Is there an inverted-U relationship between creativity and psychopathology?

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to obtain a more coherent picture of the relationship between creativity and schizotypy. A multilevel approach was used to ensure the statistical independence of multiple effect sizes from a single study. The mean effect size was r.07 (SD.20) based on the analyses from 45 articles yielding 268 effect sizes. The analyses, including five moderators (i.e., the type of schizotypy, measure of schizotypy, measure of creativity, content of creativity test, and index of creativity measure) within a three-level model, indicated that the type of schizotypy was the only significant predictor. Positive-Impulsive and Unspecified schizotypy each had positive relationships with creativity (r.14, 95% CI.12 and.17), whereas Negative-Disorganized schizotypy was negatively related (r.09, 95% CI.12,.06). None of the creativity-related moderators explained the variation. Our findings revealed that the link between creativity and schizotypy is not uniform and that positive symptoms represent the intersection of creativity and schizotypy. © 2013 American Psychological Association.