Bounty

Creativity is more likely to be seen in people who are more outgoing and happy, a study has revealed.

People who are in a better mood and are more extrovert have higher levels of the "happiness chemical" dopamine and as a result are more creative thinkers, University of Portsmouth psychologist Lorenzo Stafford said.

The study also revealed creativity does not improve in people who keep themselves to themselves whether they are in a neutral or good mood. Creativity is heavily influenced by personality and mood, Dr Stafford said.

Extroverts are likely to be more successful because a higher than average level of the chemical floods the brain at even higher doses when a person is in a good mood, according to Dr Stafford. "The more outgoing a person is, the more active their dopamine system is and a positive mood increases dopamine activity even further in many parts of the brain," he explained.

"It's effectively a combination of these two things I would suggest leads to greater activity in certain areas of the brain controlling mental ability. This is interesting in itself because it demonstrates that it is the combination of the extrovert personality-type in a positive mood which encourages more creative performance, and not simply positive mood alone."

Dopamine occurs naturally in the brain and affects a range of behaviour including mood, sleep, reward, learning and movement. Dr Stafford's research was published recently in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.

Copyright Press Association 2010