Originality: Some social and personal determinants

“All artists are neurotic”. “There is a very thin line between genius and insanity”. “Edgar Allan Poe wrote “The Raven” under the influence of opium”. The preceding statements, ail firmly embedded in American folklore, are attempts to account for what no one as yet understands-the phenomenon creativity. What factors, in what combination, produce a Michelangelo, an Einstein, or a Freud? Studies have indicated that the development of creativity depends, in part, on how the creative output is received. Investigators have used such terms as a “warmly indulgent relationship” between creator and recognizer, and a “condition of psychological safety” established conjointly by the creator and recognizer, to describe one condition which seems to encourage the development of creativity. One component of creativity is originality. The present paper reports a study of the effects of interpersonal relationships and personality traits on the development of original ideas.