Are Creative People Smarter?
“Creativity is intelligence having fun.”
Many people have preconceived notions about intelligence and creativity. Some may believe that creative people are naturally intelligent, or that intelligent people are not very creative. However, the reality is much more nuanced and complex. Intelligence and creativity can both be developed and nurtured, and each may manifest uniquely in different people and in varying situations.
Let’s delve into the psychology of intelligence and creativity, exploring their definitions, measures, and the ways in which they interact and influence each other as well as how other factors such as motivation, personality, and environment further contribute to creativity.
But what exactly is intelligence, and how does it differ from creativity? How do these two qualities interact and influence each other? And why might intelligence be linked to increased creativity? Intelligence enhances numerous cognitive mechanisms that support a wide range of cognitive functions, including learning, memory, attention, problem-solving, decision-making, and planning, all of which play important roles in creative thinking. Higher intelligence increases our ability to process information quickly and efficiently and to hold and manipulate information in our working memory. It also enhances our ability to solve problems and make decisions effectively, including being able to think abstractly and flexibly and consider multiple perspectives and options. Increased intelligence may also be related to better attention and focus, allowing people to selectively attend to relevant information and ignore distractions, a skill highly important for creative people that are constantly taking in a lot of information from their environment. Higher intelligence may also be related to better planning and organization skills, allowing individuals to set goals, prioritize tasks, and develop strategies to achieve them, abilities that play critical importance in the ability to see creative ideas through to fruition and to get the buy-in of others.
Approximation of the creativity–intelligence threshold hypothesis
One of the earliest theories on the relationship between creativity and intelligence, the intelligence threshold theory, was proposed by Paul Torrance in 1962. This theory states that intelligence is a necessary, but not sufficient condition for creativity and that there may be a certain level of intelligence required to be creative, but beyond that threshold (Torrance estimated it to be around an IQ of 120), creativity becomes more dependent on factors such as motivation, personality, and environment. While
Torrance’s threshold theory has been debated over the intervening decades, a recent meta-analysis of 116 studies with over 12,000 participants found renewed support for an intelligence threshold finding a positive non-linear relationship between creativity and intelligence, with a breakpoint at around an IQ of 110. However, it should be noted that while the relationship between creativity and intelligence is correlated, the relationships are highly variable and extremely dependent on the type of measures used to assess both creativity and intelligence and other factors such as motivation and personality also play an important role.
The relationship between creativity and intelligence is clearly quite complex, it may also be helpful to consider more specifically how various types of intelligence may relate to different types of creative thinking. Intelligence can be thought of in terms of the G-factor, crystallized intelligence, and fluid intelligence. G-factor, also known as general intelligence, is a measure of overall cognitive ability. Crystallized intelligence is most utilized in the accumulation of knowledge and skills acquired through education and experience, while fluid intelligence is related to the ability to solve novel problems and adapt to new situations. These different types of intelligence each have unique relationships with two different modes of creative thinking: convergent and divergent thinking. Convergent thinking concerns finding the correct answer or solution to a problem and has been found to be associated with brain areas involved in processing information from different sources and integrating it into a coherent whole. Divergent thinking is more open-ended and exploratory, seeking multiple possibilities and ideas, and has been found to be associated with brain areas involved in higher-level cognitive processes such as decision-making, problem-solving, and attention.
Relationships between IQ and Creativity (Creative Potential and Creative Achievement)
Image Source: Jauk et al., 2013
However, when examining the empirical evidence of the links between creativity and intelligence we find many mixed patterns of relationships. Some studies find increased G-factor and crystallized intelligence to enhance convergent thinking, and increased fluid intelligence, to be more closely linked to divergent thinking. While other studies find that general and crystallized intelligence is significantly (albeit weakly) correlated with divergent thinking, with fluid intelligence not showing any significant correlation with divergent thinking.
So, what can we conclude from these findings? The relationship between creativity is clearly quite complex and heavily dependent on the way each is measured, and under what conditions. It seems that intelligence and creativity are not mutually exclusive, with intelligence being a necessary but not sufficient condition for creativity. Different types of intelligence may play unique roles in different modes of creative thinking, and in one’s ability to bring creative ideas to life. However, despite some creativity and intelligence correlations, other factors such as motivation, personality, and environment also play important roles throughout the creative process. It is an exciting time for creativity and intelligence research as our understanding of these complex relationships continues to evolve and deepen with time and improved scientific methods.
Further Reading
Batey, M., Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Furnham, A. (2009). Intelligence and Personality as Predictors of Divergent Thinking: The Role of General, Fluid and Crystallised Intelligence. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 4(1), 60-69. Gerwig, A., Miroshnik, K., Forthmann, B., Benedek, M., Karwowski, M., & Holling, H. (2021). The Relationship Between Intelligence and Divergent Thinking: A Meta-analytic Update. Journal of Intelligence, 9, 23. Guilford, J. P. (1962). Potentiality for creativity. Gifted Child Quarterly, 6(3), 87-90. Jauk, E., Benedek, M., Dunst, B., & Neubauer, A. C. (2013). The Relationship Between Intelligence and Creativity: New Support for the Threshold Hypothesis by Means of Empirical Breakpoint Detection. Intelligence, 41(4), 212-221.
About the Author
Kaile Smith is a creativity researcher, creative director, and Ph.D. student in New York City. Her research explores the dynamic relationships between creativity, inspiration, emotions, and well-being in everyday life.
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