Conscientiousness Is Not Always a Good Predictor of Performance: The Case of Creativity

Conscientiousness Is Not Always a Good Predictor of Performance: The Case of Creativity

Meta-analyses investigating the relationship between Conscientiousness and performance suggest a positive relationship for a variety of criteria. However, recently it has been argued that Conscientiousness is not always a good predictor of performance, particularly for creative performance. Additionally, it has been suggested that Conscientiousness includes two distinct components, achievement and dependability, which may have different relationships with criterion measures. Two studies were conducted to determine whether the components of Conscientiousness predict creativity better than the full factor. Students in each study completed a measure of the Five Factor Model and a measure of creative performance. In the first study, creative accomplishments were measured and in the second study, creative problem solving was measured. As predicted, both studies revealed a cooperative suppression effect when analyzing the conscientiousness components together such that achievement was positively related and dependability negatively related to creative performance. Also, both studies showed that the overall Conscientiousness factor was not related to creativity.