The curvilinear relationship between creative self-efficacy and creative functioning: Perspective of the threshold hypothesis

The role of creative self-efficacy in creativity has received increasing attention in scientific research. Whereas previous research has focused primarily on analysing the linear relationship between these two constructs and reported mixed findings, the present study aimed to take an alternative approach to the task of examining the role of creative self-efficacy in creative functioning based on an embedded perspective of social cognitive theory (i.e., the threshold hypothesis), which postulates a nonlinear or curvilinear relationship between these two constructs. A total of 688 10th and 11th graders (51.6 % male; mean age = 15.5 years) attending senior secondary schools in Hong Kong participated in the study. Creative self-efficacy and creative functioning were assessed using the Creative Self-Efficacy Scale and a verbal and figural creative problem-solving test, respectively. Evidence was found to support the threshold hypothesis, in which context creative self-efficacy positively contributed to creative problem solving in both the verbal and figural domains at lower levels up to an inflection point, beyond which creative self-efficacy led to no additional benefits with regard to creative problem solving. These results contribute new findings to the efficacy-creativity literature and shed important light on ways of enhancing creativity through efficacy interventions. Copyright © 2025 Elsevier Ltd.