International Journal of Psychological Studies; Vol. 5, No. 2; 2013 ISSN 1918-7211 E-ISSN 1918-722X Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 32 Is there a Gay Advantage in Creativity? Amelia Mohd Noor 1 , Chew Sim Chee 1 & Aslina Ahmad 1 1 Department of Psychology and Counseling, Faculty of Education and Human Development, Sultan Idris Education University, Malaysia Correspondence: Chew Sim Chee, Department of Psychology and Counseling, Faculty of Education and Human Development, Sultan Idris Education University, 35900 Tanjong Malim, Perak, Malaysia. E-mail: chee@fppm.upsi.edu.my Received: February 5, 2013 Accepted: April 16, 2013 Online Published: May 14, 2013 doi:10.5539/ijps.v5n2p32 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijps.v5n2p32 Abstract Common speculations hold that homosexual individuals can be more creative, considering the overrepresentation of homosexuals in the artistic and creative pursuits. The few past studies available did not find evidence to support this contention. However, research has found gender differences in creativity indicating girls being more creative. If gay males share more female-typical personality traits, it would be interesting to ask if this would be reflected in any difference in creativity between homosexuals and heterosexuals. The present study thus aimed to disentangle the association between creativity and sexual orientation. A total of 38 homosexual males (mean age = 31.6 years, S.D. = 9.7 years) and 34 heterosexual males (mean age = 21.8 years, S.D. = 4.3 years) participated. All participants completed an online survey on creativity (using Khatena-Torrance Creative Perception Inventory) and sexual orientation (using the adapted Klein Sexual Orientation Grid). A one-way between –groups multivariate analysis of variance was conducted to examine differences in creative perception as a function of sexual orientation. The results indicated that there was no significant difference for each of the dimensions of creativity perception between homosexual and heterosexual males. The present findings were compatible with previous studies that homosexuals are no more or less creative. A distinction between actual and self-perceived creativity however, should also be noted. Keywords: creativity, homosexuality, sexual orientation 1. Introduction Studies on creativity have received considerable interest in various interdisciplinary fields. Scholars have attempted to define creativity based on theoretical framework or the context of study conducted. Creativity is a natural process (Torrance, 1993) that arises from an individual (Amabile, 1998) in response to something missing or incomplete. Creativity may not be fully captured or defined in words, but one can perhaps at least begin to indicate what it is albeit in an indirect way (Bohm, 1968). Gedo (1996) describes creativity as major, original accomplishments in difficult endeavors which cannot be correlated to any specific personality attributes. According to Kaufman and Baer (2010), the various definitions of creativity primarily center on two core elements i.e., novelty and appropriateness to the task or problem being addressed. In essence, creativity requires both originality and effectiveness of its application. As the definitions of creativity evolve to become more multi-faceted, much studies have been conducted on the subject of creativity in relation to gender (Ai, 1999; Baer, 1997; Charyton, Basham, & Elliot, 2008; Gedo, 1996; Kaufman, Baer, Agars, & Loomis, 2010; Kaufman, 2006, Stoltzfus, Nibbelink, Vredenburg, & Thyrum, 2011), personality (Lippa, 2005; Norlander, Erixon, & Archer, 2000), academic achievement (Ai, 1999; Habibollah, Abdullah, Tengku, Sharir, & Kumar, 2010; Palaniappan, 2007; Palaniappan, 1994), extrinsic rewards (Baer, Oldham, & Cummings, 2003), ethnicity (Kaufman et al., 2010; Kaufman, 2006), social identity (Adarves-Yorno, Postmes, & Haslam, 2006) as well as environmental impact (Hennessey, 1995; 2003). Nonetheless, research focusing on sexual orientation and its relation to creativity has been limited. One of the first few studies that examined this came from Ellis (1959) which reported that heterosexuals were more creative than homosexuals. Nonetheless, this study has been criticized on its generalizability as the samples consisted of clinical patients undergoing psychopathological treatment. A later study by Domino (1977) however, did not find any support for the contention that homosexuals are more creative. Other studies (e.g., Gautam, 2001; Konik &