Psychopathology, creativity, and aggression: The power of an Eysenckian-informed discriminant analysis

Abstract

We investigated the predictive power of Psychoticism in distinguishing among five groups of individuals whose behavior should be reflective of Psychoticism: those presenting with psychopathology, creativity, or aggression. These five groups comprised: a group of 27 individuals suffering from mental disorders without a history of aggression, compared to a group of 23 individuals suffering from mental disorders with a history of aggression; our third group comprised 27 individuals who scored in the highest 10% on an Aggression Questionnaire; our fourth group comprised 26 creative individuals who studied in recognized institutions of fine arts and music or worked in creative fields; a control group of 27 participants having no psychiatric past, no indication of aggression, and who did not work in creative fields, comprised our fifth group. A discriminant analysis supported a model employing five predictors (Psychoticism, Neuroticism, Lie Scale, Schizotypy, and Absorption) and two interactions (Neuroticism × Psychoticism, and Neuroticism × Absorption). The individual group hit rates ranged between 35% and 65%. All groups had a higher level of Psychoticism (P) compared to the control group, which supports the Eysenckian view of a P-psychosis relationship, a P-psychopathy relationship, and a P-creativity relationship.