Mindfulness and Creativity William G. Collier University of North Carolina at Pembroke William.collier@uncp.edu

Mindfulness There has been an increased interest in topics within the area of positive psychology. One rapidly growing area in recent years is the study of mindfulness. A general definition of mindfulness refers to an individual’s awareness both internally (awareness of their own thoughts) and externally (awareness of what is happening in their environment).

Creativity There continues to be interest in studying creativity. One approach is to identify different domains of creativity. Kaufman (2012) created the Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale (K-DOCS) that identifies 5 domains, including: Self/Everyday Scholarly Performance Mechanical/Scientific Artistic

Belief in Free Will & Determinism There is increased interest in studying beliefs in free will and determinism (Paulhus & Carey, 2011). Paulhus & Carey (2011) have created the Free Will and Determinism Plus Scale (FAD-Plus) that identifies four different beliefs, including: Free Will Scientific Determinism Fatalistic Determinism Unpredictability

The Current Study The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between the different facets of mindfulness, the different types of creativity and beliefs in free will and determinism. Nevicka and Ten Velden (2014) found that some aspects of mindfulness (e.g., the ability to observe and attend to stimuli) influenced creative performance, but not other aspects of mindfulness. Collier (2015) attempted to study possible relationships between mindfulness and creativity, however, no correlations between mindfulness (as measured with the MAAS) and types of creativity were found. The Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale calculates a single score for mindfulness (Brown & Ryan, 2003).

The Current Study (cont.) Since different aspects of mindfulness might differentially relate to creativity and beliefs in free will/determinism, this study used the five facets of mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ) that measures five facets of mindfulness (Baer, et al., 2006), including: Observing Mindfulness Describing Mindfulness Acting with Awareness Mindfulness Nonjudging of Inner Experience Mindfulness Nonreactivity to Inner Experience Mindfulness

Methods Participants 181 undergraduate students Ages 18-46 (M = 19.7, SD = 4.19) 122 female (67.4%) & 59 male (32.6%) 64 African American (35.4%), 56 Caucasian (30.9%), 23 Native American (12.7%), 18 Latin American (9.9%), 13 Multi-Ethnic (7.2%), 7 Other (3.9%)

Recruitment Participants were enrolled in Introduction to Psychology courses. Participants were recruited on SONA – an online participant management software program that is used by the department of psychology. Participants completed the surveys online through the SONA system.

Materials Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ; Baer et al., 2006) Free Will and Determinism Plus Scale (FAD-Plus; Paulhus & Carey, 2011) Creative Personality Scale (CPE; Goncy & Waehler, 2006) Scale of Musical Experience (SME; Goncy & Waehler, 2006) Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale (K-DOCS; Kaufman, 2012) Ten-Item Personality Inventory (Gosling, Rentfrow & Swann, 2003) Demographic Questions

Questionnaires Reported Here Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ; Baer et al., 2006) Free Will and Determinism Plus Scale (FAD-Plus; Paulhus & Carey, 2011) Kaufman Domains of Creativity Scale (K-DOCS; Kaufman, 2012)

Results & Discussion Preliminary Analyses Ethnic Differences There were no significant differences between African Americans and Caucasians on any of the subscales of the FFMQ. There were no significant differences between African Americans and Caucasians on any of the subscales of the FAD-Plus. 1 = Totally Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Unsure, 4 = Agree, 5 = Totally Agree

Results & Discussion Preliminary Analyses (cont.) Ethnic Differences There was one significant difference [t (118) = -2.9, p = .004] between African Americans and Caucasians on the Performance Creativity Subscale of the K-DOCS, with African Americans scoring higher (M=3.42) than Caucasians (M=2.93). 3 is the mid-point & is labeled “neither more nor less creative” So, African Americans scored higher on performance creativity, whereas Caucasians rated themselves as being neither more nor less creative on this scale. 1 = Much less creative, 2 = less creative, 3 = neither more nor less creative, 4 = more creative, 5 = much more creative

Results & Discussion Preliminary Analyses Sex Differences There were no significant differences between Females and Males on any of the subscales of the FAD-Plus. There were also no significant differences between Females and Males on any of the subscales of the K-DOCS. 1 = Totally Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Unsure, 4 = Agree, 5 = Totally Agree

Results & Discussion Preliminary Analyses (cont.) Sex Differences There was one significant difference [t (179) = -5.58, p = .019] between Females and Males on the Non-judging of Inner Experience Mindfulness subscale of the FFMQ, with Males scoring higher (M=25.17) than Females (M=23.42). This suggests that males are less judgmental of their inner experiences, as compared to women. Subsequent analyses collapsed across ethnicity and sex. 1 = Much less creative, 2 = less creative, 3 = neither more nor less creative, 4 = more creative, 5 = much more creative

Bivariate Correlations (two-tailed) The nonjudging of inner experience mindfulness subscale (FFMQ) was significantly corrected with the fatalistic determinism subscale (FAD-Plus) (r = -.214, p = .004). Participants that were more non-judgmental of their inner experience were less likely to believe in fatalistic determinism.

Bivariate Correlations (cont.) (two-tailed) Self/everyday creativity subscale (K-DOCS) and the free will subscale (FAD-Plus) were significantly correlated (r = .253, p = .001). Participants with higher self/everyday creativity were more likely to believe in free will. Collier (2015) also found this correlation between self/everyday creativity and belief in free will.

Bivariate Correlations (cont.) (two-tailed) The observing mindfulness subscale was significantly correlated with all five of the creativity subscales on the K-DOCS. These findings are consistent with the differential hypothesis that contends different aspects of mindfulness differentially influence creativity. This is consistent with the findings of Baas et al. (2014).

Observing Mindfulness Correlated with all five types of creativity Observing mindfulness with self/everyday creativity (r = .269, p = .0001). Observing mindfulness with scholarly creativity (r = .218, p = .003). Observing mindfulness with performance creativity (r = .228, p = .002). Observing mindfulness with mechanical/scientific creativity (r = .196, p = .008). Observing mindfulness with artistic creativity (r = .301, p = .0001).

Possible Weaknesses Online survey. Should include unrelated questionnaires in the future too. Further research should replicate and expand on these findings.

Next step Examine the other questionnaires the participants completed: Creative Personality Scale (CPE; Goncy & Waehler, 2006) Ten-Item Personality Inventory (Gosling, Rentfrow & Swann, 2003) Demographic Questions Examine the high correlations between the subscales of the FAD-Plus. Examine the high correlations between the subscales of the K-DOCS. Replicate with participants coming in person to complete the surveys.

References Baas, B., Nevicka, B., & Ten Velden, F.S. (2014). Specific mindfulness skills differentially predict creative performance. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 40, 1092-1106. Baer, R.A., Smith, G.T., Hopkins, J., Krietemeyer, J., & Toney, L. (2006). Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness. Assessment,13, 27-45. Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 822-848. Collier, W.G. (2015). Beliefs in Free Will/Determinism and Creativity. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association: Wichita, KS. Kaufman, J. C. (2012). Counting the muses: Development of the Kaufman domains of creativity scale (K-DOCS). Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 6, 298-308. Paulhus, D. L., & Carey, J. M. (2011). The FAD-Plus: Measuring lay beliefs regarding free will and related constructs. Journal of Personality Assessment, 93, 96-104.