The Hierarchical Personality Structure of Aspiring Creative Writers

• Published in: Creativity research journal Vol. 26; no. 2; pp. 192 - 202
• Main Authors: Maslej, Marta M., Rain, Marina, Fong, Katrina, Oatley, Keith, Mar, Raymond A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Taylor & Francis Group 01-04-2014; Routledge; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Age Differences; Canada; Correlation; Correlation analysis; Creative Writing; Creativity; Foreign Countries; Gender Differences; Hierarchical Linear Modeling; NEO Five Factor Inventory; NEO Personality Inventory; Personality; Personality Measures; Personality Traits; Predictor Variables; Psychological tests; Regression (Statistics); Scores; Studies; Undergraduate Students; Writers; Writing Skills; Canada
• ISSN: 1040-0419; 1532-6934
• DOI: 10.1080/10400419.2014.901086

Empirical studies of personality traits in creative writers have demonstrated mixed findings, perhaps due to issues of sampling, measurement, and the reporting of statistical information. The goal of this study is to quantify the personality structure of aspiring creative writers according to a modern hierarchal model of trait personality. A sample of aspiring writers (n = 93) and nonwriters (n = 114) completed the Big Five inventory. Correlations with personality were carried out at three levels: the Big Five traits, the two higher-order factors (stability and plasticity), and the more detailed facet-level. Consistent with past research, creative writers scored higher on trait openness. Extending past work, the hierarchical analysis also revealed novel correlates for the higher-order meta-traits (stability and plasticity) and some of the lower-order facets (aesthetics, ideas, activity, assertiveness, and depression). Individuals with higher scores on agreeableness, stability, and assertiveness were less likely to be aspiring writers. The likelihood of being a writer also decreased with age. Taken together, these findings indicate that aspiring creative writers differ from nonwriters in trait personality, with differences emerging at all levels of the personality hierarchy.