Personality and boredom proneness in the prediction of creativity and curiosity

Abstract

The present study investigated the contributions of an overall personality taxonomy (HEXACO) and boredom proneness to creativity and curiosity. Past research has indicated that creativity and curiosity are related processes that are informed by personality variables. Prior, largely theoretical, work also suggests that the tendency to experience boredom may be linked to creativity and curiosity. In the present study, hierarchical multiple regressions were used to evaluate the role of personality and boredom proneness in the prediction of creativity and curiosity. The results confirmed the importance of personality (especially Openness to Experience) as an important predictor of creativity and curiosity. Furthermore, we found that boredom proneness was a positive predictor of curiosity in several forms once its shared variance with overall personality structure was partialled out. In addition, while the literature has found that boredom as a state triggers creativity, the results of this study indicate that boredom as a personality trait is not predictive of creativity. These findings suggest several interesting possibilities. Of note, if its inhibited qualities could be overcome, boredom proneness might be able to play a positive role in curiosity.