Big Five Personality Traits and Creativity

Abstract

<p><strong>Purpose:</strong> Personality traits represent an important driver of creativity. Several studies linked individual personality traits and creativity, yet in most cases, the literature provides contradictory insights. In this study, we quasi-replicate prior studies using a new sample to assess the reliability of previous research. Furthermore, we explore the topic in greater detail, as we also study the relationship of creativity with personality facets, a more fine-grained alternative.</p><p><strong>Methodology/Approach:</strong> The study uses a survey-based sample of students from Denmark. To measure personality traits and facets, we asked respondents to fill 44 items Big Five Personality Inventory. We measured creativity using three items from the HEXACO-60 personality inventory. The data were analyzed using generalized least squares models with gender as a control.</p><p><strong>Findings:</strong> In line with the previous literature, our research showed that Openness to Experience is positively related to creativity. We found similar, yet statistically weaker evidence for the relationship of Extraversion and creativity. In contrast to most of the previous findings, we also reported a negative relationship between Conscientiousness and creativity.</p><p><strong>Research Limitation/Implication:</strong> Our research contributes to the topic of the relationship between personality traits and creativity. Some of the relationships fall into the area where the literature is not coherent. We propose that the explanation may stem from the too broad formulation of personality traits, and we partially show that using personality facets. For this reason, future research needs to go into detail of individual personality traits.</p><strong>Originality/Value of paper:</strong> The paper provides further insight into the relationship between personality and creativity.

The Relationship Between Personality Traits and Entrepreneurial Intention Among College Students: The Mediating Role of Creativity

“…Among these traits, neuroticism has a significant negative impact on creativity ( Amin et al, 2020 ; Shokrkon and Nicoladis, 2021 ), whereas conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness positively and significantly impact creativity ( Mumford, 2011 ). Openness has a positive and significant impact on creativity ( Jirásek and Sudzina, 2020 ; Theurer et al, 2020 ). Extraversion has a positive and significant impact on creativity ( Russ, 2003 ).…”

“…Moreover, conscientiousness, extroversion, and agreeableness positively and significantly impact creativity ( Mumford, 2011 ). Openness has a positive and significant impact on creativity ( Grohman et al, 2017 ; Jirásek and Sudzina, 2020 ; Theurer et al, 2020 ). Creative people can maintain a positive attitude and a high degree of self-confidence when starting a business ( Zhao et al, 2005 ).…”

Vividness of Visual Imagery and Personality Impact Motor-Imagery Brain Computer Interfaces

“…One of the characteristics of conscientious personalities is the lack of fantasy, which may be indicative of a decreased ability to visualize mentally (McCrae et al, 1986). Conscientiousness is also negatively related to creativity (Jirásek and Sudzina, 2020). Creativity is linked to the ability of mental imagery (May et al, 2020), and possibly a lack of creativity in conscientious personalities might also consequence their inferior MI-BCI performance.…”

Conceptual Design of a Socially Intelligent Agent with Triadic Empathy and Theory of Mind for Mental Health Support

“…This theory describes five broad personality traits: extraversion (also known as extroversion), agreeableness, openness, conscientiousness, and neuroticism (OCEAN). The Big Five Personality Traits have been extensively researched to determine their impact on a person's behaviour and persona, from heredity and environment to age and maturation [20]. The Big Five are uniformly distributed in a normal curve and statistically independent of one another.…”

“…Over-conscientiousness, for instance, foretells obsessive-compulsive disorder, whereas low conscientiousness indicates substance abuse as well as other "impulse control disorders". Another central concept is the personality trait of neuroticism, a widely known concept to be associated with depression, distress, anxiety, and bipolar disorders [20]. Therefore, this study will utilise a set of inputs from Big Five Personality Traits as a personality evaluation score in determining the tendency of individual's risk in poor mental health.…”