A Two Factor Taxonomy of Creative Bechavior

Abstract Two empirical studies examined the similarities and differences between creative professionals in science and art. In the first, 16PF personality profiles of industrial scientists, musicians and artists, and general undergraduates ( N = 99) showed no difference between scientific and artistic groups on the Creativity composite index, and both groups differed significantly from general undergraduates. There were a few significant differences on specific traits, however. In the second study, self‐reports of involvement in creative behavior collected from larger similar samples ( N = 590) were factor analyzed. Two distinct but correlated factors ( r = .32) emerged that separated artistic from scientific and business activity. The results indicated that people who specialize in one content domain often make contributions in other domains as well.