Group Creativity and Collective Choice

Identifying creative collective decisions often depends on pooling diverse information. However, groups tend to focus on commonly known information and forego full consideration of all information known to members. Among the reasons for this state of affairs is that consensus often implies correctness, there is a bias for common information that is typically seen as credible and compelling. The SCOPE model identifies factors that facilitate effective information exchange and thereby increase the likelihood of creative decisions. A group climate that is conducive to information exchange, provision of opportunities to share information, using optimal procedures such as the nominal group technique or electronic communication systems, and assigning expert roles are highlighted as ways of enhancing information exchange in groups.