Personality and creativity
DOI: 10.23951/2307-6127-2026-2-153-161
The article outlines the prospect of combining research on personality and creativity. These concepts, although distinct, are related and complementary. Personality and creativity are viewed as multiple constructs. This perspective leads to the concept of the creative personality, which synthesizes and integrates these constructs in a cross-theoretical manner. Personality theories that influence creativity are termed “donor theories.” Their ideas merge with those of creativity theories and modify them, creating hybrid effects. Central to a creative personality is divergence, along with its parallel features of alternatives and complements. This system includes the individual’s self-concept, needs (intrinsic and extrinsic motivation), attitudes, and goals. Creativity itself is a cognitive construct with divergent and plural qualities, making the creative personality both divergent and integrative. A new classification of creative personalities emerges, overlapping with existing personality typologies. Three pathways of personality traits focus on creativity. They may represent a single trait, multiple traits, or a profile that includes polarities of their traits. Personality as a single trait regards a fundamental aspect of personality rather than a cognitive skill. Many authors agree that creativity is a common personality trait, although they disagree on its precise nature. A number of personality traits deliver partly their resource and potential to creativity. These include independence, broad interests, openness to new experiences, flexibility, and a propensity for risk. A personality trait profile is not only a quantity of traits, but also their relationships, including polarities. The concept of creative personality views it along three axes: personality traits, their transfer to creativity, and the changes of creativity itself. Combining these axes yields their integration and the creative personality appears. It includes personality traits as donors and modification of creativity in the form of hybrids. In conclusion, the theoretical study of creative personality yields significant insights.
Keywords: personality, creativity, creative personality, divergence, structure, integration
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Issue: 2, 2026
Series of issue: Issue 2
Rubric: PSYCHOLOGY
Pages: 153 — 161
Downloads: 11