Creativity and the Five-Factor Model

doi:10.1006/jrpe.1996.0013

Journal of Research in Personality

Volume 30, Issue 2, June 1996, Pages 189-203

https://doi.org/10.1006/jrpe.1996.0013 Get rights and content

Abstract

This study examined the relations among the five-factor model of personality, creative ability, and creative accomplishments. Seventy-five subjects completed measures of verbal creative ability and openness to experience and listed their creative accomplishments. Openness to experience and extraversion were positively correlated with creative ability, controlling for measures of academic ability. Agreeableness was negatively correlated with creative accomplishments. Both verbal creativity and openness had significant positive correlations with creative accomplishments. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that these relations were qualified by significant creative ability by openness and creative ability by conscientiousness interactions. At high levels of openness, creative ability shared a positive linear relation with accomplishments. Individuals high in creative ability but low on openness to experience reported relatively few creative accomplishments. In contrast, conscientiousness was related to heightened accomplishments by individuals low in creative talent. Results are interpreted as illustrating the interplay of abilities and traits in promoting creative behavior.

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^☆: We thank Matthew Langan, Roberta Mancuso, Jeanette Richards, and Emily Stemmerich for their assistance in data collection and coding. The research reported in this paper was conducted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an undergraduate honors thesis by Lori McKee Walker. Preparation of this manuscript was supported in part by a NIMH/FIRST Award R29 MH54142-01 to Laura A. King. Portions of this research were presented at the American Psychological Association 102nd Annual Convention, August, 1994, Los Angeles, CA. Address correspondence and reprint requests to Laura A. King, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX 75275-0442.

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Regular ArticleCreativity and the Five-Factor Model☆

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Creativity and the Five-Factor Model☆