The relations of gender and personality traits on different creativities: A dual-process theory account.

Abstract

In the present study we examine the ways in which gender and personality traits are related to divergent thinking and insight problem solving. According to the dual-process theory account of creativity, we propose that gender and personality traits might influence the ease and choice of the processing mode and, hence, affect 2 creativity measures in different ways. Over 300 participants’ responses on the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (Chen, 2006), HEXACO Personality Inventory (Ashton & Lee, 2009; Lee & Ashton, 2004), Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices (Yu, 1993), and performance while conducting insight-problem tasks, are collected. The results show that Openness was positively correlated with divergent thinking performance, whereas Emotionality was negatively correlated with insight problem-solving performance. Women performed better on divergent thinking tests, whereas men’s capabilities were superior on insight problem tasks. Furthermore, Openness exhibited a mediating effect on the relationships between gender and divergent thinking. The relationships among gender, personality, and creative performance, as well as the implications of these findings on cultural differences and real-field creativity, are discussed.