Using survey questions to identify and learn more about those who exhibit design thinking traits

Questions intended to identify design thinking traits were developed and tested on a national survey distributed to U.S. college students. By applying exploratory factor analyses and regression models to the survey data, nine of the questions were mapped to five related characteristics of design thinking: collaboration, experimentalism, optimism, feedback-seeking, and integrative thinking. Survey questions alone cannot fully identify the qualitative traits of design thinkers, but these nine questions do enable basic exploration of compelling relationships between design thinking traits and other variables. Our analyses found design thinking traits correlated with higher achievement; with a desire for careers helping others and solving societal problems; and with recognition of and desire to address sustainability obligations.