Date of Award
5-2019
Culminating Project Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Industrial/Organizational Psychology: M.S.
Department
Psychology
College
College of Liberal Arts
First Advisor
Daren Protolipac
Second Advisor
Jody Illies
Third Advisor
James Tan
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Keywords and Subject Headings
creativity, novelty, usefulness, divergent thinking, virtual teams, face-to-face teams, task structure, standardization, formalization
Abstract
Creativity researchers have proposed that collaboration is necessary for creativity (Amabile & Khaire, 2008), and note that freedom of process is necessary to increase idea generation (Amabile, 1983). Although some research has shown freedom produces greater creativity compared to constraints (Choi et al., 2009; Gilson, Mathieu, Shalley & Ruddy, 2005), a handful of studies have shown that having constraints may be beneficial for creativity teams (Abric, 1971; Dennis, Valacich, Connolly, & Wynee, 1996; Dennis & Valacish, 1999). Constraints may be particularly beneficial for virtual teams to increase their communication and coordination efforts, as these processes differ from face-to-face teams. The present study evaluated the relationship between virtual teams and face-to-face teams and creativity, and whether different degrees of task structure moderate creative output. Results from the study indicated all relationships were non-significant. Limitations and implications from the results are discussed.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Emily, "Is Structured Creativity an Oxymoron? The Effects of Moderate Task Structure on Virtual and Face to Face Team Creative Output" (2019). Culminating Projects in Psychology. 13.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/psyc_etds/13
Comments/Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all the individuals who helped me complete my thesis. First, to my committee members, Daren Protolipac, Jody Illies, and James Tan, for giving me countless ideas, expertise, and feedback. The time you spent helping me on my thesis gave me invaluable lessons on research, writing, and statistical analysis. Second, to the classmates and psychology professors that provided materials, time, and/or support - Garrett Kadrie, Megan Muras, Spencer Rathbun, Thomas Ticheur, Joseph Park, Taryn Carnes, Josh Stainer, Joseph Melcher, and Leslie Valdes - you all played an integral role in helping me complete my thesis. Third, to my mentors, Catherine Hoepner and John Kulas, for continually giving me support, guidance, and an abundant amount of knowledge on school, industry, and life since the first day of my graduate studies – thank you for inspiring me to continually do my best. Finally, I would like to thank my main support system – my family. Lisa, Phil, Elizabeth, and Zachary – you have taught me the power of resilience and hard work. To Benjamin Green – since Day 1 you have always been available to talk to and laugh with; you played an extremely important role in my graduate studies. I appreciate you all and cannot thank everyone enough.