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Computer Aided Cognition and Creativity: A Three Year Monitoring Exercise

The aim of this investigation is to assess how the dimensions of creativity changed over time in two groups of subjects and gauge whether or not the computer helped or hindered those dimensions. The link between time and creativity as the two main variables has not been previously examined: when designers interact with CAD for a lengthy period of time, does their creativity improve or diminish over time? Creativity is defined in the literature as the creation of ideas that are both novel and useful. As a process it can be measured using various dimensions, namely: ideation fluency, ideation variety and ideation flexibility – we are only concerned with examining the creativity of the process. The paper tracked the progress of 24 students who were intensive users of CAD and 26 occasional CAD users over a 3 year period. At the end of each year, student attitudes toward creativity dimensions were recorded using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The returns were coded and analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The Analysis of Variance test (ANOVA) produced a significant difference between both groups in terms of ideation fluency and ideation variety (P<0.05) but not on ideation flexibility. Within the intensive CAD group the ANOVA test yielded significant differences on the three variables between years (P<0.05). In other words, taking ideation fluency as an example, i.e. the number of design ideas generated with the aid of the computer the study found a gradual increase in this variable as subjects progressed from one year to the next. The study indicates that the computer as a decision support system in design does in fact affect creativity domains.