Designing for the subconscious: A neurois study of priming and idea generation in electronic brainstorming

There has been extensive research on electronic brainstorming (EBS) over the past two decades, yet little is known about how best to design technology to enhance overall team performance. This dissertation seeks to open a new door in EBS design: designing a system for the individual's subconscious. Before effective design interventions can be developed, the cognitive underpinnings of individual-level EBS interactions must be elucidated. These studies provide insight into the core of this issue by examining the neurophysiological correlates of the ideation process, specifically using electroencephalography (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and skin conductance to examine priming-induced changes in cognition and emotion during an EBS session. Furthermore, it extends prior research on the use of priming to enhance EBS performance, creating new design guidelines for EBS systems that are designed for the user's subconscious. The findings show that achievement priming changes cognition in areas of the brain related to creativity which correspond with increases in idea fluency and creativity. While the implications of this study will be directly applicable to design of EBS technology, future studies can examine the use of priming in other collaboration tools. There may also be implications for the design of other forms of technology. The use of NeuroIS to more fully understand information processing in teams can also enhance the collaboration literature, in that it can illuminate individual cognition limitations in team interactions and enhance our understanding of which aspects of team interactions have the biggest "bang for their buck" from a cognitive standpoint. These findings provide several avenues for future research.