Does Personality Provide Indicators of Design Thinking Capacity?

Abstract

Design thinking takes an adaptive and holistic view toward product and user needs. It involves engaging in observation, fast learning, visualization, prototyping, and enhancing customer experience. Personality traits have been widely examined in the education field and at the same time design thinking is the main topic of design education. However, until now, there has been a lack of related studies investigating these two variables. As a result, the purpose of the current study is to examine the relationship between design thinking and personalities among Chinese design undergraduates. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 95 first-year Chinese fashion design college students in Taiwan. Two major findings were recorded. Based on zero-order correlations, some variables of personality and of design thinking were positively correlated among our Chinese undergraduates; however, taken as a whole, the structural equation modeling did not support this relationship. Further, age and gender did not play a role in these relationships.

Design Thinking and Creativity: An Empirical Study on Their Correlation

“…Taken as a whole, the design thinking process requires four elements: (a) empathy, allowing designers to see the world from multiple perspectives; (b) optimism, the ambition to create a better product and overcoming a challenge; (c) experimentalism, constantly asking questions and rethinking and reworking ideas; and (d) collaboration, team members seeking mutual input and information. Concerning individuals' personality, Tsai (2019) found that design thinking correlated with personality (e.g., extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness). These findings echo the preceding discussion of the four elements of design thinking.…”

An Empirical Study of the Creativity, Imagination, and Design Thinking of Taiwanese Design Undergraduates

“…Tsai (2018) reported high internal consistency and a robust four-dimensional factor solution of the TDTS through confirmatory factor analysis. In addition, in Tsai's (2019) study, the TDTS shows an appropriate tool for capturing design thinking of college students. In other words, the measurement of the TDTS displays its acceptable validity and reliability.…”