Malevolent Creativity: Does Personality Influence Malicious Divergent Thinking?

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between malevolent creativity and personality, with a specific focus on the traits of antagonism, aggression, and sympathy. Participants (N = 265) completed a series of personality measures and two divergent thinking tasks (uses for a brick and a pencil). Responses were coded for fluency and malevolent creativity. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed that gender, conscientiousness, and trait physical aggression accounted for unique variability in malevolent creativity scores. These results confirm the link between personality and malevolent creativity, corroborating the General Model of Aggression and extending understanding of malevolent creativity, a new subfield of creativity research. Notes Note. Gender (0 = Men; 1 = Women); Race (0 = Non-Whites; 1 = Whites). *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. Note. Response scales for Average Malevolent Creativity could range from 0 to 1.0; the scores are averaged across the 2 raters. Note. N = 265. Gender (0 = Men; 1 = Women); Race (0 = Non-Whites; 1 = Whites). These values reflect standardized regression coefficients. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001. Note. N = 264. Gender (0 = Men; 1 = Women); Race (0 = Non-Whites; 1 = Whites). Values reflect standardized regression coefficients. *p < .05. **p < .01. ***p < .001.