Creative Personality: The Importance of an Autonomous Working Style

Creativity plays an important role in education and on the job market. In this perspective, the present study addresses the personality profile of creative people in specific domains of achievement. Literature on creativity is predominantly based on the analysis of psychology students, artists and scientists. The question which emerges from the current state of the art concerns the ability to generalize these findings. Hence, the current study examines additional professional subsamples in terms of their creative personality. The sample consists of 176 participants (109 women, 66 men, MAge = 24.47, SD = 3.52, age range: 19-39 years). In the general sample, only the correlation between creativity and autonomy was significant (r = .16, p < .05). In the sample of psychologists, this correlation was stronger (r = .57, p < .01). These results suggest the importance of fostering an autonomous working style.