Attention and personality as predictors of creative cognition and achievement
Conference Contribution ResearchOnline@JCUAbstract
Creative people fulfil some of society's most vital roles, such as providing inspiration and alleviating suffering. However, the definition and measurement of creativity is inconsistent across paradigms. Attention and personality have both been identified as predictors of creative cognition and achievement; however, the relationship of these three variables together has not been examined. Latent inhibition is the capacity to screen 'irrelevant' stimuli from conscious awareness. Attenuated latent inhibition and trait openness are theorised to reduce screening capacity, this increasing the probability of combining novel and meaningful information to produce a creative outcome. We examined the relationship between creativity, global versus local attention, and the Big Five Personality traits. The sample consisted of 43 (22 females, 21 males) local community members who varied in age from 18-75 years old. Creative cognition was assessed via the Remote Associates Test (RAT) (Mednik, 1962; Bowden & Jung-Beeman, 2003). Latent inhibition was measured via the Navon Figures task (Navon, 1977), otherwise known as the 'global/local letters task'. Openness was measured via the 44-item version of the Big Five Inventory (BFI) (John, Donahue & Kentle, 1991). Creative achievement was assessed via the Creative Achievement Questionnaire (CAQ) (Carson et al., 2003). Analysis identified a link between openness and creative cognition and achievement; remaining personality traits were not related to creative achievement. Although we found that participants were more accurate on congruent trials on the Navon Figures task, we did not find the expected reaction time advantage on congruent trials, which we suspect is the result of online testing. Our data also suggest the presence of a floor effect on the remote associates test, such that participant performance was far poorer than anticipated. We suggest this floor effect impacted our null findings in relation to creativity and attention. Our findings highlight the challenges of undertaking creativity research and reiterate the importance of adequate construct operationalisation.
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ACPID 2019: Australian Conference on Personality and Individual Differences
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1
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Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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Australian Conference on Personality and Individual Differences
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Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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