The role of self-esteem and personality in creativity among Indonesian college students

This study aimed at investigating how self-esteem a self-esteem shape personality and both variable predict creativity in the context of Indonesian university students. Data were collected from 265 undergraduate students in East Java province aged from 18 – 25 (M = 20.85; SD = 1.24). Data were collected via an online questionnaire through snowball sampling technique. The scales of the Big Five Inventory, Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and K-DOCS. J. C. Kaufman were originally from English translated into Bahasa Indonesia using reversed translation method. Results indicated that self-esteem could shape personality and both self-esteem and personality were correlated with students’ creativity. Openness was the strongest predictor of creativity, whereas neuroticism negatively correlated with all types of creativity. The result also demonstrated that personality served as a mediating variable in the relationship between self-esteem and creativity. The findings suggested that level of self-esteem could configurate a certain personality. High level of self-esteem can internally motivate activities facilitating the generation of new and innovative ideas and products.