The Big Five and divergent thinking: A meta-analysis

Abstract

Exploring personality characteristics that distinguish creative people from others has been a topic of interest for decades. Past research on creativity and the Big Five showed some clear patterns such that openness and extraversion, also denoted as the plasticity of personality, are positively correlated with creativity indicators. However, the extent to which this pattern applies to divergent thinking (DT) has yet to be examined. In this meta-analysis, we investigated the relationship between the Big Five personality traits and DT. We analyzed 156 effect sizes for openness, 110 for extraversion, neuroticism, and conscientiousness, 107 for agreeableness, and 17 for honesty-humility drawn from 63 studies with a total sample of 24,298 participants. In line with previous research, we did find a significant, albeit weak, relationship between DT and openness (r = 0.20, 95 % CI [0.18, 0.22]), as well as extraversion (r = 0.09, 95 % CI [0.06, 0.12]). We also assessed moderating effects of DT measure type and scoring, Big Five measure type, age group, culture, and publication year. We discuss the implications of our findings for creativity and personality research and assessment.