Key points
- Controlled experiment with 60 participants found AI image exposure increased design fixation during ideation.
- The AI supported group produced fewer, less varied and less original ideas than baseline.
- Outcomes depended heavily on how participants approached prompt construction.
Summary
A controlled experiment with 60 participants tested how exposure to generative AI image outputs affected design fixation and divergent thinking during ideation. The study found that AI-supported participants produced fewer, less varied, and less original ideas than the control group. Results were mediated by prompt construction behaviour, suggesting the tool's effect on creativity is not neutral. The findings directly inform how studio briefs should sequence AI use to avoid narrowing student ideation.
Related items
- Graphic Design Education in the Era of Text-to-Image Generation
- Empowering Student Learning in HE with Generative AI Art Applications: Systematic Review
Source
Source: ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2024 ↗ (Research)
Cite this item
ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2024 (2024). ‘The Effects of Generative AI on Design Fixation and Divergent Thinking’, ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems 2024. Available at: https://dl.acm.org/doi/full/10.1145/3613904.3642919
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