Boundless Creativity: Evidence for the Domain Generality of Individual Differences in Creativity

This study investigated correlates of domain-general and domain-specific components of creativity. 158 college students completed a questionnaire that assessed their motivational and personality traits (i.e., intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, creative personality, and originality in word association) as well as intellectual abilities (SAT verbal and quantitative scores). Under two different instruction conditions (standard instruction or explicit “be creative” instruction), students also took a battery of multi-item, product-based tests of creativity in three domains (artistic, verbal, and mathematical creativity). Factor analyses showed evidence of domain-generality of creativity. Furthermore, results from structural equation models showed that motivational and personality traits and intellectual abilities were associated with the domain-general component of creativity. Only one variable (SAT quantitative score) was found to be associated with the domain-specific component of mathematical creativity under the explicit “be creative” instruction condition. These results affirm the domaingenerality of creativity and challenge researchers to identify correlates of domain-specific components of creativity