This raises the question: Why are brainstorming advocates so adamant that brainstorming works? It turns out researchers have an answer to this question as well. Bernard Nijstad and colleagues at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands found that brainstorming groups are subject to what they call “the illusion of group productivity.”40 This is a phenomenon in which groups overestimate their performance. They also report high levels of satisfaction with their work despite their lesser performance.
