Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, Vol 20(1), Feb 2026, 21-46; doi:10.1037/aca0000638
Evaluating and selecting creative ideas are vital steps in the transition from creativity to innovation. However, research has only recently turned its focus on performance in idea evaluation (i.e., assessment of available options against certain standards such as originality and usefulness) and idea selection (i.e., a dichotomous decision whether to select ideas for further development or implementation). To foster and guide research on idea evaluation and idea selection, shared research paradigms are needed. Thus far, the increased attention for the evaluation and selection of creative ideas has resulted in many scattered tasks, while common ground on how to measure idea evaluation and idea selection performance is lacking. The current systematic literature review, conducted according to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-analyses) guidelines, (a) provides a comprehensive overview and critical assessment of the available idea evaluation and idea selection performance measures and (b) offers a theoretical framework and practical guidelines on how to measure idea evaluation and idea selection performance. In doing so, our systematic review stimulates and guides research efforts into the crucial intermediate step between creativity and innovation: The identification and selection of creative ideas. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved)