Investigating the Effect of Self-Conscious Emotions (Pride, Shame and Guilt) on the Creativity of University Students

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of self-conscious emotions (pride, shame, guilt) on the level of creativity of the students in Ferdowsi University of Mashhad.
This study is an applied research by purpose and it is a survey research by method. The statistical population for this research includes Ferdowsi University of Mashhad’s post-graduate students. A questionnaire consisting of 40 questions with answers ranging 1 to 5 on the Lickert scale was used as a means for data gathering. The 272 questionnaires were collected by using random sampling. To assure of content validity a pilot test was performed. Construct validity was examined using confirmatory factor analysis. In order to test reliability, Cronbach’s alpha and the composite reliability coefficient were measured. For the analysis of data, structural equations modeling and partial least squares were used.
The result from hypothesizes assessment show that the authentic pride (0.346), hubristic pride (-0.195), shame (-0.177), guilt (0.204) have an effect on students’ creativity. Since the significant number for these entire variable are out of the range of 96/1±, it can be said that all four hypothesizes are approved.
The findings show that authentic pride and guilt have a significant positive effect on creativity while hubristic pride and shame have a significant negative effect on creativity.