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Individual Differences and Creativity in the Engineering Design Process

Author
Heininger, Katie Julia
Published
[University Park, Pennsylvania] : Pennsylvania State University, 2019.
Physical Description
1 electronic document
Additional Creators
Miller, Scarlett Rae and Schreyer Honors College
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Open Access.
Summary
As studies have previously shown, creativity is crucial in the engineering design process. While many studies have examined creativity and personality, few studies have looked at the relationship between creativity and other types of individual differences, such as problem-solving styles. This thesis fills that gap by investigating the impact of individual differences, as measured by the Preferences for Creativity Scale (PCS) and Kirton's Adaption-Innovation (KAI) cognitive style inventory, on the creativity of ideas generated and screened by engineering design students. Specifically, this thesis sought to answer two main research questions: (1) Can the Preferences for Creativity sub-scales be used to predict the creativity, quality, originality, or goodness of ideas generated and screened by engineering design students; and (2) Can cognitive style, as measured through KAI, be used to predict the creativity, quality, originality or goodness of ideas generated and screened by engineering design students? This was accomplished through a pilot study and a full experimental investigation. The results of the pilot study with 19 engineering students in an introductory engineering design class showed that PCS could predict the creativity of ideas screened by engineering students, but it could not predict the creativity, quality, or originality of ideas generated by students. On the other hand, the results showed that KAI could be used to predict the creativity and quality of the ideas generated by engineering students, as well as the quality of ideas screened. These results informed the design of the full experimental study which looked at the impact of these factors on a larger scale (48 engineering students in the same first-year engineering course). The results of the experimental study, however, provided different evidence on the impact of these factors. Specifically, the results showed that while the PCS sub-scales could significantly predict the originality of ideas developed, it was not able to predict screening behaviors. Additionally, the results showed that KAI was not a significant predictor of ideas generated or screened by students.The results from this thesis contribute to the field in two main ways. First, this thesis shows that there is a relationship between individual differences as measured through KAI and PCS and the creativity of the ideas screened and generated by individuals. Second, it provides a framework for selecting individuals who can generate and screen for ideas which are rated as creative throughout the engineering design process. Though many questions remain, this thesis builds a solid base for how to continue the research into individual differences, cognitive style, and the relationship these two metrics have with engineering design.
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Dissertation Note
B.S. Pennsylvania State University 2019.
Technical Details
The full text of the dissertation is available as an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file ; Adobe Acrobat Reader required to view the file.
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