New Methods in Creativity Research

NEW METHODS
IN CREATIVITY RESEARCH:

NEW METHODS
IN CREATIVITY RESEARCH:
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)
and Enduring Visual Products

W. Glenn Grifﬁn, Ph.D. Deborah K. Morrison, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Advertising Chambers Distinguished Professor
SMU - Temerlin Advertising Institute University of Oregon - School of Journalism
Dallas, TX and Communication - Eugene, OR

wgrifﬁn @ smu.edu debmor @ uoregon.edu

unbelievably

SPECIAL GUESTS:
DOUG PEDERSEN
Associate Creative Director / Art Director
Carmichael Lynch - Minneapolis

unbelievably

SPECIAL GUESTS:
DOUG PEDERSEN
Associate Creative Director / Art Director
Carmichael Lynch - Minneapolis

RANDY TATUM
Vice President / Group Creative Director
Martin | Williams - Minneapolis

How can we
better understand
the creative process
in advertising?

FRAMING THE SCHOLARSHIP
Sasser and Koslow (2008)


A “3Ps” research agenda is proposed to help the scholarship
in advertising creativity navigate its “evolutionary stage.”



PERSON



PERSON PLACE



PERSON PLACE PROCESS



the people who
create advertising



the people who the places or
create advertising environments in
which they work



the people who the places or the process they
create advertising environments in follow in developing
which they work creative ideas



the people who the places or the process they
create advertising environments in follow in developing
which they work creative ideas

“The most common advertising creativity research is comprised
of empirical studies of place based perspectives of production.”
Sasser and Koslow (2008), p. 9

PROCESS Sasser and Koslow (2008)

PROCESS Sasser and Koslow (2008)

use of psychographic research the persuasive function
Winter and Russell (1973) Dillon (1975)

the associative model a mathematical model
Reid and Rotfeld (1976) Gross (1972)

copywriters’ implicit theories paradox and serendipity
Kover (1995) Bengstson (1982)

the templates method enhancing and encouraging
Goldenberg, Mazursky and Solomon (1999) El-Murad and West (2004)

think aloud tasks and teams executional factors on recall,
Johar, Holbrook and Stern (2001) comprehension and persuasion
Stewart and Koslow (1989)
creative directors and research
Chong (2006) consumers’ views on creative ads
Ang, Lee and Leong (2007)
ﬁnding a creative voice
Stephens and Burke (1974) a consumer response approach
Smith and Yang (2004)

copywriters’ implicit theories
Kover (1995)

“Copywriters’ Implicit Theories of
Communication: An Exploration”

Kover (1995)

Journal of Consumer Research

Kover (1995)


in-depth interviews with 14
professional advertising writers

Kover (1995)



copywriters’ implicit theories asked each to discuss personal
Kover (1995)
creative process



Kover (1995)
creative process

thoughtful, detailed, reﬂective
responses about their work +
revealed “implicit theories” about
how their minds worked



Kover (1995)
creative process


rich data validated the observation
and analyzation of thinking via ﬁrst-
person retrospective accounts

* INDIVIDUALS bring
unique cognitive approaches
to their work within speciﬁc
domains. Amabile (1996)

Kover (1995)


asked each to discuss personal
creative process


developmental models of the
creative process
Grifﬁn (2008)

Kover (1995)


creative process


creative process
Grifﬁn (2008)

“From Performance to Mastery:
copywriters’ implicit theories Developmental Models of the
Kover (1995) Creative Process”


creative process


creative process
Grifﬁn (2008)

Journal of Advertising


creative process


creative process
Grifﬁn (2008)


in-depth interviews with 14 in-depth interviews with 44
professional advertising writers students in portfolio programs

creative process


creative process
Grifﬁn (2008)



asked each to discuss personal asked each to discuss personal
creative process creative process


creative process
Griffin (2008)



asked each to discuss personal asked each to discuss personal
creative process creative process

thoughtful, detailed, reflective thoughtful, detailed, reflective
responses about their work + responses about their work +
revealed “implicit theories” about revealed “implicit theories” about
how their minds worked how their minds worked

Each student created a
rough ad based on a
creative brief.

This assignment was
the basis for each
student’s personal
narratives about their
own creative process.

These ads were
analyzed and revealed
different approaches
to execution based
on level of expertise.

The Performance Model of Advertising Studentsʼ Creative Process The Mastery Model of Advertising Studentsʼ Creative Process

The Performance Model of Advertising Studentsʼ Creative Process The Mastery Model of Advertising Studentsʼ Creative Process

The students’ narratives about process, combined with analysis of their
rough ads, yielded evidence for building two new theoretical models.

METACOGNITION
How we leverage our own
understanding of how we think;
how we mentally supervise the
achievement of a cognitive goal.
Flavell (1979)

three categories of

METACOGNITION

three categories of

METACOGNITION
PERSON

three categories of

METACOGNITION
PERSON TASK

three categories of

METACOGNITION
PERSON TASK STRATEGY

three categories of

METACOGNITION
Everything you
believe about yourself
as a thinker.

three categories of

METACOGNITION
Everything you Your assessment of
believe about yourself the resources you will
as a thinker. need to complete
a project.

three categories of

METACOGNITION
Everything you Your assessment of How you combine
believe about yourself the resources you will both person and task
as a thinker. need to complete knowledge to achieve
a project. an ultimate goal.

three categories of

METACOGNITION

“As an art director,
I am more skilled
in visualization than
articulation.”

three categories of

METACOGNITION

“As an art director, “When the creative
I am more skilled brief leaves me with
in visualization than more questions than
articulation.” answers, I do some
of my own research.”

three categories of

METACOGNITION

“As an art director, “When the creative “I wanted to get
I am more skilled brief leaves me with started on this project
in visualization than more questions than as soon as possible,
articulation.” answers, I do some since I was unfamiliar
of my own research.” with the product and I
tend to procrastinate
in those situations.”

HYPOTHESIS:
Creative professionals in advertising do
understand their own creative process
for developing ideas and they can articulate it.

HYPOTHESIS:
(i.e., they are metacognitively aware)

HYPOTHESIS:

HUNCH:

HYPOTHESIS:

HUNCH:
They can visualize their creative process.

APPROACH:

Analyze the cognitive phenomenon
(the creative process in advertising)
at the intersection of...

APPROACH:

what creatives say
about the process

APPROACH:

what creatives say
about the process +

APPROACH:

what creatives say
about the process + what creatives show
about the process

methods from
qualitative research
in psychology and
art therapy

What DO creatives say
about the process?

INTERPRETATIVE
PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS
Smith (1994, 1996)

INTERPRETATIVE
Smith (1994, 1996)

IPA is concerned with the detailed
examination of individual lived
experience and how individuals make
sense of that experience.
Eatough and Smith (2008)

INTERPRETATIVE
Smith (1994, 1996)

IPA is concerned with the detailed
examination of individual lived
experience and how individuals make
sense of that experience.
Eatough and Smith (2008)

theoretical roots: hermeneutics + phenomenology

IPA Smith (1994, 1996) GROUNDED
An approach to THEORY
Glaser & Strauss (1967)
research guided by a
particular world-view
and epistemology. It is
not simply a research
methodology.

- the privileged account
- focus on phenomena,
lived experiences

IPA Smith (1994, 1996) GROUNDED
An approach to THEORY Glaser & Strauss (1967)
research guided by a
particular world-view A systematic generation of
and epistemology. It is theory from data that
not simply a research contains both inductive and
methodology. deductive thinking.
- the privileged account
- focus on phenomena, - researcher holds privilege
lived experiences - broad application for various forms
of qualitative data

INTERPRETATIVE
Smith (1994, 1996)

LIVED EXPERIENCE encompasses the embodied, socio-culturally and
historically situated person who inhabits an intentionally interpreted
and meaningfully lived world. Eatough and Smith (2008)

INTERPRETATIVE
Smith (1994, 1996)


based on in-depth interviews that examine speciﬁc phenomena with
which individuals are intimately familiar; i.e. repeated/regular
experiences for those individuals

INTERPRETATIVE
Smith (1994, 1996)


based on in-depth interviews that examine speciﬁc phenomena with
which individuals are intimately familiar; i.e. repeated/regular
experiences for those individuals

IPA is devoted to the micro analysis of convergence and divergence
within a small set of accounts. We compare accounts to establish the
common features.

CREATIVE PROFESSIONALS:
the individual ideation (creative) process

IPA Smith (1994, 1996)

smaller sample sizes (typically less than 30)

IPA Smith (1994, 1996)


semi-structured interviews most common; also
diaries and unstructured life histories

IPA Smith (1994, 1996)



both participant’s and researcher’s
sensemaking of the lived experience (the
topic) are recorded / compared

IPA Smith (1994, 1996)



both participant’s and researcher’s
sensemaking of the lived experience (the
topic) are recorded / compared

generally, a ﬂexible, non-prescriptive stance
with respect to sample size or form of data
collection

What CAN
creatives show about
the process?

USING AND INTERPRETING
VISUAL IMAGES Reavey and Johnson (2008)

“Qualitative psychology has always fought to be recognized as a
credible approach to research within the methodological fetishism of
the positivistic mainstream ... this might explain an initial reluctance
to embrace visual methodologies.” p. 297


Barthes (1973, 1995) - semiotic tradition: words are not the only way
people engage with the world



“... the way in which we live feelings and experiences are not always
available to verbal description.” - p. 299



“... the way in which we live feelings and experiences are not always
available to verbal description.” - p. 299

Collection of visual data can be less obtrusive because offers agency
to study participants rather than limiting their responses to those
elicited by a researcher’s questions.

Enduring Visual Products
Visual data collected for the
purpose of augmenting verbal
description of personal experiences.
Temple and McVittie (2005)

what creatives say
about the process + what creatives show
about the process

PARTICIPANTS
creative professionals (CDs, ADs, CWs) ranging from 3-40
years of experience; primarily drawn from major awards
annuals in recent years + some legends; 300+ contacted,
76 participated

PARTICIPANTS
76 participated

STUDY PACKET

PARTICIPANTS
76 participated

STUDY PACKET
cover letter with overview of the project

PARTICIPANTS
76 participated

STUDY PACKET

17” x 22” process canvas with consent form, instructions
and spaces for participant data and comments on back

PARTICIPANTS
76 participated

STUDY PACKET


postage-paid return envelope

PARTICIPANTS
76 participated

STUDY PACKET


postage-paid return envelope

black Sharpie marker

They call this “data collection.” Help us, please?

You take that brain to work with you every day. You know better than anyone else
how it works. As difﬁcult as the journey can be, you’ve grown to understand more
and more about how you’ll get to that elusive G R E A T I D E A . Your creative
process is yours alone A N D I T M E A N S S O M E T H I N G . It has a life, a
direction, a feel, a style.

So, we’re wondering...

WAH A T D O EYS U R U R C R E A T I V E P R O C E S S LL OOK L I K E ?
YO O
WW A T TD D O E S Y O U R CREATIVE RPROCESS K OL IK E I K E ?
H
H
OES
O
CREATIVE P OCESS LOO
L
K ?

How do you get to the idea? What if you were asked to I L L U S T R A T E the
process? Could you capture it V I S U A L LY — at a level of detail that reveals
your own experience to others?

We study the creative process as it applies to advertising. We’ve taught hundreds
of young art directors and writers, and we know each person thinks about and
develops ideas differently. Those differences are staggering — and unbelievably
interesting!

We’re inviting some of the industry’s best and brightest, including yourself, to show
us their brains.

This is stuff we’d like to capture for posterity. For research and building theory. For
informing the next generation. For a beautiful book that will showcase great minds
and how they work.

We’re providing you with the necessary tools. Use the Sharpie® and the Process
Canvas (both enclosed) to share your unique journey. Please follow the instructions
on the back of that poster-sized sheet before providing us your solution, and return
it to us in the postage-paid envelope.

Think about the thinking, then show it to us.

W. G L E N N G R I F F I N DEBORAH K. MORRISON
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR PROFESSOR
SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF OREGON

I N S T R U C T I O N S
1. Think about your own creative process. Think about the
route you take to ﬁnd ideas.

2. Experiment with illustrating that process on a scratch piece
of paper. Can your visualization (with or without words) offer
someone else an understanding of the process as you
experience it?

3. When you are satisﬁed with your solution, use the Sharpie®
marker (provided) to transfer it to the Process Canvas on the
reverse of this sheet.

4. This is research, folks. You know how this works. We need
you to sign the Consent to Participate (in ink, not Sharpie®)

3. When you are satisﬁed with your solution, use the Sharpie®
marker (provided) to transfer it to the Process Canvas on the
reverse of this sheet.

4. This is research, folks. You know how this works. We need
you to sign the Consent to Participate (in ink, not Sharpie®)
to make this legal in all 50 states. We’d also like to get your
comments on this study and/or your thoughts on process. Just
ﬁll in the box below.

5. Fold this sheet and mail it back to us in the postage-paid
return envelope we’ve provided to you. Please complete the
project and return it no later than:

Thanks for your participation!

FOLLOW-UP
study participants (those who returned a process canvas to
us) were contacted and narratives about their creative
process were collected

New Methods in Creativity Research

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