The effect of self-censorship based task types and interactive dyads on creativity in brainstorming

In daily life, there is a need for creative ideas for developing new programs and products in many areas such as in industry, education, advertising and health. The main goal of the brainstorming technique is to increase creativity in individuals and groups. This technique is based on producing many ideas, which come to mind without criticism and combining those ideas. There are many studies on the brainstorming designed to determine the factors that enhance or inhibit the production of original ideas. Among the factors that inhibits creativity in brainstorming are self-censorship and interaction anxiousness. However these two factors were not examined separately in the past and it has been claimed that self-censorship is the basis of the interaction anxiousness. Moreover, it is not known how these two factors affect creativity. In the research conducted to elucidate these problems, the effect of self-censorship and interaction anxiety on creative idea generation was examined. There are two experiments in this research. In the first experiment, self-censorship was assessed by manipulating the brainstorming problem. Brainstorming problems were determined as preventing the murders of women and violence against women, improving communication between family members and increasing harmony between couples. The participants were paired randomly and they generated together ideas about problem of brainstorming to which was given them. Two pairs were formed (Female-Male, Male- Male) in order to manipulate interaction anxiousness and they were asked to share ideas with their partners. This study demonstrated that topic type (self-censorship) had significant effect on the number of the original, flexible and deep ideas. The participants under violence condition generated fewer ideas than participants under the other condition. In addition to this, it was also found that flexibility and persistence played mediator roles for the relationship between self-censorship and creativity. On the other hand, it was found that the interaction anxiousness did not have significant effect on the number of original, flexible, and deep ideas. In the second experiment, which was prepared in a similar method, the topic of enhancing the harmony between couples was not included. In addition, the girl-girl pair was added to the interaction anxiousness. The results were consistent with the first experiment. Accordingly, the participants under violence condition significantly censored themselves more than others and produced the least number of ideas. Also, it was found that flexibility and persistence played mediator roles for the relationship between self-censorship and creativity. On the other hand, same or different genders of the partners did not lead to significant effect on creativity. Obtained findings were explained from the literature about self-censorship and expressing the ideas in written or verbal fashion that may lead to a difference in the degree of anxiety.