Individualism–collectivism and the quantity versus quality dimensions of individual and group creative performance

Using experiments, this research examines the effects of individualism–collectivism (I–C) on creative performance in solitary and group brainstorming contexts. Affirming the individualistic and collectivistic character of the Canadian and Taiwanese samples, the quantity of ideas generated was substantially higher for Canadians whereas the quality (originality) of ideas generated was higher for Taiwanese, within both independent/interdependent contexts. Canadians were more confident in their creative abilities (in both solitary/group settings), and had a greater propensity to voice disagreement (both quantity/intensity of negative verbalizations uttered) within group contexts.