Graduation Semester and Year

2009

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Paul B Paulus

Abstract

Many studies have investigated the effects of diversity on performance. Past research demonstrates that the relationship between group diversity and task performance is mixed and inconsistent (Mannix & Neale, 2005; van Knippenberg & Schippers, 2007; Webber & Donahue, 2001). Although some studies have examined the effects of diversity on brainstorming groups (Cox et al., 1991; Nakui et al, 2009), little attention has been paid to the effects of diversity on brainstorming individuals. To examine the influence of diversity on individual ideation, forty-eight participants were exposed to ideas that were presumably generated by a person from their own ethnicity (ingroup member) or a person from a different ethnicity (outgroup member) or a computer. Participants generated more ideas and explored more categories when they believed they were exposed to the ideas of an outgroup member than an ingroup member or a computer (Lount & Phillips, 2007). However, there was a same-race bias for perceptions of enjoyment (Van der Zee et al., 2009; Nakui et al, 2009). The second study investigated why participants in diverse settings outperformed those in the ingroup condition. One hundred and sixty participants were assigned to a 2 (ingroup vs. outgroup) X 2 (idea vs. rate of idea generation) between-subjects group design. Participants generated more ideas in the outgroup condition irrespective of the type of exposure. The findings suggest that social competition may have contributed to superior performance in the outgroup condition. Self reports on post-test questionnaire revealed that participants expected to be more productive in diverse groups than homogenous groups. There was no evidence for the influence of attitude toward diversity and elaboration of task-relevant information on performance. The results of these studies enhance our understanding of how ethnic diversity can influence performance in brainstorming individuals.

Disciplines

Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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