Lexical Divergence in Collaborative Creativity

Many investigators of collaborative performance employ paradigms where success is maximized by conversational convergence, such as referential card tasks and map tasks. With these paradigms, researchers demonstrated that convergence benefits performance. Performance in other collaborative domains, however, may be better served by linguistic divergence. For creative tasks, for example, divergence can be a critical ingredient in a dyad's ability to succeed as a collaboration. We measured turn-by-turn lexical divergence produced during a creative activity we developed called the collaborative humor task. We compared performance on this task for individuals working alone and in collaborative pairs. While pairs did not improve on the funniness or creativity of the individuals in the pairs. turn-by-turn conversational distinctions did lead to funnier and more creative jokes. Results highlight how conversations that make space for diverse contributions across participants can benefit group processes.