Introduction

Group creativity research has a relatively short history. Although there is a long tradition of research on individual creativity, for many years there was little acknowledgment of the creative potential of groups. In recent years this has changed, and this book provides a comprehensive overview of this work on group creativity. This chapter provides a brief history of the research on group creativity. It also summarizes the key contributions of each chapter, dealing with the impact of individual characteristics or behavior, basic processes or theoretical approaches, various contexts in which group creative occurs, and various applications of group creativity. Finally, we highlight common themes, and suggest directions for future research.