The Association between Creativity,
Schizotypy and Autistic Traits in the
General Population.
Masterthesis
University of Amsterdam
Clinical Psychology
Author
: Laura Guittart
Supervisor
: dr. Annemie Ploeger
Co-assessor
: dr. Ingmar Visser
Date
: 26-05-2014
Student number
: 5795214
Word count abstract
: 179
Word count
: 12.518(excl. table of contents and
Abstract
The objective of this study was to gain insight into the relationship between
(extraordinary) creativity and psychopathology, or more specifically: schizotypal (O-Life) and autistic traits (AQ & SQ-R). Results were procured by relating these traits -also known as subclinical symptoms of psychopathology- to creative achievements (CAQ) in a non-clinical sample. Furthermore, the present study tried to answer the question whether a distinction can be made between artistic and scientific creativity, by conducting a principal components analysis on the CAQ. Results showed no clear distinction between artistic and scientific creativity; different creative achievements did however coincide with different
psychopathology, influenced by gender differences. Overall, positive schizotypy diminished when creative achievements increased, while systemizing increased. Surprisingly, autism and schizotypy do not seem to be related, although positive schizotypy seems to increase when autistic traits diminish. These findings implicate that a more intricate model of creativity is necessary to explain the relationship between creativity and psychopathology. Future research could include everyday creativity in its method, mentally ill participants in its sample and more predictors, mediators and moderators of creativity in its analysis.
Table of Contents
Introduction ... 5
The Great Divide: Artistic and Scientific Creativity ... 5
Challenges Concerning Creativity Research ... 6
Schizophrenia, Schizotypy and Creativity ... 7
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Systemizing and Creativity ... 8
An Association between Schizophrenia and Autism ... 9
Subclinical Symptoms or ‘Traits’ ... 9
Schizotypy, Autistic Traits and Creativity ... 10
The Present Study and its Hypotheses ... 11
Method ... 12
Participants ... 12
Design and Procedure ... 12
Material ... 13
Analysis and Expectations ... 15
Results ... 18
Demographic Information ... 18
The CAQ: Distribution and Validity ... 19
The O-Life, AQ and SQ-R: Reliability, Validity and Distribution ... 20
A Comparison between CAQ, O-Life, AQ, and SQ-R Means of the Present Study and Previous Research…….………21
Principal Components Analysis of the CAQ ... 23
The Overlap in CAQ Domains for Both Sexes ... 24
The Association between Different Creative Domains, Schizotypy and Autistic Traits .. 24
Type of Profession and Psychopathology ... 25
The Association between General Creativity, Schizotypy and Autistic Traits ... 27
The Association between General Creativity and General Psychopathology ... 29
Correlations between O-Life Scales, AQ Scales and the SQ-R ... 29
Discussion ... 30
Findings and Theoretical Implications ... 30
Is There a Divide between Artistic and Scientific Creativity? ... 30
How do Schizotypy and Autistic Traits Relate to Artistic and Scientific Creative Achievement? ... 31
What is the Relationship between Schizotypy and Autistic Traits? ... 32
Perceived and Actual Creativity of Employment Related to Specific Psychopathology? 33 Additional Findings ... 33
Theoretical Implications of the Present Findings ... 34
Cultural Relativity ... 34
Future Research: Everyday Creativity and the CAQ ... 35
Nomothetic Research: Adding Construct Validity ... 36
Extending Schuldbergs’ Model even Further ... 36
The Psychopathology/Creativity Relationship Explained by Thinking Styles? ... 37
Towards Constructing a Model of Creativity ... 37
Conclusion ... 38 Literature ... 40 Appendices ... 47 Appendix A ... 47 Appendix B ... 53 Appendix C ... 56 Appendix D ... 59
“True creative power isolates one and demands something that has to be subtracted from the enjoyment of life .”
-Herman Hesse
Introduction
Mankind has been fascinated by the relationship between psychopathology and creativity since the Ancient Greeks: it was already suggested that there exists a connection between ‘madness’ and inspiration, or rapture, in the time of Aristotle. This idea was also strongly present during the 18th and first half of the 19th century (for an overview, see Runco & Albert, 2010). Empirical evidence for the relationship between creativity and
psychopathology has been gathered in the past few decennia. The relationship between high-end functioning on the one hand and disease on the other hand remains intriguing. How do they oincide? Disorders such as schizophrenia (e.g. Cropley & Sikand, 1973; Hasenfus & Magaro, 1976; Keefe & Magaro, 1980) and bipolar disorder (e.g. Jamison, Gerner, Hammen & Padesky, 1980; Johnson et al., 2012; Kyaga, 2014) are associated with a heightened level of creativity. This is no unequivocal or linear relationship: a lot of creative people are mentally healthy, and people who suffer from a mental disorder are often not able to be creative and productive (Simonton, 2000). It is assumed in the present study that research focused on subclinical symptoms i.e. ‘traits’ of psychopathology, and various domains of creativity, can shed light on the complex relationship between the two phenomena.
The Great Divide: Artistic and Scientific Creativity
Glazer (2009) proposed a possible model for the association between different forms of psychopathology and creativity: “whatever the causal relationship between creativity and madness, the creative ability found within an afflicted individual is intrinsically linked to the predisposing psychopathological traits”. In this vein, she named research dedicated to, amongst others, autism, schizophrenia and the distinction between arts and sciences in the creativity field.The present study will adopt and examine this perspective by proposing that different forms of psychopathology are related to different forms of creativity. On account of previous research (e.g. Nettle, 2006; Wang, Ho, Cheng & Cheng, 2014), a divide is expected between artistic creativity, which is characterized by activities such as making music and sculpting; and scientific creativity, distinguished by activities such as conducting scientific research and inventing. Self-report measures, directed at creative products, were used in the
present study to demonstrate that subclinical schizotypal and autistic symptoms are differently associated with these various forms of creativity. The assumption that creativity is an one-dimensional and general ability was also tested in an explorative manner, to lend more weight to the results of the previous hypothesis.
Challenges Concerning Creativity Research
The first problem that arises when engaging in creativity research is the lack of a universal definition of creativity. The English word ‘creativity’ stems from the Latin word ‘creare’, which means to create, produce, prepare, and “make a choice”.A less broad, and more detailed definition was formulated by Sternberg en Lubart (1996), they describe creativity as ‘the ability to create work that is innovative and original, as well as useful and adjusted”. The present study abides by this definition, by focusing on the originality and societal success of different creative products; the present study interpreted the definition strictly as ‘Big C creativity’, which signifies extraordinary creative achievement that can unambiguously be identified (Sass, 2001; Kozbelt, Beghetto & Runco, 2010) .
Secondly, there is an enormous diversity in research disciplines, theories, domains and postulated underlying mechanisms of creativity (Thys, Sabbe & de Hert, 2014). Different types of research into the relationship between creativity and psychopathology include: biographical studies of eminent individuals, studies of family members of mentally ill patients, studies relating cognitive processes of mental disorders and creativity, studies focusing on subclinical symptoms and creativity and studies that focus on people in creative professions (Nettle, 2006). The present study will follow in the footsteps of, among others, Schuldberg (2001), by focusing on subclinical symptoms instead of diagnosed disorders. Thirdly, there is also an arsenal of empirical methods that can be deployed, such as cognitive tasks and self-report measures (for overviews, see Kozbelt, Beghetto & Runco, 2010; Plucker & Makel, 2010). In addition, there are many facets of creativity that can be researched, such as creative products, the creative process, personal qualities, motivation and attitudes and the absolute societal value of the creative product i.e. the creative place (or press), which are labelled ‘the four P’s of creativity’ (see Kozbelt, Beghetto & Runco, 2010). This multitude of research directions makes it difficult to decide which methodology is suitable to investigate creativity. Since there are several reliable and valid self-report measures available to investigate the creative product (Silvia, Wigert, Reiter-Palmon & Kaufman, 2012), and this is areasonably cost-efficient way of conducting research, the variables in the present study were assessed by a self-report questionnaire directed at
quantifying creative results.
Schizophrenia, Schizotypy and Creativity
Schizophrenia is, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders (DSM-V, 2013), characterized by positive symptoms such as hallucinations and
delusions, as well as negative symptoms such as a lack of emotional reactivity. The words ‘positive’ and ‘negative’ indicate the presence or absence of certain behaviors and symptoms. Claridge (1997) proposed a construct called ‘schizotypy’, which entails a ‘psychotic
vulnerability’ that 1) could exist as a personality trait in the population, this approach is called the ‘quasi-dimensional model’, or 2) represents a risk factor for developing psychopathology, Claridge (1997) called this perspective the ‘fully dimensional model’. Schizotypy is
characterized by four different dimensions: 1) unusual experiences such as hallucinations or superstition, 2) cognitive disorganization, expressed by an entanglement or derailment of one’s thoughts, 3) introvertive anhedonia, the inclination to present oneself as emotionally blunted or introverted, and 4) impulsive nonconformity, which signifies an instable mood or spontaneous, unpredictable behavior (Mason, Claridge & Jackson, 1995; Nettle, 2006). These dimensions can be measured with the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and
Experiences (O-Life; Mason et al., 1995). Because schizotypy is a heterogeneous construct
which reflects the positive and negative symptoms belonging to psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, differences on the O-Life are not indicated by the terms ‘high’ and ‘low’ schizotypy. Instead, the terms ‘positive’ or ‘negative’ schizotypy were adopted to describe variations in scores on the O-Life (Claridge & McDonald, 2009). Positive schizotypy
correlates with the O-Life scales dedicated to unusual experiences, cognitive disorganization and impulsive nonconformity, while negative schizotypy is measured with the O-Life scale aimed at introvertive anhedonia. Besides being a risk factor for developing psychopathology, schizotypy seems to contain some adaptive advantages, which can sometimes lead to
increased mating success (Nettle & Clegg, 2006). People with positive schizotypyical traits such as magical thinking, unpredictable behavior and unusual sensory perceptions are often artistically creative, while people with negative schizotypal traits such as a flattened affect and social reclusion are frequently scientifically creative (Nettle, 2006; Nelson & Rawlings, 2010; Acar & Sen, 2013). Batey and Furnham (2008), however, found that unusual
experiences and impulsive nonconformity did relate to creativity, whereas introvertive anhedonia was not an indicator of creativity. Schuldberg’s (2001) findings were similar: he found that positive schizotypy symptoms, impulsivity and hypomania all related positively to
creativity, whereas negative symptoms related negatively to creativity. It is possible that mostly positive schizotypal traits lead to increased mating success, since they are more outwardly directed. Negative schizotypal traits, i.e. introvertive anhedonia, are defined by social reclusion, which is supposed to be related to decreased involvement in romantic relationships and therefore mating success. Mating success was not included as a variable in the present study, but the possibility that the relationship between scientific creativity and negative schizotypy is weak was seriously considered, since the latter does not appear to have an immediate adaptive advantage.
Autism Spectrum Disorder, Systemizing and Creativity
Autism also relates to creativity in an interesting way. Autism is, according to the
DSM-V (2013), characterized by difficulties in social interaction and stereotypical behaviors
and interests. The DSM-V speaks of an ‘autism spectrum’, which indicates that symptoms are not just regarded as indicators of a discrete disorder, but that subclinical symptoms can also be present in the healthy population (Constantino & Todd, 2003). It was thought for a long time that autism excluded any form of creativity, since imagination and theory of mind are supposedly impaired or absent (Glazer, 2009). Fitzgerald (2004) states that this definition is only applicable to low functioning autists, and that high functioning autists –otherwise specified as people with autistic traits who aren’t severely mentally impaired- are able to express a certain form of creativity. These people possess the skill of concentrating on one subject for a stretched period of time, and they are strongly inclined to understanding the world surrounding them on a rational level (Fitzgerald, 2004). Baron-Cohen (2002) also suggested that people who are autistic present with a particular cognitive profile: while they struggle with a lack of empathic and social skills, they are equipped with a substantial ability to systemize. Systemizing designates the inductive formulation of rules in consequence of pattern recognition, this ability is particularly useful for scientific creativity. Baron-Cohen (2002) proposed the Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) theory of autism: gender differences stemming from different brain functions may result in superior empathizing in women, whereas men are possibly better at systemizing .The E-S theory branched out to the ‘Extreme Male Brain’ theory of autism (Baron-Cohen & Hammer, 1997), which states that a high tendency to systemize is a male characteristic, magnified in people with autism. Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Skinner, Martin en Clubley (2001) found empirical evidence supporting these ideas, since scientists (mainly mathematicians, computer experts, physicists and engineers) reported more autistic traits than non-scientists; and men tended to report more autistic traits
than women. A measuring instrument, called the Systemizing Quotient (SQ; Baron-Cohen, Richler, Bisarya, Gurunathan & Wheelwright, 2003) was developed, which assesses the degree in which individuals are capable of systemizing. A revised version of this instrument (Systemizing Quotient-Revised, SQ-R; Wheelwright et al., 2006) was used in the present study, as well as a screening instrument for autistic traits (Autism Spectrum Quotient, AQ; Baron-Cohen et al., 2001).
An Association between Schizophrenia and Autism
Finally, empirical evidence suggesting a bilateral relationship between schizophrenia and autism indicates the possibility that they are not diametrically opposed disorders, as was previously hypothesized by Crespi and Badcock (2008)(King & Lord, 2011; Russel-Smith, Maybery & Bayliss, 2011). At a clinical level, negative schizotypal traits share many core features with autistic traits: social reclusion, interpersonal deficits and flattened affect. King and Lord (2011) recount research that showed a shared deficit of mirror neurons in both disorders, which impairs the ability to imitate and display normal social behavior. They also provide an overview of research that confirmed an overlap in other brain abnormalities, such as reduced white matter, reduction of the corpus callosum and overall ‘underconnectivity’ in neural networks (King & Lord, 2011). In addition, there seems to be a shared ‘genetic trail’ between autism and schizophrenia: both present with abnormalities of the ‘SHANK3 gene locus’ (King & Lord, 2011). Rawlings and Locarnini (2008) found an association between autistic traits and negative schizotypy, which further supports the idea that the
symptomatology of certain mental disorders can overlap (Schuldberg, 2001). Russel-Smith et al. (2011) even demonstrated an overlap between both positive and negative schizotypal traits and autistic traits, they claim that this connection is due to the fact that they used all AQ scales in their analysis, and hence not approach autism as a one-dimensional phenomenon. It is therefore expected in the present study that a positive correlation between both disorders will be confirmed; certainly for negative schizotypy and autism, possibly also for positive
schizotypy and autism. This would signify that autistic traits and schizotypy are the extremities of a continuous diagnostic spectrum.
Subclinical Symptoms or ‘Traits’
Schuldberg (2001) has suggested a ‘horizontal’ and ‘vertical spectrum’ of mental disorders, which signifies that some disorders (such as autism and schizophrenia) can manifest the same symptoms and can, in addition, differ in severity. This perspective on the
manifestation of psychopathology can also be dubbed a ‘continuum’ approach. The horizontal spectrum describes the overlap between certain disorders, while the vertical spectrum
stretches from mild subclinical symptoms on the one hand to very severe symptoms on the other hand. Schuldberg (2001) poses that both mental functioning and creativity can be seen as processes, defined by an ‘ebb and flow’. He also pointed out that the amount of creativity displayed by an individual could be mitigated by other factors than psychopathology.
Possibly, people with subclinical symptoms are able to be creative, while people with severe symptoms are too gravely impaired (Nettle, 2006). This assumption is derived from the ‘inverted U shape model’ (Akiskal & Akiskal, 1988; Richards et al., 1988) of the relationship between creativity and psychopathology. This model proposes that creativity increases when schizotypal features increase, but declines as psychopathology becomes more clinically significant (Nettle, 2006). To test this model, a comparison between mentally ill and mentally healthy individuals has to be made, which is beyond the scope of the present study. Research dedicated to subclinical symptoms could, however, provide a sample of people who recognize themselves in some of the autistic or schizotypal features, but are able to function normally and display creative behavior. Such a sample would yield more insight into the nuances of mental functioning in relation to creativity.
Schizotypy, Autistic Traits and Creativity
Previous research focused on the relationship between creativity and schizotypal and autistic traits has thus far produced diffuse results. Nettle (2006) found that positive
schizotypal traits are positively associated with artistic creativity, while negative schizotypal traits coincide with scientific creativity. Rawlings and Locarnini (2008) also observed more positive schizotypal traits in artistically creative people, but failed to unambiguously replicate the association between autistic traits and creativity. Claridge and McDonald (2009) did find a strong association between negative schizotypal traits and autistic traits, but couldn’t
reproduce the relationship between positive schizotypal traits and artistic creativity. The present study serves the purpose of contributing to the literature concerning the relationship between creativity, schizotypal traits and autistic traits, by examining the reciprocal
relationship between these constructs and relating various creative activities to either artistic or scientific creativity. More scientific knowledge about creativity could significantly attribute to education as well as self-enhancement, because it enables us to choose directions in life based on our personal characteristics.
The Present Study and its Hypotheses
The following hypotheses will be tested in the present study:
H1. Different types of creativity can be identified: creativity can be divided into scientific and artistic creativity.
H2. Positive schizotypy is positively associated with different artistic achievements. H3. Negative schizotypy is positively associated with scientific achievements. H4. Autistic traits are positively associated with scientific achievements.
H5. Negative schizotypy and autistics traits are positively associated, positive schizotypy and autistic traits could be positively associated.
These outcomes would altogether suggest that different manifestations of
psychopathology are related to various forms of creativity and both phenomena could be regarded as dimensional. Hereby, support would be provided for Schuldberg’s (2001) model of psychopathology, where the horizontal spectrum accounts for the overlap between
symptomatology, and the vertical spectrum reflects differences in severity of
symptomatology. Also, the notion that systemizing is considered an autistic trait (Baron-Cohen et al., 2003) would be corroborated. Finally, these results would substantiate Glazer’s (2009) model of the relationship between creativity and psychopathology. These findings would present a more differentiated perspective on the underlying nature and outward appearance of creativity.
Method
Participants
A total of 382 individuals participated in the present study, 145 of these participants were not included in the analyses because they did not fully complete the questionnaires, or were below the age of 18. This left 237 participants who had answered all questions and had additionally agreed to the informed consent. Questionnaires were presented via social media such as Facebook and e-mail, participants could win two theater tickets by filling out the questionnaires and e-mailing the researcher that they were interested in this prize. Of all participants, 170 were female, 68 were male. Other significant biographical details are displayed in Table 1., see the Results section.
Design and Procedure
This study employed a correlational design with 6 variables, namely: creativity (CAQ), actual job creativity (non-creative, artistically creative, scientifically creative), perceived job creativity, positive schizotypy (UnEx, CogDis and ImpNon scales), negative schizotypy (IntAn scale) and autistic traits (AQ and SQ-R). These variables were measured with self-report questionnaires, distributed in as a survey via social media, which provided this study with a more heterogeneous sample since not only students of one particular academic level were included. Also, there was only one moment of measurement, the order in which questionnaires were displayed was randomized to avoid order effects. An information brochure and informed consent form were displayed prior to the presentation of the questionnaires to ensure voluntary and informed participation.
Preceding the questionnaires, participants were also asked general questions about their gender, age, education, nationality, occupation and whether they had presently or previously suffered from psychopathology that had to be treated by either psychotherapy or medication. Furthermore, participants rated the measure in which they thought their
profession to be creative on a scale of 0 to 10, which provided an extra measure of (general) creativity besides the CAQ. The variable ‘occupation’ was used as a control measure of the hypotheses: people with artistic professions should score higher on positive schizotypy, people with scientific professions should score higher on negative schizotypy and autistic traits. In previous studies, gender differences regarding autistic traits and scientific creativity were found. Therefore, data for men and women were mostly examined separately. The variable ‘presence of psychopathology’ was used to gather additional information about the
relationship between creativity and mental disorders in a explorative manner.
Material
The Creative Achievement Questionnaire (CAQ; Carson, Peterson & Higgins, 2005)
was used in the present study to determine which creative products were accomplished by participants in which fields of expertise.
This self-report measure outlines which talents, abilities and achievements people display in diverse creative disciplines. Achievement is defined by Carson et al. (2005) as “the total sum of creative products a person generates across his or her lifetime”. Furthermore, this questionnaire measured the extent to which these products were socially valued and judged by experts. The advantage of this instrument is its capability to show a differentiated picture of creative activities; as well as the element of peer review, which grants an increased reliability to the self-report measure. Also, creative activities can be linked to either scientific or artistic creativity, which provides a better sense of the representation of these dimensions (Nettle (2006).
The CAQ consists of 96 items which are subdivided into 1) different creative
disciplines, 2) concrete accomplishments, and 3) assessment by others. Introducing the first part (13 items), participants are instructed to mark the disciplines in which they believe to be more talented than others. These disciplines are consecutively: visual arts, music, dance, individual sports, team sports, architectural design, entrepreneurial ventures, creative writing, humor, inventions, scientific inquiry, theater and film and culinary arts. Subsequently, in the second part (80 items), concrete achievements are inquired per discipline –entrepreneurial ventures and sports are left out in this section. Seven hierarchical levels of accomplishment are distinguished, participants check of the level(s) which apply to them. The discipline ‘visual arts’, for instance, starts with this statement: ‘I have no training or recognized talent in this area.’; the discipline ends with: ‘My work has been critiqued in national papers.’. Scores range from 0 till 7, a score of 0 equals no creative achievements whereas a score of 7 signifies the highest amount of recognition possible for the creative achievements. Participants are sometimes also asked to report how many achievements they delivered. Finally, in the third domain (3 items) participants are asked which of the following sentences applies to them: 1) ‘One of the first things people mention about me when introducing me to others is my creative ability in the above areas.’, 2) ‘People regularly accuse me of having an “artistic” temperament.’, and 3) ‘People regularly accuse me of being an “absent-minded professor” type.’. Scoring is twofold: first, CAQ score in the second domain is assessed, secondly, the
total CAQ is calculated. The total CAQ score is a control for a non-representative sample, this was useful in the present study because participants were mostly of a young age and therefore not necessarily enabled to have a lot of creative achievements. The CAQ has good reliability (α= .81) and reasonable criterion validity (α= .65) (Carson et al., 2005). The Dutch translation of the CAQ (Guittart, 2014) which was utilized in the present study was included in Appendix A.
All scales of the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feeling and Experiences
questionnaire (O-Life; Mason et al., 1995) were used to measure schizotypy, the Unusual
Experiences (UnEr), Cognitive Disorganization (CogDis) and Impulsive Nonconformity (ImpNon) scales assessed positive schizotypy, the Introverted Anhedonia (IntAn) scale assessed negative schizotypy.
This self-report questionnaire can principally be employed to investigate non-clinical populations (Mason et al., 2006). All items of all scales are scored dichotomously: a 1 means ‘no’ and a 0 means ‘yes’; there is no cut-off score because measurement concerns a
dimensional personality trait. The UnEx scale consists of 12 items like ‘Do you feel that accidents that happen to you are instigated by mysterious forces?’ and ‘Are your thoughts sometimes so strong that you can almost hear them?’. The CogDis scale contains 11 items such as ‘Are you easily distracted from work by daydreams?’ and ‘Is it hard for you to make decisions?’. The ImpNon scale consists of 10 items like ‘Do you at times have an urge to do something harmful or shocking?’ and ‘Do you often overindulge in alcohol or food?’. The
IntAn scale contains 10 items such as ‘Are you too independent to get close to other people?’
and ‘Do you like to try out different dishes?’. In the short version of the O-Life (Mason, Linney & Claridge, 2005) that was used in the present study, the UnEr scale has good reliability (α= .80), and the CogDis scale (α= .77), the ImpNon scale (α= .63) and the IntAn scale (α= .62) all have reasonable reliability. All scales have a high concurrent validity with the O-Life (≥.90) (Mason et al., 2005). The Dutch translation of the O-Life (Veldkamp, 2010) which was used in the present study, has good reliability (α= .85) and is included in Appendix B.
To measure autistic traits, the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) and Systemizing
Quotient-Revised (SQ-R) were employed.
The AQ (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001) is a self-report screening instrument to detect autistic traits, it can be used in a non-clinical population (Hurst et al., 2007). Five separate
traits are discerned: social skills, attention span, communication, imagination and eye for detail. The AQ consists of 30 items that are scored on a 4-point Likertscale (1 = strongly, 2 = agree, 3 = disagree, 4 = strongly disagree). Some items are reversed, in which case the answer ‘strongly agree’ is granted a 4, etcetera. The minimal score is 50, this indicates a complete absence of autistic traits; the maximal score is 200, this indicates a complete presence of autistic traits. The AQ can be divided into 5 subscales: social skill, attention switching, communication, imagination and attention to detail (Hoekstra, Bartels, Cath & Boomsma, 2008). Exemplary items are (in the order in which subscales were enumerated: ‘I find social situations easy.’; ‘I tend to have very strong interests.’; ‘I find it easy to “read between the lines”; ‘I don’t particularly enjoy reading fiction’; and ‘I often notice small sounds when others do not.’. The Dutch translation of the AQ has good reliability (r = .78) and is internally consistent (α= .71) (Hoekstra et al., 2008).
The Systemizing Quotient-Revised (SQ-R; Wheelwright et al., 2006) is a short version of the Systemizing Quotient (SQ) that was developed by Baron-Cohen et al. (2003). The SQ examines daily life situations in which the ability to systemize, also described as assigning rules to events so that inferences are possible, is required. Wheelwright et al. (2006) proposed an altered version of the SQ, namely the SQ-R, that consists of 75 items. Exemplary items are: ‘If I would by a stereo, I would want to know the precise technical features of the devise.’, ‘I have difficulties reading and understanding maps.’, ‘I have difficulties understanding the instruction manuals of appliances.’, and ‘When I look at a mountain, I think about how the mountain has originated.’. The items are scored on a 4-point Likertscale that ranges from ‘strongly agree’ to ‘strongly disagree’. Both answers indicating a lack of systemizing are appointed a score of 0, the other 2 answers (that suggest the presence of systemizing) are appointed a score of 1 or 2, according to their relative fortitude. The minimal score is 0, the maximal score is 80, and again there is no cut-off score at hand since it concerns a
dimensional variable. The SQ-R correlates significantly with the SQ (r = .91) and has good reliability (α = .90) (Wheelwright et al., 2009). The Dutch translations of the AQ (Hoekstra, Bartels, Cath & Boomsma, 2008) and the SQ-R (Volman, 2013) which were utilized in the present study, are included in Appendix C and Appendix D.
Analyses and Expectations
In the first place, a few observations about the methodological qualities of the CAQ are in order. The 8 items that belong to each of the 10 creative domains are not independent of each other, nor are they tau-equivalent (Silvia et al., 2012). This challenges the normal
calculation of internal consistency.Furthermore, factor analysis is difficult considering the expected great skew in scores (and, hereby, violation of the assumption of normality). The distribution which describes the spread of the data best is the Poisson distribution, or more specifically, the negative binomial distribution. In this model, the variance of the data is larger than the mean, which causes overdispersion (Silvia et al., 2012). Silvia et al. (2012) argued that this skew should not be ignored and robustness of statistical procedures should not be accepted at face validity. Instead, they recommend ‘count models’ or ‘negative binomial models’, since they follow the Poisson distribution –as do the data of the CAQ. Another option is to comprise CAQ scores into 3 categories, for instance: ‘low’ (CAQ = 0), ‘medium’ (CAQ = <10) and ‘high’ (CAQ > 10) (Silvia et al., 2012). Also, latent class analyses can be executed instead of, or complementary to, the principal components analysis. This type of analysis investigates which groups of participants display a comparable pattern of domain scores. Because of the exceptionality of great creative achievements, the data display a skew and the assumption of normality is hereby violated. In the present study, the CAQ was examined by consecutively conducting a principal components analysis (PCA) with varimax rotation and a latent class analysis using depmixS4 (Visser & Speekenbrink, 2010) to test whether different types of creativity can be detected. Also, the method of dividing CAQ scores into ordinal categories was utilized to further explore the possibilities of the CAQ as a measuring instrument. For all the analyses, the data for men and women were examined separately, since gender differences were observed in autistic traits and creativity (Baron-Cohen et al., 2001, 2003). The reliability of the O-Life, AQ and SQ-R was scrutinized, assumptions of normality considering sex, age and profession were checked. Subsequently, correlations between total scores on the CAQ and scores on self-reported creativity of profession and actual creativity of profession were calculated, to test the convergent validity of the CAQ. After these checks were administered, correlations between creativity in relation to schizotypy and autism were examined. These correlations focused on total CAQ scores as well as the ordinal categories of the CAQ and the O-Life, the AQ and the SQ-R. It was
expected that a) principal components analysis would yield a divide between artistic (items 1-24, 32-48 and 64-80 of part II) and scientific creativity (items 25-31 and 49-63 of part II) on the CAQ; b) a significant, positive correlation between the items that represent the artistic creativity factor or class of the CAQ and the UnEx, CogDis and ImpNon scales of the O-Life was to be uncovered, as well as; c) a significant, positive correlation between the items that represent the scientific creativity factor or class of the CAQ and the IntAn scale of the O-Life; and d) a significant, positive correlation between the items that represent the scientific
creativity factor or class of the CAQ and high scores on the AQ and the SQ-R. Finally, e) a significant, positive correlation between high scores on the AQ and SQ-R and the IntAn scale of the O-Life was expected. The association between positive schizotypy and autism was investigated in an explorative manner, by correlating the AQ scales with the O-Life scales.
Results
Demographic Information
After listwise exclusion of participants who did not acceptthe terms of informed consent (N=0), had not completed the self-report measures (N=144) and participants under 18 (N=1), biographical details of the 237 remaining participants were obtained, which are
displayed in Table 1. Age, education, perceived job creativity and psychopathology were all abnormally distributed for men, as well as for women (Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests produced comparable results and probabilities for all variables: p < .001). Consequently,
non-parametric tests (specifically Spearmans rho correlation tests) were used throughout the study. The number of participants who indicated that they had experienced psychological problems, is similar to lifetime prevalence statistics: in Holland, 42.7% of the population suffered from an Axis I DSM-IV disorder in his or her life (De Graaf, ten Have & van Dorsselaer, 2010).
Table 1.
Biographical Details of the 238 Participants.
Sex Age M (SD) Education (lowest through highest 1-4) Dutch nationali ty Psycho-pathology Perceived job creativity M (SD) Type of job creativity Male (N=67) 41.52 (17.04) 2.9% (1) 1.5% (2) 11.8% (3) 83.8 % (4) 100% (yes) 33.8% (yes) 66.2% (no) 7.33 (2.51) 66.2% (non) 27.9% (artistic) 5.9% (scientific) Female (N=170) 38.56 (16.07) 0.6% (1) 4.1% (2) 17.2% (3) 77.5% (4) 95.3% (yes) 37.3% (yes) 62.7% (no) 6.80 (2.33) 75.7% (non) 19.5 % (artistic) 4.7% (scientific)
The CAQ: Distribution and Validity
The distribution of the CAQ data was examined, as expected, a Poisson distribution was found by checking the normal distribution plot. Remarkably, the skew was to the left, but the ordinal grouping system proved that many people scored in the higher range on creative achievements instead of obtaining a score of 0. This indicated that a lot of creative individuals participated, which might be the consequence of a selection bias, since the study was
advertised as being directed at creative people. No outliers were removed, since Big C creativity was the objective of the present study. See Table 2 for descriptives, as well as skewness and kurtosis levels of the CAQ domains and the total score. The
Kolmogorov-Smirnov test of normality was significant for the CAQ, D(237) = 0.431, p < .001, which
showed that the data were indeed not normally distributed. These findings indicated that, besides conducting a confirmatory principal components analysis, latent class analysis (LCA) and correlations using ordinal categories were justified.
Table 2. CAQ Descriptives per Scale: Number of Participants and Items (N, Items), Mean and Standard Deviation (M (SD)), Skewness and Kurtosis.
CAQ N Items M (SD) Skewness Kurtosis
Visual Arts 228 8 3.17 (11.57) 6.82 59.85 Music 224 8 2.20 (6.15) 5.98 45.57 Dance 224 8 0.89 (2.08) 4.21 20.28 Architecture 223 8 0.07 (0.43) 14.05 204.17 Creative Writing 227 8 3.61 (14.41) 7.20 58.02 Humor 229 8 1.35 (3.02) 5.21 35.81 Inventions 221 8 0.39 (1.19) 4.91 28.87 Scientific Research 223 8 1.36 (4.06) 6.17 52.37 Theatre/film 223 8 39.45 (477.27) 14.80 220.34 Culinary arts 227 8 0.61 (0.88) 3.60 21.60 Total CAQ Score 217 96 54.43 (461.45) 15.20 232.90
As a test of convergent validity of creativity, actual and perceived creativity of employment were correlated with CAQ groups, using Spearman’s rho. Non-creative professions received a score of 0, artistic professions and scientific professions received a score of 1. In the same vein (as suggested by Silvia et al., 2012), CAQ scores of 0 received a score of 0 (low creativity), CAQ scores ranging from 1-10 were awarded a score of 1 (medium creativity) and CAQ scores ranging from 10 and above were granted a score of 2 (high
creativity). CAQ groups correlated moderately with actual creativity of profession for both men, rs = .324, p = .007, and women, rs = .393, p < .001. This indicates that an increase in
creative achievement coincides with an increase in either artistic or scientific employment. Accordingly, perceived job creativity correlated moderately with CAQ groups as well, for both men, rs = .390, p = .001, and women, rs = .247, p = .001. Increased perceived job
creativity thus coincides with higher CAQ scores. Finally, perceived job creativity also correlated with whether or not a profession was artistically or scientifically creative. Interestingly enough, this applied more for women, rs = .529, p < .001, than for men, rs =
.388, p = .001. It seems that women deem perceived job creativity and actual job creativity as more closely linked than men do. Considering that students received a score of 0
(non-creative profession), the correlations could possibly be even larger if field of study was specified. Moreover, while the CAQ measures concrete accomplishments, the other measures are directed at perceived creativity: other factors such as ambition and perseverance could mediate the correlations. Notwithstanding these differences, job type, perceived job creativity and the CAQ seem to be moderately correlated, which signifies that they probably measure various aspects of the same construct.
The O-Life, AQ and SQ-R: Reliability, Validity and Distribution
Next, the quality and distribution of the measurement instruments used in the present study was established. Since the CAQ is not fit for traditional reliability analysis (Silvia et al., 2012), Cronbach’s alpha was not obtained for this measure. None of the variables were normally distributed according to the Kolmogorov Smirnov test (p < .001). The AQ and SQ-R displayed good reliability, see Table 2.
Table 2.
Reliability (Cronbach’s alpha), Number of Items (N), Mean (M) and Standard Deviation (SD) for the Scales of the AQ and O-Life, as well as for the Total AQ, O-Life and SQ-R Score. Measure
* AQ total, N = 233 ; O-Life total, N = 234 ; SQ-R total, N = 230.
Items (N) M (SD) Cronbach’s Alpha (α)
O-Life total 43 67.76 (5.33) .730 O-Life UnEx 12 19.43 (2.76) .742 O-Life CogDis 11 17.32 (2.78) .728 O-Life ImpNon 10 16.08 (1.42) .064 O-Life IntAn 10 14.92 (1.02) -.226 AQ total 50 14.94 (6.09) .768 AQ Social skill 10 2.08 (1.91) .623 AQ Attention switching 10 3.59 (2.20) .627 AQ Communication 10 2.33 (1.72) .505 AQ Imagination 10 2.18 (1.72) .513
AQ Attention to detail 10 4.76 (2.28) .630
SQ-R total 75 49.39 (16.70) .877
Note. O-Life scores ranged from 55-80; AQ scores ranged from 2-33; and SQ-R scores ranged from 12-106.
However, while the O-Life as a whole and the UnEx and CogDis scales displayed good reliability, there appeared to be a problem with the reliability of the IntAn scale. While negative alpha’s may be inverted, the alpha is still very low (α= .226). Also, the reliability of the ImpNon scale was very low (α= .064). These reliabilities do not correspond with the reliabilities obtained by Mason et al. (2005), which could indicate a sample bias with not enough participants who score high on the IntAn and ImpNon scales.
Concerning the concurrent validity of the O-Life, all scales correlated positively with the total score: UnEx, rs = .766, p < .001; CogDis, rs = .779, p < .001; IntAn, rs = .297, p <
.001; and ImpNon, rs = .466, p < 001. Notably, the relatively low concurrent validity of the
IntAn and ImpNon scale corresponds with their low reliabilities: these traits might not be
adequately represented in the present study’s sample. Results regarding these scales will therefore be approached with caution.
Concerning the concurrent validity of the AQ, all scales showed low to reasonable validity: AQ Attention Switching, rs = .697, p < .001; AQ Communication, rs = ,647, p < .001;
AQ Social Skill, rs = .647, p < .001; AQ Attention to Detail, rs = .531, p < .001; and AQ
Imagination, rs = .493, p < .001. These values are broadly in accord with Veldkamp (2010).
The convergent validity of the autism construct was measured by correlating the AQ and the
SQ-R scores. A positive correlation was found for both sexes, rs = .298, p = .014. This finding
is similar to the moderate correlation between the AQ and SQ-R that Wheelwright et al. (2006) obtained.
A Comparison between CAQ, O-Life, AQ and SQ-R Means of the Present Study and Previous Research
A visual comparison between the means of the measures which were used in the present sample and the means of these measures in the original articles, or articles who studied the validity and reliability of these measures, proved that there were considerable differences between the data, see Figure 1.
Figure 1.
A Comparison between the Present and Previous Means of the CAQ, AQ, O-Life and SQ-R.
CAQ Means AQ Means
SQ-R Means O-Life Scale Means
* Note: SQ-R scores were deducted from the total population in the present study and the Wheelwright et al. (2006) study, while the control mean was used for the Baron-Cohen et al. (2003) study
Participants in the present study generally seemed to score higher on the CAQ than participants in the Carson et al. (2005) study; they also tended to score higher on the SQ-R than participants in the Baron-Cohen et al. (2003) study; additionally, scores on the O-Life scales were elevated compared to the means that were presented in the Mason et al. (1995) study, and the Veldkamp (2010) study. Lastly, there was an interesting scoring difference between AQ scores in the Veldkamp (2010) and the Hoekstra et al. (2008) study, and AQ scores in the Cohen et al. (2001) study and the present study. Adhering to the Baron-Cohen et al. (2001) scoring system, the AQ means in the present study seem to be in the same range. This general elevation of (particularly) CAQ and O-Life scores could reflect a sample bias: possibly, a disproportionately large number of creative people with schizotypal traits, who are prone to sytemizing, participated in this study. This could have created a natural sample manipulation, since creative people are hypothesized to score higher on the O-Life
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 The present study Carson et al. (2005) 0 20 40 60 80 100 The present study Baron-Cohen et al. (2001) Hoekstra et al. (2008) Veldkamp (2010) 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 The present study Baron-Cohen et al. (2003) 0 5 10 15 20 25 The present study Mason et al. (1995) Veldkamp (2010)
scales. If this were the case, it would be harder to detect a difference between artistic and scientific creativity in the present study, which will be taken into account in the discussion.
Principal Components Analysis of the CAQ
A principal components analysis (PCA) with orthogonal rotation (varimax) was conducted, to test the 2- and 3-factor solution model of creativity proposed by Carson, Peterson & Higgins (2009). It was expected that a divide between artistic and scientific
creativity would be found across the 10 domains of the CAQ. Firstly, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olbin value was .546, which is mediocre according to Kaiser (1974; derived from Field, 2009). This means that the assumptions for the sample were met. Possibly, the domains of ‘scientific research’ and ‘culinary arts’ could have been removed from the analysis, since they each have individual KMO values below .5. Since they both approached the cut-off value of .5, they were after all included in the analysis. There was no indication of multicollinearity
(determinant =.40). Also, the sfericity criterion was met, X²(45) = 193.25, p < .001, which means that the correlations between items were sufficiently large for PCA. The scree plot indicated that the first two factors had the most weight, the 3-factor solution was thus discarded. Two factors were extracted: 1) music, humor and theater and film (initial eigenvalue: 1.76; variance after rotation: 17.23%) and 2) visual arts and inventing (initial eigenvalue: 1.58; variance after rotation: 15.62%). Interestingly enough, these findings do not corroborate the divide between artistic and scientific creativity. Rather, they support a model where a distinction is made between abstract and concrete creative expression. The 2-factor solution provided a relatively poor fit for the data: it only accounted for 33.42% of the variance. Moreover, there were 23 (51%) nonredundant individuals with an absolute value above .05. These findings indicate that factor analysis does not seem like the most fitting way to approach the data analysis of the CAQ.
However, LCA yielded no results either, since the distribution of the CAQ proved to be too large, there were many extreme outliers in the data, and there were too many other
variables to ensure a model fit. Considering the recommendations of Silvia et al. (2012), the fact that this type of analysis does not fit the data is remarkable. This could be attributed to a selection bias in the sample, also, it could indicate that the scoring of the CAQ is not as precise and manageable as it seems to be.
Since neither PCA nor LCA provided a model for the data, ordinal CAQ categories were superimposed to adjust the faulty scoring. These categories were utilized to obtain correlations between the creativity as a general ability (CAQ), the AQ, SQ-R and O-Life.
The Overlap in CAQ Domains for Both Sexes
As for the mutual correlations between CAQ domains, for men, visual arts correlated positively with culinary arts, rs = .322, p = .008. It seems that men are more involved in
culinary arts when they also partake in visual arts. For women, visual arts correlated positively with dance, rs = .181, p = .023, architectural design, rs = .249, p = .002, creative
writing, rs =.188, p = .018, inventions, rs = .287, p < .001, and theater and film, rs = .213, p =
.007. Music correlated positively with dance, rs = .268, p = .001, humor, rs = .200, p = .012
and theater and film, rs = .179, p = .025. Dance correlated positively with scientific inquiry, rs
= .245, p = .002, and theater and film, rs = .328, p < .001. Architectural design correlated
positively with creative writing, rs = .189, p = .018, inventions, rs = .258, p = .001 and
culinary arts, rs = .191, p = .017. Humor correlated positively with inventions, rs = .316, p <
.001, inventions correlated positively with scientific inquiry, rs = .236, p = .003. Although
these correlations are relatively small, it seems that women are involved in more creative domains simultaneously than men, possibly, men are more focused on one activity and women are able to combine different activities or interests.
The Associations between Different Creative Domains, Schizotypy and Autistic Traits
To assess whether different creative domains relate to different forms of
psychopathology, domain scores were correlated with the O-Life scales, the AQ and the SQ-R, for both sexes separately and in general. In general, visual arts correlated positively with the
SQ-R, rs = .221, p = .004; as well as architectural design, rs = .292, p < .001, inventions, rs =
.312, p < .001, and scientific inquiry, rs = .198, p = .012. The UnEx scale correlated
negatively with inventions, rs = -.203, p = .010. The CogDis scale correlated negatively with
creative writing, rs = -.210, p = .007, humor, rs = -.159, p = .041, and theater and film, rs =
-.219, p = .005. Finally, humor correlated negatively with the ImpNon scale, rs = -.173, p =
.025. These results signify that systemizing is a skill involved in visual arts, architecture, inventions and science. Also, unusual experiences diminish when inventions increase, and cognitive disorganization decreases when people are more involved in creative writing, comedy and theater and film. Impulsive nonconformity seems to diminish when humor
increases. Overall, positive schizotypy deems to subside when creative achievement upsurges. For men, visual arts were negatively correlated with the UnEx scale, rs = -.351, p =
.004, also, creative writing was negatively correlated with the UnEx scale, rs = -.272, p = .025;
as well as inventions and the UnEx scale, rs = -,247, p = .046; and theater and film and the
.330, p = .006, and inventions, rs = .330, p = .007. This means that for men, unusual
experiences decrease when creativity concerning visual arts, creative writing, inventions and theater and film increases. Also, the amount of systemizing increases when engaging in visual arts or inventing.
For women, a negative association between inventions and the UnEx scale was found,
rs = -.165, p = .040. Also, creative writing correlated negatively with the CogDis scale, rs =
-.188, p = .018; as well as theater and film and the CogDis scale, rs = -.160, p = .045. The
SQ-R was positively correlated to visual arts, rs = .245, p = .001, architectural design, rs = .220, p
= .006, inventions, rs = .257, p = .001, and scientific inquiry, rs = .221, p = .006. The AQ was
solely related to visual arts, rs = .165, p = .036. It seems that, for women, the amount of
unusual experiences decreases when they achieve more in the field of inventions. Also, cognitive disorganization seems to reduce when women engage in creative writing and film. When women accomplish more in the fields of visual arts, architectural design, inventing and scientific inquiry, they tend to systemize more. The measure of autistic traits seems only elevated in women who engage in visual arts.
The Spearman correlation between the AQ and ‘CAQ science’, i.e. inventions and scientific inquiry, was not significant. However, AQ scores in the present study ranged from 2-33, indicating a severely restricted range. Hoekstra et al. (2008) stated that AQ scores ranging from 111-200 are indicative of autism spectrum disorders. Since none of the participants scored even remotely close to the cut-off, a valid statistical comparison was impossible.
Type of Profession and Psychopathology
Additionally, type of profession was correlated with the O-Life scales, the AQ and the
SQ-R, to provide a hypothesis check for the above-mentioned results.
In general, there was a positive correlation between total CAQ score and the SQ-R in the non-creative group, rs = .283, p < .001. In the artistically creative group, the SQ-R and
total CAQ score were also positively correlated, rs = .430, p = .001. In the scientifically
creative group, the CogDis scale was positively related to total CAQ score, rs = .789, p = .002;
while there was a negative correlation between the IntAn scale and total CAQ score, rs =
-.620, p = .032. In general, systemizing seems to increase when creative achievements increase for people in non-creative and artistically creative professions. Also, for people in
scientifically creative professions, negative schizotypy seems to decrease while positive schizotypy (cognitive disorganization) increases when the amount of creative achievements
upsurges. This finding goes against expectations, however, the scientifically creative group size is so small that this result might not be representative.
For men in non-creative professions, the UnEx scale was negatively correlated to total
CAQ score, rs = -.472, p = .001, indicating that unusual experiences diminish when creative
achievements increase for these men. For women in non-creative professions, SQ-R scores were positively correlated to total CAQ scores, rs = .207, p = .020, suggesting that systemizing
increases in these professions when creative achievements increase. This was also applicable to women in artistically creative professions, since a positive correlation between total SQ-R and CAQ scores was replicated in this group, rs = .527, p = .002. Finally, a positive correlation
between the CogDis scale and total CAQ score was found for women in scientific professions,
rs = .747, p = .033, suggesting that cognitive disorganization expands when creative
achievements increase for this group. Altogether, these results suggest that positive schizotypy (chiefly unusual experiences) decreases for men who are mildly creative. For women, positive schizotypal features (cognitive disorganization) actually seem to intensify when they produce creative achievements. For women in non-creative and artistically creative professions, systemizing seems to increase when they produce more creative achievements. See Figure 2. and Figure 3. for a visual representation of O-Life scale, AQ and SQ-R means for individuals in non-creative, artistic and scientific professions.
Figure 2.
O-Life Scale Means for Individuals in Non-Creative, Artistic and Scientific Professions.
UnEx CogDis ImpNon IntAn Non-Creative 19,77 17,49 15,98 14,91 Artists 18,29 16,67 16,35 14,87 Scientists 19,58 17,75 16,5 15,25 0 5 10 15 20 25
Figure 3.
AQ and SQ-R Means for Individuals in Non-Creative, Artistic and Scientific Professions.
The various results concerning type of profession and measures of psychopathology, appear to indicate that a more intricate model of creativity, gender and psychopathology is required, to provide conclusions about the relationship between different creative fields of activity and different forms of psychopathology.
The Association between General Creativity, Schizotypy and Autistic Traits
The ordinal categories of the CAQ, as proposed by Silvia et al. (2012), were used to calculate the correlations with the AQ, SQ-R and O-Life, to test whether an increase in general creativity coincides with an increase in various forms of psychopathology. See Table 3 for descriptives of the ordinal grouping system.
Table 3. Descriptives (Sex, N, CAQ M, CAQ SD, %) of the Ordinal Grouping System.
Ordinal Grouping System Group N CAQ M (SD) %
CAQ score: 0 = 0, 1-9 = 1,
>10 = 2
0 2 0 0.8
1 85 5.38 (2.35) 35.9 2 150 82.95 (578.82) 63.3
Male CAQ categories M0 1 0 1.5
N=68 M1 15 6.20 (1.70) 22.1
M2 52 170.29 (980.27) 76.5
Female CAQ categories F0 1 0 0.6
N=169 F1 70 5.20 (2.44) 41.2 F2 98 36.61 (26.11) 58.2 AQ SQ-R Non-Creative 14,66 48,8 Artists 15,9 52,58 Scientists 14,17 43,92 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
In general, total CAQ score was positively correlated with the SQ-R, rs = .271, p <
.001, and negatively correlated with the UnEx scale, rs = .205, p < .001. Heightened creativity
thus seems to coincide with an increased amount of systemizing and a diminished amount of unusual experiences.
For men in the highly creative group, the UnEx scale was negatively related to their total CAQ score, rs = -.397, p = .004, meaning that for highly creative men unusual
experiences diminish when creative achievements increase. For women in the moderately creative group, total AQ score was negatively correlated with total CAQ score, rs = -.245, p =
.041, which indicated that for moderately creative women, artistic traits subside when creative achievements upsurge. For women in the highly creative group, the ImpNon scale was
positively correlated with total CAQ score, rs = .283, p = .005, indicating that for highly
creative women, impulsive or spontaneous behavior increases when creative achievements accumulate.
Perceived Creativity of Employment and Psychopathology
To provide a hypothesis check for the above-mentioned results, perceived creativity of employment was correlated with the O-Life scales, the AQ and the SQ-R. In general,
perceived creativity correlated negatively with the UnEx scale, rs = .167, p = .011, and
positively with the ImpNon scale, rs = .212, p = .001, the SQ-R, rs = .198, p = .002, and the
AQ, rs = .130, p = .048. Perceived creativity of employment seems to subside as unusual
experiences increase, and it seems to expand when impulsive non-conformity, systemizing and autistic traits increase.
For men, perceived creativity of employment correlated positively with the ImpNon scale, rs = .266, p = .030, suggesting that impulsive nonconformity increases when a job
demands more creativity. For women, perceived creativity of employment correlated
positively with the total SQ-R score, rs = .166, p = .033, and with the ImpNon scale, rs = .174,
p = .024. Perceived creativity correlated negatively with the UnEx scale, rs = -.251, p = .001.
This indicates that women feel that increased systemizing and impulsive non-conformity coincides with increased creativity at their workplace, while unusual experiences seem to diminish when this form of creativity increases. Altogether, these results seem to suggest that perceived creativity of employment operates via (slightly) different mechanisms than creative achievement.
The Association between General Creativity and General Psychopathology
In the present study, no significant correlation between general creativity and presence of psychopathology (in the past or in the present) was found for men, rs = .192, p = .117, or
for women, rs = .131, p = .089. Presence of psychopathology does not seem to increase as
creative achievement increases. When this correlation was organized by ordinal CAQ groups, a correlation between total CAQ score and presence of psychopathology was detected, rs =
.333, p = .016 in the highly creative male group. It seems that only highly creative men experience more psychopathology.
Correlations between O-Life Scales, AQ Scales and the SQ-R
Finally, the relationship between schizotypy and autism was examined by correlating the O-Life scales, AQ scales and SQ-R total score. Overall, the UnEx scale correlated
negatively with the SQ-R, rs = -.136, p = .036, and the AQ, rs = -.158, p = .015, suggesting
that unusual experiences diminish when autistic traits expand. Also, the CogDis scale correlated negatively with the AQ, rs = -.388, p < .001, providing more support for the idea
that positive schizotypy and autism are opposed constructs.
For men, the AQ Attention to Detail scale was negatively related to the CogDis scale,
rs = -.296, p = .014. The AQ Social Skill scale was negatively correlated to both the UnEx
scale, rs = -.297, p = .014, as well as the CogDis scale, rs = -.291, p = .016. Furthermore, the
AQ Attention Switching scale was negatively correlated with the CogDis scale, rs = -.377, p =
.002. For women, the AQ Attention to Detail scale was negatively correlated to the UnEx scale, rs = -.341, p < .001. Also, the CogDis scale was negatively correlated to the AQ
Communication scale, rs = -.315, p < .001, the AQ Social Skill scale, rs = -.173, p = .024, and
the AQ Attention Switching scale, rs = .445, p < .001. These results suggest that, for both
sexes, schizotypy and autism do not seem to overlap. Instead, they seem to differ from each other, mainly concerning unusual experiences and cognitive disorganization, as well as attention, communication and social skill.
Discussion
Findings and Theoretical Implications
The present study examined the relationship between creativity and autistic and schizotypal traits. The results were –to say the least- puzzling, and they contradicted most of the hypotheses of the present study. The following paragraphs will discuss the examined hypotheses one by one.
Is There a Divide between Artistic and Scientific Creativity?
PCA and LCA provided no satisfactory model fit for the data, therefore, no initial
differentiation between artistic and scientific creativity could be inferred. This contradicts the findings of Carson et al. (2005), who found a clear distinction between ‘expressive
achievement’ (visual arts, writing and humor), ‘performance achievement’ (dance, drama and music), and ‘scientific achievement’ (invention, scientific research and culinary arts). The
CAQ scoring system, which multiplies items in the second portion of the questionnaire, could
have provided problems in the data analysis. This would explain the deficiency of PCA and
LCA in the present study.
Different creative achievements, however, did relate to different psychopathology traits: in general, visual arts, architectural design, inventions and scientific inquiry are all associated with increased systemizing. This finding can be logically explained, since all these accomplishments rely highly on the ability to structure and reify ideas. Also, inventions are associated with a decreased level of perceptual, hallucinatory or magical thinking; creative writing, humor and theater and film seem to benefit from a lowered level of distractibility; and violent or reckless behavior seems to diminish when humoristic accomplishments
increase. Gender differences also appear to play a role in this relationship. H1 is therefore not wholly discarded, since different creative activities seem to be related to autism and
schizotypy in different ways. More importantly, a sample bias appears to have obscured the results of the present study. A relatively large number of highly educated, creative women with heightened positive schizotypal features participated in the present study, while only a small number of participants was scientifically oriented and none displayed clinically significant autistic traits.
When looking at creativity as a general ability via ordinal categories, creativity is associated with increased systemizing and decreased positive schizotypy. This finding does not add vital information, therefore, this method does not seem very valuable for future
research.
In conclusion, there seems to be no clear distinction between artistic and scientific creativity in the present study, which contradicts various earlier findings (Carson et al., 2005; Wang et al., 2014). Different creative abilities are, however, related to different forms of psychopathology. A more intricate model of different domains of achievement appears to be in order, also, future research should focus on obtaining a random sample and adjust CAQ scoring to facilitate differentiation between artistic and scientific creativity.
How Do Schizotypy and Autistic Traits Relate to Artistic and Scientific Creative Achievement?
Firstly, positive schizotypy seems to be related to different artistic achievements. However, this association is mostly negative. In general, unusual experiences diminish when inventions increase, cognitive disorganization lessens when creative writing, humor or theater and film flourish, and violent or reckless behaviors wane when achievements in humor expand. These findings can be logically explained: to produce a novel idea or device, open-mindedness is an advantage, but illogical or magical thinking is not, since it is not rooted in reality and is therefore not translatable into concrete implementation. Also, to produce a literary or verbal piece of art, one has to be able to focus and pay attention for a prolonged period of time. The relationship between highly extraverted behavior and comedy is not so easy to explain, possibly, verbal strength is more important for comedians than extraversion. Overall, H2 is not confirmed: positive schizotypy does not seem to increase when artistic achievement increases. This finding is consistent with Claridge and McDonald’s study (2009), who did not find a relationship between associative thinking and positive schizotypy.
However, the present finding contradicts the conclusions of Schuldberg (2001), Batey and Furnham (2008), Nelson and Rawlings (2010) and Acar and Sen (2013), who all found positive schizotypy and (artistic) creativity to be related. Possibly, sample bias has made it impossible to generalize the present findings. Also, the reliability of the ImpNon scale was considerably low, suggesting that findings concerning this scale should be approached with caution.
Secondly, negative schizotypal features such as social reclusion do not seem to coincide with heightened scientific creativity. On the contrary: for people in scientific
professions, social reclusion seems to decrease when they achieve more creatively. This might be explained by adding ‘ambition’ as a moderator of achievement. Also, increased creative achievement might demand the fortification of one’s’ social network to ensure publication,
