Schizotypal traits and verbal creativity

Background and purpose The relationship of schizophrenia and its milder, subclinical forms, with creativity has been in the centre of theoretical interest for decades, however, the systematic research of the topic only prevailed more recently. Purpose - Here we aimed to examine the connection between different schizotypal and non-schizotypal personality traits and verbal creativity in a nonclinical sample. We also investigated the correspondence of two schizotypy inventories, the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences and a special character configuration of the Temperament and Character Inventory associated with schizotypy. Methods 57 healthy adults (14/43 m/f, mean age 21.51±1.43 years) - took part in the experiment. All participants received a detailed information sheet and gave informed consent prior to participation. Participants completed the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory and the Temperament and Character Inventory to measure both schizotypal and non-schizotypal personality traits. Torrance Test of Creative Thinking was used to measure verbal creativity. Associations between reported measures were examined with correlational and regression analyses. Results Out of the specific Temperament and Character configuration associated with schizotypy (low self-directedness, cooperativeness and high self- transcendence), we only found low self-directedness to be correlated significantly with Oxford-Liverpool schizotypy rates (Self-directedness-schizotypy: r=-.730, p<.01). There was no significant connection between schizotypal traits and verbal creativity. In our sample, the Self-directedness and Reward-dependence character and temperament subscales predicted significantly the verbal creativity level (Self-directedness: b=.330, p=.015; Reward - dependence: b=-.260; p=.049). Conclusion Based on our results, besides schizotypal traits, other personality measures might be considered in relation to verbal creativity, providing further details to the empirical investigation of creativity. We found low self-directedness to be correlated with Oxford-Liverpool schizotypy rates, however, the sample size was not large enough to test the concurrent validity of the two inventories. Future studies might consider to extend the study sample, preferably to both clinical and non-clinical populations.