USING A TABOO RESPONSE MEASURE TO EXAMINE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DIVERGENT THINKING AND PSYCHOTICISM

Several previous studies have shown a relationship between psychoticis m (P), as measured by the various scales of the Eysencks, and divergen t thinking (DT) tests of creativity. It is argued that this relationsh ip may result in part from the tendency of high P subjects to produce relatively large numbers of mildly antisocial or 'taboo' responses in the DT task. Using 93 student subjects, taboo responses were different iated from the 'original' (unique) responses studied in earlier experi ments. We examined the relationship of DT measures to P and to separat e measures of schizotypy (using the Schizotypal Personality Scale or S TA) and over-inclusive thinking (using a modified version of Lovibond' s Object Sorting Test or OST). Correlations between P and taboo respon se measures were greater than between P and original response measures when 'total' scores were used; correlations were of roughly equal mag nitude when 'proportion' scores were used. However, regression analyse s suggested that P made a more substantial independent contribution to the prediction of original than taboo responses. The results suggeste d that the P-DT correlation reflects two relatively independent proces ses associated respectively with the tendency to show unusual thinking and the willingness to make mildly antisocial responses in the experi mental situation. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.