Imitation and Creativity: Beneficial Effects of Propulsion Strategies and Specificity

Prior studies examining imitation of exemplar solutions have produced a mixed pattern of findings with some studies indicating that exemplar imitation contributes to creative problem-solving and other studies indicating that it may inhibit creative problem-solving. In the present effort, it is argued that the effects of exemplar imitation on creative problem-solving depend on the strategies people use when working with exemplars. In the present study, people were asked to provide advertising campaigns in response to a marketing problem. Prior to starting work on this problem, manipulations were made in exemplar content. Imitation strategies used in problem-solving, for example, forward incrementation, and redefinition, were assessed. It was found that imitation strategies were strongly related to the production of higher quality, more original, and more elegant advertising campaigns. Moreover, use of these strategies was facilitated when more specific information was presented in exemplar solutions. The implications of these findings for understanding the role of imitation in creative problem-solving are discussed.