Abstract
An underinvestigated aspect of advertising education is the consideration of methods by which groups effectively solve creative problems. Brainstorming has been popularly used by teams in classes to generate ideas; yet, little research exists that compares small group structures for creative problem solving. Bridging this gap, a study compared structured group, unstructured group, and individual efforts. Subjects, 46 undergraduate students enrolled in courses at 2 midwestern universities, were divided into 1 of 3 groups--a group that used the Nominal Group Technique, an unstructured group, and individuals. Subjects were asked to generate possible themes/topics for a new magazine targeting college students. Subjects also completed questionnaires. Results indicated that the Nominal Group Technique, while most effective for creative projects, will be enhanced when combined with the elaboration/interaction of unstructured group activities. (Contains 20 references and 1 table of data. Appendixes present instructions for each group and 2 questionnaires.) (Author/RS)