Relationships of personality to differential conceptions of creativity: A systematic review.

Abstract

While neither the notion of personality being related to creativity, nor the idea that the diverse conceptions and measures of creativity can cloud the field are new, the 2 thoughts are rarely combined. Using a systematic review methodology, 1 overarching question was examined: Do differential creativity-personality relationships exist based on different creativity conceptions or measurement schemes? In the review, 188 reported relationships of creativity to personality across 96 peer-reviewed, empirical studies were examined and coded for definitions and measurements of creativity. Results support standing beliefs regarding openness and extraversion as strong positive predictors. However, the amount of creativity variance explained differed as much as 8 times depending on the type of assessment. Production measures and self-reported measures were more related to personality than ideation and externally rated measures. The 4 elements of divergent thinking also demonstrated differential relationships to personality. The results of this analysis encourage subsequent research that is more discerning when interpreting the relationships between creativity and personality.

Relating Personality and Creativity: Considering What and How We Measure

“…Neuroticism was a more negative influence in this study (previously observed in Batey et al., ; Furnham & Bachtiar, ; Pretz & McCollum, ). Though conscientiousness did not show the opposite sign as in the earlier systematic review (Puryear, et al., ), neuroticism did. Neuroticism had the smallest overlap in the beta weight confidence intervals, suggesting it was the personality factor with the most differential influence on creativity when considering this grouping.…”

“…The overall findings of the present study align with those found in previous research (cf. Feist, ; Karwowski & Lebuda, ; Puryear, et al., ). For example, openness to experience was routinely the most salient predictor of creativity among the personality factors.…”

“…Research Question 1 related to conceiving of creativity as an issue of ideation‐potential or production‐achievement. Recent work suggests production‐achievement measures are generally more influenced by personality (Puryear, et al., ). Although the magnitude of the difference was not as great in the present study, the difference in creativity variance predicted was still sizeable (57% higher for production‐achievement).…”

“…While the previous systematic review (Puryear, et al., ) offered insights into potential differential relationships, because the nature of the methodology allowed for such piecing together of results (i.e., one personality facet to one measure in one study, a different facet and different measure in another), a certain sense of coherence was missing. By examining the full Big Five and a diverse set of creativity measures in a single sample, we have attempted to capture a cleaner snapshot of the creativity–personality relationships.…”

The Mediating Role of Creative Process Engagement in the Relationship between Shyness and Self‐Rated Creativity

“…For instance, Ebeling-Witte, Frank, and Lester (2007) found that shyness is associated with neuroticism and (negatively related to) extraversion. Similarly, creativity has been found to have a positive relationship with openness and extraversion (Puryear, Kettler, & Rinn, 2016). Therefore, in an objective to examine the impact of shyness on creativity, it is meritous to explore the role of personality traits in the relationship.…”