Being Creative Makes You Happier: The Positive Effect of Creativity on Subjective Well-Being

Abstract

The impact of happiness on creativity is well-established. However, little is known about the effect of creativity on well-being. Two studies were thus conducted to examine the impact of creativity on subjective well-being. In the first study, 256 undergraduate students (Study 1a) and 291 working adults (Study 1b) self-reported their creativity, stress, and subjective well-being. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis showed a positive relationship between creativity and subjective well-being after controlling the effect of self-perceived stress and demographics in both samples. Study 2 then employed an experimental design to examine the causal relationship between creativity and subjective well-being. Half of the 68 undergraduates underwent a creativity priming task followed by a divergent thinking test as well as self-reported stress and subjective well-being. The priming task was found to boost creative performance in the pilot study (Study 2a) and the actual study (Study 2b). Moreover, after controlling the effect of self-perceived stress, ANCOVA analysis showed that participants receiving the priming reported higher subjective well-being scores than their counterparts in the control group. The overall findings not only shed light on the facilitative effect of creativity on subjective well-being but also highlight the necessity of considering the reciprocal relationship of the two constructs in future research.

Creativity is associated with higher well-being and more positive COVID-19 experience

“…Results of this study adds to the literature showing the beneficial effects of creativity on well-being and health (e.g., Tan et al, 2021 ) and point to the utility of introducing interventions that would foster creative thinking in solving daily hassles to improve quality of life and resilience to life adversities.…”

“…In addition, men with higher creativity, as measured with the openness personality factor, live longer: one standard deviation in creativity reduces mortality risk of 12% ( Turiano et al, 2012 ). Creativity was also found to be positively associated with perceived well-being after controlling for the effect of perceived stress and demographic variables in both working adults and undergraduates ( Tan et al, 2021 ).…”

“…We know that creativity may induce positive affect as a consequence: individuals who find creative solutions report to be proud, relieved, and happy for their achievements ( Amabile et al, 2005 ). Being creative may also lead to perceiving a situation as less stressful, for example because individuals are engaging in activities that make them feel more capable to cope with the stressful situation (e.g., Tan et al, 2021 ). Hence, positive affect and stress may be conceived as the mediating mechanisms through which creativity exerts positive effects on the COVID-19 experience.…”

The Creative Services Sector in Polish Cities

“…Some authors also put emphasis on the role of happiness in creativity [72][73][74][75]. For example, Cloutier analysed the relations between sustainable development and well-being in urban areas.…”

Development of Creativity of Future Specialists at Foreign Language Classes: Conditions and Opportunities. Subjective Well-Being

“…In particular, the Malasian researchers, Ch. Tan et al (2021) admot that «сreativity is generally conceptualized as the ability to create products that are original and adaptive. … Originality alone is insufficient.…”