Memory retrieval is the basis of idea generation. We hypothesized that people retrieve more original knowledge by search-ing for a commonality between unrelated objects than by thinking about an object itself. Seventy-seven undergraduatesfrom Nagoya University were assigned to one of three conditions: a commonality search and either of two control condi-tions. In the first session, the participants in the commonality search condition listed a feature shared by a pair of wordspresented; those in the control conditions listed a feature associated with a word presented. In the second session, all par-ticipants were asked to list the words associated with the features they identified in the previous session. Results showedthat the features and the words listed in the commonality search condition were more original than those in either controlcondition. We concluded that the method we proposed is effective in retrieving original knowledge for idea generation.

We investigated how people find commonalities between unrelated objects as a basis of generating creative ideas by ex-amining the relationship between performances on commonality search and alternative categorization tasks. We predicteda positive correlation between performances on the two tasks because one needs to focus on some obscure features ofobjects to do both tasks well. Thirty-one undergraduates were asked to engage in both commonality search and alternativecategorization tasks. They were asked to list as many as commonalities between nine unrelated object pairs for 90 secondsfor each pair. They were then asked to list as many categories as possible that each of five objects belong to for 60 secondsper object. The results showed a significant positive correlation between the performances on these tasks. We concludedthat commonality search and alternative categorization both focus on obscure features of objects.

The purpose of this study was to clarify the cognitive processes of commonality search between unrelated objects. Specifically, we investigated the relationship between the performance of the commonality search task and that of the alternative categorization task. We hypothesized that one needs to focus on obscure features of objects to do both tasks well and that there would therefore be a positive correlation between the performances on the two tasks. We also compared the performance of the commonality search task with that of the alternative categorization to investigate exploratorily how each task promotes creative thinking. Thirty-one participants were asked to engage in two tasks: the commonality search task and the alternative categorization task. In the commonality search task, they were asked to list as many commonalities as possible between nine unrelated object pairs within 90 seconds for each pair. In the alternative categorization task, they were asked to list as many categories as possible to which each of the five objects belonged, within 60 seconds for each object. Although There was a significant positive correlation between the numbers of answers on these tasks. The additional results showed that there was no significant difference between the two tasks in terms of average saliency score or the first answer, but the saliency of the commonality search task was significant lower than the alternative categorization task in the second answer. We discussed the similarities and differences between the two tasks and the potential use of the commonality search task as a way to promote creative thinking.

Generic-parts technique (GPT), a method developed by McCaffrey (2012), involves repeatedly breaking an object intoparts and rephrasing their descriptions to not imply fixed functions. A previous study showed that GPT facilitates insightproblem solving. We investigated this methods effectiveness in idea generation. Ninety-four undergraduates were assignedto either an experimental group using GPT or a control group. In the training phase, the GPT-group participants wereexplained how to create a generic-parts diagram with an example of a bell, and they drew two diagrams for other objectsby themselves. The control-group participants were given a word association test of 180 words and were instructed towrite the first word that came to their mind. All participants then engaged in an unusual uses task with an umbrella. Theresults showed that the GPT-group generated less ideas than the control group. We concluded that GPT is not particularlyeffective in idea generation.

The present study examines the effects of novelty seeking (NS) personality trait on the undervaluation of product creativity, specifically the tendency to undervalue the usefulness of novel ideas or products, a bias termed “usefulness undervaluation bias”. Creativity is defined by novelty and usefulness, and it has been reported that there is a bias to undervalue the usefulness of novel creations due to uncertainty in judging it. In this study, two studies were conducted to determine whether individuals with high NS are reduced in this bias. Study 1 confirmed that individuals with higher NS rated creativity more positively, consistent with previous findings on openness to experience. Study 2 showed that raters with higher NS were less likely to underrate the usefulness of novel products, suggesting that NS moderates the relationship between perceived novelty and usefulness. These findings indicate that personality trait, especially NS, play an important role in creativity evaluation.