Purpose Among various psychosocial factors, negative social comparison, attention blocking to stimuli, and cognitive interference via information overload are considered most critical in hindering the effective performance improvement of computer-based idea generation. Given that the effect of negative social comparison along with a plausible solution based on the notion of performance feedback and goal setting has been successfully addressed, this study focused on the remaining issues of “attention blocking to stimuli and cognitive interference via information overload” and attempted to find a way to alleviate the effect of such process losses on performance. Design/methodology/approach A 2 × 4 between-subjects design was used, crossing cognitive ability (high and low) and personality (extroversion and introversion). Five subjects per each treatment were randomly selected to make the sample size equal. The group simulator was used to measure individual-level performance. The dependent variables were the quantity of and quality score of ideas. The manner by which these performance measures were operationalized was consistent with prior studies. An additional analysis using the number of diverse ideas was also conducted. Findings Three arguments were made in this study: (1) high cognitive individuals would perform better than low cognitive individuals, (2) extraverted individuals would perform better than introverted individuals, and (3) cognitive ability and personality would interact such that individuals in Q1 would have the highest performance. Cognitive ability had an effect on quality not quantity. Personality had an effect on both quantity and quality. An interaction between cognitive ability and personality was not found due to small sample size despite the use of the group simulator.