Creative Experiences Questionnaire Research Articles

Turkish adaptation of a brief self-report measure of fantasy proneness: The Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ)

This research addresses the construct of fantasy proneness that is unexplored in the context of Turkey by adapting and assessing the psychometric properties of the widely accepted Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ), aiming to fill a significant gap in existing literature and contribute to the understanding of this construct and its correlates in a population aged between 18 and 60 years. The Turkish version of the CEQ demonstrated face validity, aligning participant responses with fantasy, imagination, and dissociation (n = 15). Exploratory Factor Analysis confirmed a single-factor solution based on the scree plot graphic, without item removal (n = 310). Reliability and validity analyses (N = 464) affirmed robustness with adequate internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.78, McDonald’s Omega = 0.77) and test-retest reliability (n = 110, r = .72). Convergent validity was supported by correlations with dissociative experiences (r = .51) and magical ideation (r = .51). Discriminant validity was evident in negative correlations with social desirability (r = -.10, p < .05), notably, impression management (r = -.12, p < .05), indicating unbiased capture of fantasy experiences. Predictive validity was supported by a positive correlation observed between fantasy proneness and interest in creative activities (r = .21). Participants engaged in or aspiring to engage in creative activities professionally scored notably higher, broadening implications for creativity research. Similarities between the original and Turkish versions suggested cultural variations do not significantly affect fantasy proneness in adults. Considering limitations, future research should explore age-related variations of fantasy proneness as well as its association with social desirability. Implications extend to clinical research, emphasizing consideration of fantasy proneness and its correlates in psychopathological and broader psychological health studies in Turkey and globally.

Structural Relationships Among Mental Boundaries, Childhood Imaginary Companions, Creative Experiences, and Entity Encounters.

This study investigated relationships between thin mental boundary functioning, creativity, imaginary companions (ICs), and anomalous '(entity) encounter experiences.' A convenience sample of 389 respondents completed the Revised Transliminality Scale, Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences, Creative Experiences Questionnaire, Survey of Strange Events, and a measure of Childhood Imaginary Companions. Competing testing with path analysis found that the best-fitting model was consistent with the causal chain of 'Thin Boundaries (transliminality and schizotypy) → Creative Experiences → ICs → (Entity) Encounter Experiences.' These results suggest that deep-types of ICs (i.e., showing apparent independent agency) are perhaps most accurately characterized as syncretic cognitions versus hallucination-like experiences. The authors examine these findings relative to study limitations, as well as discussing the need for future research that approaches ICs as a special mental state that can facilitate allied altered-anomalous experiences. In this context, this study furthered understanding of relationships between conscious states related to mental boundaries, childhood imaginary companions, creative experiences, and entity encounters.

Openness to Experience Mediates the Relation Between Fantasy Proneness and Creative Thinking

Fantasy proneness has recently been related to creative thinking. To try and explain this link, we examined whether the relation was mediated by Openness to Experience (openness) because fantasy proneness and openness involve an imaginative thinking style. Study 1 assessed fantasy proneness (Creative Experiences Questionnaire), openness, and creative (divergent) thinking in 87 undergraduates (77% women, mean age 21 years). Study 2 replicated the method with museum visitors of similar age (58% women, mean age 23 years). Our hypotheses received partial support: although fantasy proneness did not directly predict creativity in either study, bivariate correlations in both studies revealed that fantasy proneness positively predicted openness, and openness positively predicted creativity. In addition, openness mediated the relation between fantasy proneness and creativity, but only in Study 2. These findings reveal potentially useful relations between fantasy proneness, openness, and creativity, and show that findings from student populations are not necessarily generalizable.

Exploring the relationship between fantasy proneness and delusional beliefs in psychosis and non-clinical individuals

Delusions are a core feature of psychopathology while fantasy proneness (FP) is a trait that describes a predisposition towards fantastical thinking, vivid mental imagery and an overactive imagination. The relationship between FP and delusional experiences has not yet been examined in the literature. The current study hypothesised that FP would be significantly associated with and predict delusion severity as well as the associated delusional distress, preoccupation and conviction. Ninety-five patients with current psychosis (schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder) were assessed for overall delusional severity using the PANSS (clinician-rated) and the Peters Delusions Inventory (PDI; self-report). FP was assessed using the Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ). Forty-six healthy control participants also completed the PDI and CEQ. Significant positive correlations were observed between FP and delusion severity in both groups; and distress, preoccupation and conviction in patients only. Linear regression analyses, controlling for manic and depressive symptoms, revealed that greater FP predicted higher levels of severity, distress, preoccupation, and conviction associated with delusions in patients, and higher severity only in healthy controls. The findings highlight the role of specific cognitive biases in delusional experiences, and empirically support models of unusual belief formation and maintenance.

Investigating the association between fantasy proneness and emotional distress: the mediating role of cognitive coping strategies

Fantasy proneness (FP; the tendency to immersion in imagination) is linked to psychopathology and suggested to be a maladaptive coping strategy. However, some evidence suggests it can be a positive trait. We examined whether the FP-emotional distress relationship is mediated by coping strategy. Participants completed the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale, the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire measure of coping strategies, the Creative Experiences Questionnaire FP scale (Study 1; N = 248) and the newly developed Fantasy Questionnaire which measures fantasy across two subscales, creative and imaginative (Study 2; N = 208). In Study 1, FP presented positive associations with emotional distress, with maladaptive coping strategies self-blame, rumination and catastrophizing, and with adaptive strategies positive refocussing, planning and positive reappraisal. Mediation indicated that self-blame and rumination partially accounted for the negative relationship between FP and distress, while positive refocussing ameliorated it. In Study 2, creative fantasy showed no relationship with distress, though imaginative fantasy was positively associated, with self-blame mediating the relationship. A tendency to fantasise can negatively influence psychological outcomes particularly in the presence of maladaptive coping. Our data support the suggestion that fantasy proneness is multi-componential and that not all aspects are linked to negative emotion.

Fantasy Proneness Correlates With the Intensity of Near-Death Experience.

Little is known about the personality characteristics of those who have experienced a “Near-Death Experience” (NDE). One interesting candidate is fantasy proneness. We studied this trait in individuals who developed NDEs in the presence (i.e., classical NDEs) or absence (i.e., NDEs-like) of a life-threatening situation. We surveyed a total of 228 individuals. From those, 108 qualified as NDE experiencers (i.e., Greyson NDE scale total score ≥7): 51 had their NDEs in the context of a life-threatening situation; 57 had their NDEs not related to a life-threatening situation. From those who did not meet the criteria to be considered “experiencers,” 20 had their NDE in the absence of a life-threatening situation; 50 had faced death but did not recall a NDE and finally, 50 were healthy people without a history of life threat and/or NDE. All participants completed a measure of NDE intensity (the Greyson NDE scale) and a measure of fantasy proneness (the Creative Experiences Questionnaire). People reporting NDEs-like scored higher on fantasy proneness than those reporting classical NDEs, individuals whose experiences did not meet the NDE criteria and matched controls. By contrast, individuals reporting classical NDEs did not show different engagement in fantasy as matched controls. The reported intensity of the experiences was positively correlated with engagement in fantasy. Our findings support the view that strong engagement in fantasy by individuals recalling NDEs-like might make these persons more likely to report such subjective experiences when exposed to suitable physiological and/or psychological conditions (e.g., meditation, syncope).

Positive Valence in Adult Imagination

Fantasy proneness, absorption, and daydreaming are all associated with the higher order construct, imaginative involvement. However, there is no measurement instrument that assesses all three together, and existing measures are biased toward negatively valenced items. This research presents a balanced and unified measure, adapted from the Creative Experiences Questionnaire, the Tellegen Absorption Scale, and the Short Imaginal Processes Inventory, by incorporating new items addressing positive valence and novelty in imaginative involvement. In Study 1 ( N = 201), we found that our hypothesized four lower order factors underlie imaginative involvement: Negative Fantasy, Sensory Imagery Intensity, Daydream Novelty, and Positive Fantasy. Reliability analyses yielded favorable internal consistency of each scale, and confirmatory factor analysis showed an adequate model fit. Study 2 ( N = 91) provided further convergent and predictive validation of the four-factor model by showing that Positive Affect, Extraversion, Negative Affect, and personality-based Openness were differentially associated with the four lower order factors of imaginative involvement. Finally, imaginative involvement was associated with Surgency, Openness, and Positive Affect, which speaks to the constructive value of imaginative cognitions. Taken together, these results suggest that imaginative involvement is associated with positive emotion, and that the Imaginative Involvement Questionnaire provides a reliable measure for a broad range of individual differences related to imagination, offering implications for a richer theoretical account of the construct.

Fantasy Proneness and Personality Profiles

This study was aimed to analyze the relationships of fantasy proneness with the personality domains encompassed within the Five-Factor Model of personality in an adult sample. A 15-item scale from the Creative Experiences Questionnaire with adequate internal consistency was used to measure fantasy proneness. The results showed two components of fantasy proneness. First one was characterized by vividness-intensity of imaginings that remained hidden for other people; the second component was composed of developmental antecedents of pretense and make-believe activities. Both components were correlated with Neuroticism (anxiety, depression, and impulsivity), Openness to Experience (fantasy, aesthetics, and feelings), and with general psychological distress and severe psychopathological symptoms. However, only the first component was associated with low Conscientiousnees (competence, order, dutifulness, and self-discipline), and only the second one was correlated with Extraversion (activity, excitement seeking, and positive emotions). Our results fitted with the notion that fantasy proneness might be a multidimensional construct.

Correlates of the Multidimensional Construct of Hypnotizability: Paranormal Belief, Fantasy Proneness, Magical Ideation, and Dissociation

Hypnotizability is a multifaceted construct that may relate to multiple aspects of personality and beliefs. This study sought to address 4 known correlates of hypnotizability to aid in its understanding. Eighty undergraduates completed the Magical Ideation Scale (MIS), the Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ), the Australian Sheep-Goat Scale (ASGS), and the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) and then were administered the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS). All 5 scales were significantly correlated. Participants higher in hypnotizability scored higher on the CEQ and the MIS. The findings demonstrate the influence of fantasy proneness and magical thinking on hypnotizability and support the theory that hypnotizability is a complex interaction of multiple traits.

Fantasy proneness and counterfactual thinking

Counterfactual thinking (CFT; mentally simulating alternatives to reality) is central to learning and motivation. Two studies explored the relationship between CFT and fantasy proneness, a personality trait typified by excessive fantasies hard to distinguish from reality. In study1, participants completed a fictional diary entry which was used to measure spontaneous CFT and the Creative Experiences Questionnaire measure of fantasy proneness. Fantasy proneness was significantly correlated with the generation of counterfactual thoughts. Both CFT and fantasy proneness have been independently associated with low mood and study2 included a measure of negative emotional state (the Depression, Anxiety and Stress scale) in addition to the CEQ and CFT. Fantasy proneness and negative emotion both predicted CFT, but no interaction between them was observed. The results suggest that individuals high in fantasy proneness have a general tendency to think counterfactually.

An individual differences approach to the suggestibility of memory over time

We examined how certain personality traits might relate to the formation of suggestive memory over time. We hypothesised that compliance and trust relate to initial acceptance of misinformation as memory, whereas fantasy proneness might relate to integration of misinformation into memory after later intervals (relative to the time of exposure to misinformation). Participants watched an excerpt from a movie—the simulated eyewitness event. They next answered a recall test that included embedded misinformation about the movie. Participants then answered a yes/no recognition test. A week later, participants answered a second yes/no recognition test about the movie (each yes/no recognition test included different questions). Before both recognition tests, participants were warned about the misinformation shown during recall and were asked to base their answer on the movie excerpt only. After completing the second recognition test, participants answered questions from the Neuroticism Extroversion Openness Personality Inventory-3 (McCrae, Costa, & Martin, 2005) and Creative Experiences Questionnaire (Merckelbach, Horselenberg, & Muris, 2001). While compliance correlated with misinformation effects immediately after exposure to misinformation, fantasy-prone personality accounted for more of the variability in false recognition rates than compliance after a 1-week interval.

The 5-Dimensional Personality Test (5DPT): Relationships With Two Lexically Based Instruments and the Validation of the Absorption Scale

Although intended to assess vulnerability factors associated with psychopathology, the 5-Dimensional Personality Test (5DPT) shows at least a superficial similarity to instruments that adhere to the lexical tradition in personality psychology. To investigate to which extent this similarity goes, this article compares the 5DPT with 2 lexically based measures, the NEO–Five Factor Inventory and the HEXACO–Personality Inventory–Revised. Moreover, as the NEO Openness to Experience construct demonstrates little relationship with maladaptive personality, whereas the 5DPT Absorption factor was hypothesized to underlie the emergence of positive schizotypic symptoms and related phenomena, the 5DPT was also correlated with the Schizotypic Syndrome Questionnaire (SSQ), the Creative Experiences Questionnaire, Thalbourne's Transliminality Scale, the Launay–Slade Hallucination Scale, and the OLIFE–Unusual Experiences scale. On examining the correlations between the various instruments, it was ascertained (a) that there is no need to extend the theory-informed 5DPT with a 6th dimension similar to the HEXACO factor Honesty–Humility, (b) that the 5DPT dimensions were found on average to share only a moderate amount of variance with the Five-factor model/Big Five factors, and (c) that the 5DPT Absorption scale turned out as anticipated to correlate with the positive symptom scales of the SSQ, as well as with the remaining criterion scales that measure similar constructs.

Psychoform and somatoform dissociation, traumatic experiences, and fantasy proneness in somatoform disorders

Many studies reported a positive correlation between self-reported traumatic experiences and self-reported dissociative symptoms. Critics postulated that this relation is mediated by the personality trait fantasy proneness. This was confirmed by a number of studies, that mainly used non-clinical samples. The present study was carried out in a clinical sample of patients with somatoform disorders ( n = 86). Participants completed the Dissociation Experiences Scale-Revised Edition (DES-II), Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ-20), Traumatic Experiences Checklist (TEC) and Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ). Results show that both psychoform and somatoform dissociation are moderately correlated with traumatic experiences, and that the mediating influence of fantasy proneness on the relation is negligible. It is argued that the mediating role of fantasy proneness found in previous studies may be an artefact of student samples.

Individual differences in object and spatial imagery: Personality correlates

In the present study, we investigated whether individual differences in object and spatial imagery are correlated with two personality variables, fantasy proneness and dissociation. One hundred and eight undergraduates filled out the Object-Spatial Imagery Questionnaire, the Dissociative Experience Scale, the Creative Experiences Questionnaire, questions on frequency of active role-playing games (RPGs), and the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire. Object, but not Spatial, imagery was related to fantasy proneness and frequency of engagement in live-action RPGs, revealing that this visual style affects broader aspects of people’s life than previously expected. Dissociation did not correlate with either imagery measure. We conclude that object and spatial imagery are different constructs, related to different personality variables, with a specific association between object imagery and fantasy proneness.

Why Dissociation and Schizotypy Overlap

A number of studies have noted that dissociative symptoms (e.g., feelings of derealization, depersonalization, memory complaints, absorption) overlap with the tendency to report psychotic-like experiences (i.e., schizotypy). The question arises as to what may account for the shared variance between dissociation and schizotypy. The present study investigated whether fantasy proneness, cognitive failures, and childhood trauma may jointly explain the dissociation-schizotypy link. To this end, we administered the Dissociative Experiences Scale, the Schizotypal Personality Scale, the Creative Experiences Questionnaire, the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire to a sample of undergraduates (N = 185). Fantasy proneness, cognitive failures, and childhood trauma together explained substantial part (58%) of the dissociation-schizotypy link. The present study succeeded in explaining a considerate part of the shared variance between dissociation and schizotypy.

Dreaming to reduce fantasy? – Fantasy proneness, dissociation, and subjective sleep experiences

Fantasy proneness refers to an extensive involvement in fantasy and daydreaming. Previous studies have shown that fantasy proneness overlaps with dissociative tendencies, as measured with the Dissociative Experiences Scale. We tested the hypothesis that deviant sleep experiences form the critical link between fantasy proneness and dissociation. Undergraduate students ( N = 205) completed the Creative Experiences Questionnaire, the Dissociative Experiences Scale, and the Iowa Sleep Experiences Survey. Self-reports of sleep experiences, such as narcolepsy, vivid and unusual dreams, and deviant nocturnal experiences, but not lucid dreaming, were related to both fantasy proneness and dissociation. However, the relationship between fantasy proneness and dissociation was only partially accounted for by these sleep experiences. This suggests that deviant sleep experiences but also other, as yet unknown, factors contribute to the overlap between fantasy proneness and dissociation.

Personality correlates of fantasy proneness among adolescents

Personality correlates of fantasy proneness were studied in a sample of Spanish adolescents. Four-hundred and ninety-five adolescents filled out the CEQ (Creative Experiences Questionnaire, Merckelbach, Horselenberg, & Muris, 2001) and a checklist of personality adjectives (from Goldberg, 1990) tapping Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. We obtained a 20 item scale of fantasy proneness with adequate internal consistency. A factor analysis yielded three components of fantasy proneness: fantasy vividness, fantasy to escape, and make-believe. Girls scored significantly higher than boys both on the total scale as on all three factors. No age differences in fantasy proneness were found. Fantasy proneness was associated with Neuroticism, Openness, Agreeableness, and low Conscientiousness. Although the three subscales were related to Neuroticism, fantasy vividness and make-believe were related to Agreeableness, whereas fantasy to escape was associated with Openness to Experience and low Conscientiousness. These results suggest that the specific components of the ability to fantasize may have different functions in adolescence. Future studies should clarify which components of fantasy are predictive of the subsequent development of symptoms.

The Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ): a brief self-report measure of fantasy proneness

The current article describes the psychometric qualities of the Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ), a brief 25-item self-report measure of fantasy proneness. Findings indicate that the CEQ demonstrates adequate test-retest stability and internal consistency. CEQ scores appear not to be related to social desirability. The CEQ was found to be strongly correlated with a concurrent measure of fantasy proneness. Furthermore, there are substantial correlations between the CEQ and standard measures of absorption, schizotypy, and dissociation. Bearing in mind that these constructs are thought to be intimately linked to fantasy proneness, this pattern of correlations supports the validity of the CEQ. The CEQ might be fruitfully used as a brief research scale in several domains (e.g. studies on pseudomemories).

Fantasy proneness and cognitive failures as correlates of dissociative experiences

The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) is a widely used instrument for screening dissociative psychopathology. Yet, some authors have argued that dissociation is a poorly defined concept and that the experiences tapped by the DES may well be related to everyday cognitive failures and/or fantasy proneness. To examine this issue, two independent studies were conducted. In study 1, a sample of 77 undergraduate students completed the DES, the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ) and a fantasy proneness scale (i.e. the Creative Experiences Questionnaire; CEQ). Positive and significant correlations were found between DES, on the one hand, and CFQ and CEQ, on the other hand. Partial correlations showed that both CFQ and CEQ make an unique contribution in predicting DES scores. These findings were replicated in study 2 that also relied on a nonclinical sample ( N=51). Taken together, the findings of study 1 and 2 underline the idea that relatively benign phenomena such as cognitive lapses and fantasy proneness drive the dissociative experiences sampled by the DES. This suggests that there are limitations to the DES's utility as a screening tool for dissociative pathology.