Peer Effect on Students’ Creative Self‐Concept

Abstract Creative self‐concept has become a notable construct of interest in creativity literature in the last decade. The predictors, correlates, determinants, and consequences of self‐rated creativity, creative self‐efficacy, creative personal identity, and creative metacognition―as well as other self‐concept constructs―have been studied intensively, showing something more and something different about creativity than personal, cognitive, or motivational factors. This paper looks at creative self‐concept variables from both metatheoretical and empirical perspectives. The metatheoretical approach is shown through the adaption of predictions formulated outside creativity theory, especially in the field of educational psychology, for the creativity literature. Specifically, I examine hypotheses regarding peer influences on creative self‐concept. The findings show the somewhat restricted generalizability of theories developed within different traditions of psychology to creativity theory: specifically, there is no sign of the expected negative effect of peers’ creative abilities on an individual's creative self‐concept. Quite the opposite: creative peers in the classroom tend to strengthen an individual's creative self‐concept.