ArticlePublisher preview available

From Creative Potential to Creative Achievements: Do Emotional Traits Foster Creativity?

Authors:
Natia Sordia at Tbilisi State University
Natia Sordia
Khatuna Martskvishvili
Khatuna Martskvishvili
Khatuna Martskvishvili
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Aljoscha C. Neubauer at University of Graz
Aljoscha C. Neubauer
Read publisher preview
Download citation
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract

Creative potential realized in creative achievement changes the world and defines progress. Accordingly, the investigation of factors that contribute to the process of achieving creative accomplishments seems essential. The relationship between creativity and personality was a thoroughly studied subject almost from the very beginning of creativity research, yet even today it is still unclear whether emotion-related personality traits – specifically, trait emotional intelligence and emotional creativity – are the driving factors that help individuals with creative potential to gain creative achievements. In this study, 342 participants (Mage = 21.87, SD = 5.84) took the Alternative Uses and Instances tasks (creative potential); the Inventory of Creative Activities and Achievements (ICAA); the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue); and the Emotional Creativity Inventory (ECI). Results show that trait emotional intelligence (specifically, the sociability factor) and emotional creativity (namely, the novelty aspect) moderate the relationship between creative potential and creative achievements, while this relationship is mediated by creative activities. The study provides insight into which emotional personality traits can facilitate the path from creative potential to real-life creative achievements.
A preview of this full-text is provided by American Psychological Association.
Learn more
Content available from Swiss Journal of Psychology
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
Original Communication
From Creative Potential to
Creative Achievements
Do Emotional Traits Foster Creativity?
Natia Sordia
1
, Khatuna Martskvishvili
1
, and Aljoscha Neubauer
2
1
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tiblisi, Georgia
2
Institute of Psychology, Karl Franzens University of Graz, Austria
Abstract: Creative potential realized in creative achievement changes the world and defines progress. Accordingly, the investigation of factors
that contribute to the process of achieving creative accomplishments seems essential. The relationship between creativity and personality was
a thoroughly studied subject almost from the very beginning of creativity research, yet even today it is still unclear whether emotion-related
personality traits –specifically, trait emotional intelligence and emotional creativity –are the driving factors that help individuals with creative
potential to gain creative achievements. In this study, 342 participants (M
age
= 21.87, SD = 5.84) took the Alternative Uses and Instances tasks
(creative potential); the Inventory of Creative Activities and Achievements (ICAA); the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue); and
the Emotional Creativity Inventory (ECI). Results show that trait emotional intelligence (specifically, the sociability factor) and emotional
creativity (namely, the novelty aspect) moderate the relationship between creative potential and creative achievements, while this relationship
is mediated by creative activities. The study provides insight into which emotional personality traits can facilitate the path from creative
potential to real-life creative achievements.
Keywords: creative potential, creative activities, creative achievements, trait emotional intelligence, emotional creativity
Creativity is the ability to produce work that is original, use-
ful, and generative (Sternberg & Lubart, 1996). It has been
under study for many years and from different perspectives.
Different aspects of the concept –person, process, press,
product, persuasion, and potential (Kozbelt, Beghetto, &
Runco, 2010)–found their way into theories. These aspects
can in turn be classified into two categories: creative poten-
tial and creative performance. Creative performance is
related to product and persuasion and is expressed in unam-
biguous creative behavior. Personality and press theories of
creativity are united in creative potential (Runco, 2008),
which can be described as yet-unfulfilled ability and
subjective processes that are not acknowledged by others.
The ideas generated by people with creative potential
(Barron, 1955; Runco & Jaeger, 2012) are not always
transformed into creative achievements (Eysenck, 1995;
Jauk, Benedek, & Neubauer, 2013). Realization of creative
potential depends on various factors, including motivation,
ability, courage to do something original and useful, and a
love for what you are doing (Torrance, 2003). A number
of different personality traits have been found to determine
real-life creative accomplishments (Jauk et al., 2013;
Torrance, 1969; Torrance, 2003), but it is still not clear
whether emotional personality traits help individuals with
creative potential to accomplish creative achievements.
The current study examines which emotional personality
traits help people to promote and transform creative poten-
tial into creative achievements.
Creative Potential and Creative
Performance
Creative potential is a normally distributed trait (Eysenck,
1995), related to an individual’s cognitive ability to generate
something that is useful and original (Barron, 1955; Runco
& Jaeger, 2012). The potential to be original and at the same
time useful is related to divergent thinking and is assessed
by means of ill-structured problems where many possible
solutions can be found (Guilford, 1950; Runco, 2010).
The amount of possible solutions –quantity of given ideas
–provides one of the indicators of creative potential: flu-
ency. Another indicator –originality –is related to the
uniqueness of the given ideas (Wallach & Kogan, 1965)or
the expert-rated quality of the ideas (Silvia et al., 2008).
For creativity, it is important to distinguish between
creative potential, creative activities, and creative achieve-
ments. People with creative potential may realize this
potential in everyday creative activities and creative
Ó2019 Hogrefe Swiss Journal of Psychology (2019), 78(3–4), 115–123
https://doi.org/10.1024/1421-0185/a000227
This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.
... Previous research has investigated the relationship between DT and EI (Ferdowsi and Razmi 2022;Geher et al. 2017;Giancola et al. 2024;Şahin 2016;Sánchez-Ruiz et al. 2011;Sordia et al. 2019;Tong et al. 2022;Tu et al. 2020). Perhaps the most comprehensive work in this area was a meta-analysis conducted by Xu et al. (2019), which reported a moderate relationship between creativity and EI (r = 0.32). ...
Emotional Intelligence May Be Associated with Some Forms of Creative Potential
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2024
The current study examined the relationship between creative potential, estimated with tests of divergent thinking (DT), and emotional intelligence (EI). Previous research has hinted at a relationship, but the EI–DT relationship may differ as a function of the tasks and the specific components of EI. With this in mind, the present investigation compared two DT tests (Social Games vs. Titles Games) and examined whether or not the Interpersonal and Intrapersonal subscales of EI were more associated with DT than the Adaptability and Stress Management EI subscales. The youth version of the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i: YV) was used to measure EI. The measure of EI and the two DT tests were administered to 244 male and female gifted (N = 125) and nongifted (N = 119) high school students in Saudi Arabia. The first objective was to examine whether the EI–DT relationship differs based on the nature of the task of the two DT tests used in the current study (Social Games vs. Titles Games). The second objective was to test whether the Interpersonal and Intrapersonal subscales of EI are more associated with DT than the Adaptability and Stress Management EI subscales. Canonical correlation analysis showed that the relationship between the Social Games test and EI was stronger than the relationship between the Titles Games test and EI. Two path analyses were run: one for the total sample and the second for the gifted sample. The likelihood ratio test showed that the Social Games test was more associated with EQ-i subscales than the Titles Games test for both samples. As expected, the Inter- and the Intrapersonal subscales of the EQ-i were more highly related to Social Games fluency and originality scores compared with the Stress Management and Adaptability subscales. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
View
... In gifted children, creative self-efficacy was considerably positively predicted by EI (Chen & Cheng, 2023 for instance, that employee creativity is moderated by EI through good affect. Similar to this, creativity moderate the relationship between potential for creativity and accomplishments (Sordia et al., 2019). The idea of creativity has, nonetheless, been the subject of extensive research and has been connected to personality traits as well (El Othman et al., 2020). ...
Moderating Role of Emotional Intelligence: Exploring the Association between Personality Traits and Creativity in Young Adults
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2024
The paper looked into the potential moderating role that emotional intelligence might play between personality traits and creativity in young adults. The following hypotheses were put forth: a) personality traits, emotional intelligence, and creativity would have a strong positive relationship; b) personality traits and emotional intelligence would predict creativity; and c) emotional intelligence would moderate the relationship between personality traits and creativity. Using a non-probability sampling, 200 young adults (n = 100 women and n = 100 men) aged 18 to 35 years (M = 23.85, SD = 3.74) were recruited for this cross-sectional correlational study. Findings indicated a significant positive connection among personality traits, emotional intelligence and creativity. Moreover, neuroticism and emotional intelligence were found to predict creativity significantly. Lastly, emotional intelligence moderated the relationship between personality traits (openness to experience and extraversion) and creativity. These indigenous findings would have significant implications for young adults, researchers, counsellors, and educational psychologists for awareness, policy-making and further research endeavours.
View
... Based on cognitive processing theory (Mayer et al. 2008), EI and creative thinking represent completely different cognitive abilities, which may be the reason for low correlation levels of EI and domain-general creativity (Zenasni and Lubart 2009;Sordia et al. 2019). However, based on Emotional Motivation Theory (Gable and Harmon-Jones 2010), people with high EI are more competent at sustaining and using positive affect. ...
The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Domain-Specific Creativity: The Mediating Role of Resilience and the Moderating Effects of Gratitude
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2022
Creativity incorporates both domain-general and domain-specific ideas. While previous studies have explored the impact of emotional intelligence (EI) on creativity in both domains, a consensus has not been reached, and the mechanism is currently unclear. In the present study, we examined which aspect of creativity EI was most strongly associated with in a group of undergraduates. Moreover, we explored the moderated mediation effect between EI and domain-specific creativity. In Study 1, 532 undergraduates completed questionnaires measuring EI, convergent and divergent creative thinking, and creative achievement. The results revealed that the most reliable positive correlations were between EI and domain-specific creativity. In Study 2, 926 undergraduates completed measurements of EI, resilience, gratitude, and creative achievement. The results revealed that resilience mediates the relationship between EI and creative achievement. Furthermore, gratitude moderated the indirect effect of EI on creative achievement through resilience. The indirect effect of EI on creative achievement was stronger for high-gratitude individuals than for low-gratitude individuals. This orientation and other results are discussed. Overall, our findings add further nuance to the relationship between EI and creativity in different domains. This study serves as a basis for other contributions aligned with these concepts.
View
... In contrast to intelligence, which usually refers to analytical skills, creativity refers to generating ideas and behaviors in new or familiar situations. Creative potential is the latent ability of an individual to create something original when given the opportunity (Lubart et al., 2003); this component is distinct from creative achievement, which is the potential reflected in creative behaviors and products (Sordia et al. 2019). ...
Creativity is associated with higher well-being and more positive COVID-19 experience
Article
Full-text available
  • Apr 2022
  • PERS INDIV DIFFER
We investigated whether creativity is associated with higher well-being and more positive COVID-19 experience. Participants (N = 252) filled out a creativity measure during the COVID-19 pandemic, they rated their satisfaction with life, positive affect and stress experienced in the last month, and indicated the extent to which they perceived COVID-19 as a positive experience. More creative individuals were more satisfied with their lives after controlling for perceived stress and personality. Results of a serial mediation showed that creativity fostered more positive emotions, which lowered perceived stress, which then led to a more positive COVID-19 experience. Findings add to the literature showing the beneficial effects of creativity on well-being, and point to the utility of introducing interventions that would foster creative thinking to improve quality of life and resilience to life adversities.
View
Emotional Intelligence May Be Associated with Some forms of Creative Potential
Preprint
Full-text available
  • Aug 2024
The current study examined the relationship between creative potential, estimated with tests of divergent thinking (DT) and emotional intelligence (EI). Two DT tests were used, one commonly used to estimate creative potential (Titles Game) and the other focusing on social problems (Social Games). The youth version of the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory ( EQ-i: YV) was used to measure EI. The sample comprised 244 male and female gifted (N = 125) and nongifted (N = 119) high school students in Saudi Arabia. The first objective was to examine whether the EI-DT relationship differs based on the nature of the task of the two DT tests used in the current study (Social Games vs Titles Game). The second objective was to test whether the Interpersonal and Intrapersonal subscales of EI are more associated with DT than the Adaptability and Stress Management EI subscales. Canonical correlation analysis showed that the relationship between the Social Games test and EI was stronger than the relationship between the Titles Game test and EI. Two path analyses were run: one for the total sample and the second for the gifted sample. The likelihood ratio test showed that the Social Games test was more strongly associated with EQ-i subscales than the Titles Game test for both samples. As expected, the Inter and the Intrapersonal subscales of the EQ-i were highly related to Social Games fluency and originality scores compared with Stress Management and Adaptability subscales. Limitations and future directions are discussed.
View
View
View
View
The Effect of Experimental Manipulation of Self-Objectification on Creative Potential in Adolescents
Article
  • Apr 2022
The study explored the impact of experimentally induced state self-objectification on creative potential in visual domain in mid-adolescence. The experiment was conducted in a group of 140 adolescents at the age of 14–16: 70 boys (Mage = 15.21; SD = .81) and 70 girls (Mage = 14.99; SD = 0.83), randomly allocated to two groups: experimental and control. The state self-objectification was obtained by means of a magnifying mirror, and measured by the State Self-Objectification Questionnaire. In both groups the Test for Creative Thinking – Drawing Production was administered twice (in A and B versions, randomly selected). Statistical analyses were performed with a mixed model ANOVA (2 drawings x 2 groups x 2 sexes). Results showed that mid-adolescent girls are susceptible to state self-objectification to a greater extent than the boys, and the experimentally induced state self-objectification has an impact on creative potential in the visual domain in the groups of adolescent boys and girls.
View
NEW CHALLENGES IN THE FORMATION OF LABOR POTENTIAL IN THE EDUCATIONAL SPHERE
Article
  • Jan 2021
The article deals with the theoretical issues of the formation of labor potential of the educational sector. The role of creativity in the formation of labor potential of teachers and its influence on the formation of non-standard skills is defined. The article is devoted to the influence of creativity and creativeness on the development of the country. It is proved that the creative potential of the country influences an index of innovative development and the place of Ukraine in a rating "Global Innovation Index" is analyzed. Methods of estimation of creative potential are stated, also in article the basic criteria of conformity of parameters of creativity in the field of labor potential are disclosed. Own definition of the creative potential of the participant of educational process is offered. The basic principles of development of creative potential of participants of educational process are allocated. The most significant factors inducing Ukrainian students to receive higher education abroad and threats of international educational migration for Ukraine were determined. The article also discusses factors contributing to the process of achieving creative success, which at first glance may seem less important than financial or other production factors. The relationship between creativity and personality has been the subject of careful study by the authors of the article. But at the moment it is not clear whether personality characteristics are related to emotions, in particular emotional intelligence and emotional creativity, which are the driving factors that help people with creativity to realize their innovative ideas. Thus, the authors show the relevance and necessity of such research in both entrepreneurship and education. For further development it is necessary to analyze education in the sphere of education and the need for new approaches to the development of labor potential of professional education. Thus, the main idea of the article is aimed at explaining the processes of developing creative potential of educational process participants in modern conditions, which, in its turn, implies, first of all, creative nature of their activity, which is especially important for pedagogical sphere of activity.
View
Emotional Creativity Inventory: Factor Structure, Reliability and Validity in a Georgian-speaking Population
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2017
The concept of emotional creativity is based on a social constructivist theory of emotion and refers to an individual's ability to experience and express novel, sincere, and effective mixtures of emotions. The present research examines the psychometric properties of the Georgian version of Emotional Creativity Inventory (G-ECI; Averill, 1999). 834 individuals across five studies completed the G-ECI. Results from exploratory factor analysis indicate that the factor structure of the original ECI broadly replicates in the Georgian translation. The Cronbach's alpha reliabilities of the G-ECI scales are mostly acceptable. There are significant gender differences. Examining the construct validity of G-ECI with other constructs (namely, with emotional intelligence, creativity and flow) showed the expected relationships. In conclusion, the Georgian version of the emotional creativity inventory seems well suited for future research purposes.
View
View
Assessment of Real-Life Creativity: The Inventory of Creative Activities and Achievements (ICAA)
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2017
This article introduces the Inventory of Creative Activities and Achievements (ICAA), a broad-based assessment of individual differences in real-life creativity. The ICAA provides independent scales for the frequency of engagement in everyday creative activity and the level of creative achievement across 8 creative domains. A formal test analysis based on 7 Little-C samples and 2 Pro-C samples (overall N = 1,566) provides evidence for the reliability and validity of the ICAA test scores. The analyses shed light on the prevalence of specific creative activity and achievement and examine the relevance of personality, creative potential, and intelligence across domains of creativity. The findings further suggest that the assessment of creative activity is particularly suited for Little-C creativity, whereas the assessment of creative achievement appears more appropriate for Pro-C creativity. The ICAA offers researchers a broad and versatile assessment tool for studying creativity across domains and levels.
View
შემოქმედებითი პოტენციალის საკვლევი ინსტრუმენტის ქართული ვერსია: ფსიქომეტრული მახასიათებლები
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2017
მოცემული კვლევის მიზანია შემოქმედებითი პოტენციალის საკვლევი ინსტრუმენტის ქართული ვერსიის ფსიქომეტრული მახასიათებლების განსაზღვრა . კვლევაში მონაწილეობას იღებდა 523 ინდივიდი (205 კაცი , 318 ქალი ; M=27,49 SD=12,49) . კვლევის შედეგების თანახმად , სანდოობის მაჩ ვენებლები აკმაყოფილებს ფსიქომეტრული ინსტრუმენტისთვის რეკომენდებულ მნიშვნელობას . ქართულ ვერსიაში დასტურდება ორი ფაქტორის - იდეათა ორიგინალობისა და იდეათა სიუხვის - არსებობა , რომლებიც ლოგიკურ მიმართებაშია , როგორც ინტელექტის , ასევე , პიროვნული ნიშნების მაჩვენ ებლებთან . კერძოდ , იდეათა ორიგინალორობისა და იდეათა სიუხვის მაჩვენებლები მნიშვნელოვან კავშირშია ინტელექტსა და გამოცდილებისადმი ღიაობასთან . იდეათა სიუხვე და იდეათა მოქნილობა კი უარყოფითად უკავშირდება კეთილსინდისიერებას . საერთო ჯამში , შემოქმედებითი პოტენციალი ს საკვლევი ინსტრუმენტი , ძირითადი ფაქტორული სტრუქტურისა და სკალების თავისებურებების , სხვა კონტრუქტებთან გამოვლენილი ლოგიკური კავშირების გამო, ქართულ პოულაციაზე მისი შემდგომი გამოყენების თვალსაზრისით , საკმაოდ ოპტიმისტური პროგნოზის საშუალებას იძლევა
View
Emotional Creativity as Predictor of Intrinsic Motivation and Academic Engagement in University Students: The Mediating Role of Positive Emotions
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2016
Objective: Emotional creativity (EC) implies experiencing a complex emotional life, which is becoming increasingly necessary in societies that demand innovation and constant changes. This research studies the relation of EC as a dispositional trait with intrinsic motivation (IM) and academic engagement (AE). Methods: A sample of 428 university Chilean students, 36.5% men and 63.5% women, with ages from 18 to 45 years-old (M = 20.37; DT = 2.71). Additionally, the mediating function of class-related positive emotions in this relation is explored. Results: The obtained data indicate that developing high levels of dispositional EC enhances the activation of positive emotions, such as gratitude, love and hope, in the classroom. Furthermore, EC predicts IM and AE of university students by the experience of positive emotions. Conclusion: These results compel us to be aware of the importance that university students can understand the complexity of the emotional processes they undergo. A greater control of these emotions would allow students to maintain higher levels of interest in their studies at the different educational stages and to avoid the risk of school failure.
View
View
Parenting Style, Basic Psychological Needs, and Emotional Creativity: A Path Analysis
Article
  • Apr 2018
This study examined the relationship between parental styles and emotional creativity and investigated the mediating role of the fulfillment of basic psychological needs in this relationship. The population included 3372 undergraduate students, among whom, 375 (177 females and 198 males) were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling method. The respondents filled in three questionnaires as follows: 1) the Emotional Creativity Inventory (ECI), 2) the Parents as Social Context Questionnaire (PSCQ), and 3) the Basic Psychological Needs Scale (BPNS). A path analysis showed that the components of parenting style could predict students’ emotional creativity. In detail, the warmth and structure styles of parenting positively and the coercion and chaos styles of parenting negatively predict emotional creativity of students. The dimensions of autonomy and competence (of satisfying the basic psychological needs) had a mediating role between parenting style and emotional creativity. These results showed the importance of factors (parenting style and basic psychological needs) influencing emotional creativity of students. A greater focus on satisfying the dimensions of basic psychological needs (i.e. autonomy and competence) and proper parenting style (i.e. warmth and structure styles) could lead to a higher level of creativity among students.
View
Creativity
Article
  • Sep 1950
The subject of creativity has been neglected by psychologists. The immediate problem has two aspects. (1) How can we discover creative promise in our children and our youth, (2) How can we promote the development of creative personalities. Creative talent cannot be accounted for adequately in terms of I.Q. A new way of thinking about creativity and creative productivity is seen in the factorial conceptions of personality. By application of factor analysis a fruitful exploratory approach can be made. Carefully constructed hypotheses concerning primary abilities will lead to the use of novel types of tests. New factors will be discovered that will provide us with means to select individuals with creative personalities. The properties of primary abilities should be studied to improve educational methods and further their utilization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
View
Leader emotional intelligence and subordinate job satisfaction: A meta-analysis of main, mediator, and moderator effects
Article
  • Jun 2016
  • PERS INDIV DIFFER
Based on a meta-analysis, leaders' emotional intelligence (EI) positively relates to subordinates' job satisfaction (ρ̂ = 0.308). All three EI streams (ability, self-report, mixed) exhibit significant incremental validity and relative importance (RW) in the presence of personality and cognitive ability in predicting subordinates' job satisfaction (ability EI: ΔR2 = 0.002, RW% = 3.5%; self-report EI: ΔR2 = 0.021, RW% = 25.3%; mixed EI: ΔR2 = 0.085, RW% = 49.9%). Leaders' EI demonstrates significant incremental validity and RW in the presence of subordinates' EI in predicting subordinates' job satisfaction (leaders' EI: ΔR2 = 0.054, RW% = 48.0%). Subordinates' EI positively relates to leaders' EI and mediates the relationship between leaders' EI and subordinates' job satisfaction. Moderator analyses indicate that (1) ability EI has a lower association with subordinates' job satisfaction than self-report EI and mixed EI; and (2) leaders' EI more positively relates to subordinates' job satisfaction in low in-group collectivistic or low humane oriented cultures.
View
View