A comparison of two group brainstorming procedures

Abstract

A modified brainstorming procedure that required Ss (male introductory psychology students) to identify psychologically with significant components of the task (called synectics) was compared to standard brainstorming over 3 sessions and 9 different problems. Each treatment condition was also divided into high- and low-interpersonal-effectiveness groups. The synectics groups were superior to the brainstorming groups on all 9 problems, but the differences were statistically significant for only 4. There were no significant main effects due to group composition, nor were there any interactions. It is concluded that synectics is a more effective group-problem-solving strategy than brainstorming. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)