Whether it’s that GCSE painting you still have hung up on the wall in your parents house, the little diary you keep full of your private poetry, or the out-in-the-open brand new project you got up and running at work, maybe it’s time to tone down bragging about just how creative you are…
And that’s because a new study has revealed that creativity is a personality trait commonly found in… psychopaths.
Time to update the CV.
Yep, researchers at De La Salle University in Manila have uncovered a strong link between the two after analysing how 503 people.
They looked at how the case studies responded to risk taking (another trait linked to the psychotic) by following their reactions to gambling opportunities and questionnaires about risk taking.
They found that those who were compelled to take risks were also more creative – and the two qualities together enables them to be more successful in their endeavours.
Of the findings, one of the study conductors said: "We argue that emotional disinhibition, in the form of psychopathic boldness, is actually integral to some creative personalities and functionally related to the creative process.
“Generally then, a creative field might not just shape a person into a more arrogant or dishonest personality, it might be actively selecting them, not for the sake of having disagreeable traits, but because such traits meaningfully co-vary with creativity itself.”
Hmm, just like the chicken and egg all over again…
This is not the first time creativity has got a bad rep. A previous study also demonstrated the creative people are more likely to be dishonest, too.
A study published by the Academy of Management stated: “Four experiments showed that individuals with a creative identity reported higher psychological entitlement and engaged in more unethical behaviors.
"Additionally, when participants believed that their creativity was rare compared to common, they were more likely to lie for money.”
Yikes.
What do you make of this new study?
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