Abstract
Previous studies on the genetic basis of creativity have mainly focused on the biological mechanisms of divergent thinking, possibly limiting the exploration of possible candidate genes. Taking a cognition-based perspective, the present study investigated the genetic basis for both the divergent and the convergent thinking components of creativity. A total of 321 Chinese university students were recruited to complete the Guildford Unusual Using Test (UUT) for divergent thinking capability and the Remote Associates Test (RAT) for convergent thinking capability. The polymorphism of rs2576037 in KATNAL2 was related to the fluency and originality component scores of UUT, and the polymorphism of rs5993883 in COMT, rs362584 in SNAP25 was related to the RAT performance. These effects remained significant after considering the influence of age, gender and intelligence. Our results provide new evidence for the genetic basis of creativity and reveal the important role of gene polymorphisms in divergent and convergent thinking.
Highlights
Creativity, the ability to develop new and useful ideas, is the key driving force behind scientific, technological and cultural innovation (Sternberg & Lubart, 1999; Diedrich et al, 2015)
The adjusted Creative Achievement Questionnaire (CAQ) score was significantly correlated with all the three Unusual Using Test (UUT) component scores but not the Remote Associates Test (RAT) score
As the selection of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) was based on a broader scope considering the creativity-related cognitive functions and capabilities, our results provide new information for the genetic influences on creativity
Summary
Creativity, the ability to develop new and useful ideas, is the key driving force behind scientific, technological and cultural innovation (Sternberg & Lubart, 1999; Diedrich et al, 2015). Given the widely acknowledged importance of creativity, studying its psychological basis has attracted much attention in past decades. With recent advances in molecular genetics, exploring the genetic basis of creativity has attracted increasing interest in the field of psychology as well. Finding creativity characteristic genes would help explain the individual differences in creative behaviors, providing a deeper understanding of the biological and the psychological basis of creativity. The majority of genetic exploration on creativity has taken a biological perspective, with a special focus on the dopamine (DA) system (Reuter et al, 2006; Runco et al, 2011; Mayseless et al, 2013; Zhang, Zhang & Zhang, 2014a). Within the DA system, the DA D2 receptor gene (DRD2) and the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene (COMT) are of most interest. Several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in DRD2 have been
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