Novelty (Stimulus Dimension), Teaching Methods, Attention Control, Control Groups, Experimental Groups, Written Language, Instructional Effectiveness, Language Usage
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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Author Affiliations: N/A