People who believe that creativity is an important part of their self-concept and those with a greater fear of negative evaluation from others tend to exhibit a stronger link between their creative potential and their real-life creative output, according to new research published in the Journal of Individual Differences.
“Studies show that most of us have the potential to be creative, but only some of us have transferred this potential into real-life creative accomplishments,” said study author Natia Sordia, an assistant professor of psychology at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University.
“It is very interesting to untangle what helps people to realize their creative potential in achievements and what impedes them. Besides examining the idea itself, which is very interesting to me (every research is me-search, as they say), the good thing is that we can use the results of the study to help people realize their potential.”
In the new study, 273 individuals completed two commonly used tests of creative ability: alternative uses tasks and instances tasks. In alternative uses tasks, participants are required to generate as many creative uses of everyday objects as they can within a given timeframe. In instances tasks, participants are required to generate as many answers to a question (such as “What can make noise?”) as they can within a given timeframe.
To measure real-life creative output, the researchers had the participants complete a questionnaire known as the Inventory of Creative Activities and Achievements. The participants also completed assessments related to creative personal identity, fear of negative evaluation, and rejection sensitivity.
The researchers found that having a greater creative personal identity amplified the relationship between creative ability and real-life creative achievement. In other words, the link between creative ability and creative achievement was stronger among those who agreed with statements such as “Creativity is an important part of myself.”
Surprisingly, the researchers found similar results among those with a greater fear of negative evaluation. The link between creative ability and creative achievement was stronger among those who agreed with statements such as “When I am talking to someone, I worry about what they may be thinking about me” and “I am frequently afraid of other people noticing my shortcomings.”
However, the researchers found that a related concept, rejection expectancy, appeared to hinder the relationship between creative ability and real-life creative achievement. “In other words, those who expect rejection are less likely to express their potential in everyday creative activities,” Sordia and her colleagues wrote in their study.
But what could explain the seemingly contradictory findings regarding fear of negative evaluation and rejection expectancy? The researchers noted that fear of negative evaluation describes a person’s tendency to be anxious about feedback from other people in general. Rejection expectancy, on the other hand, is focused on close others — such as friends and family members. For example, a person with a high level of rejection expectancy would expect that a friend would not want to listen and be supportive if they reached out to talk about something important.
Those with a greater fear of negative evaluation, the researchers said, might be more open to feedback and criticism, which enhances their creative output. “Having creative potential is not enough. We all have it at some point. If we want to create something important – something that will be acknowledged as being creative – we should consider other people’s opinions, and we have to take into account the feedback we receive,” Sordia told PsyPost.
But she noted that because “the results of the study are somewhat inconsistent,” it is important “to see if we receive the same results with different groups of participants or while using different research instruments.”
The study, “Creative Self and Fear of Rejection:The Role of Feedback-Related Individual Characteristics in Creativity“, was authored by Natia Sordia and Khatuna Martskvishvili.
