Potential inhibitory effects of group participation on brainstorming performance

Abstract
This research examines the “inhibition” explanation advanced by Dunnette, et al. to account for the superior productivity of brainstorming alone over interacting groups and finds evidence of the mediating effect of group members’ communication apprehension on ideation. In addition, brainstorming performance in nominal, ad‐hoc and history brainstorming groups are compared and no significant differences obtained. Implications and limitations of the research are discussed.