Can creative thinking pave the way to a successful future? Psychology major Melany Bedoya ’26 is examining the connection between creativity and life success as part of Elizabethtown College’s Summer Creative Arts and Research Program (SCARP).
Working alongside Professor of Psychology Jean Pretz, Beydoya’s research looks at the connections between creativity, life satisfaction, autonomy, and overall life success. The goal of this work is to highlight creativity as a valuable factor in college admissions and personal achievement, potentially reshaping how success is measured both academically and in the workplace.
Title of Research
How is Creativity Related to Success in College and Beyond?
Student Researcher
Melany Bedoya ’26 (Psychology)
Faculty Mentor
Dr. Jean Pretz, Professor of Psychology
What are you researching?
Bedoya: The project will assess factors such as life satisfaction, life meaning, autonomy, and creativity to evaluate the influence on overall life success. Some data will be assessed through a longitudinal model to gauge the significance that creative personality had on the participants’ success in college and their current life success. Life satisfaction seems to be correlated with success; thus, we would like to link creativity to life satisfaction and overall life success. Through this connection, we can begin to make the case for increased metrics of creativity in college admissions and an increased awareness of the value of creativity.
Why did you choose this topic?
Bedoya: I personally did not choose the topic as it is an extension of my mentor, Dr. Pretz, original study, “Do Traditional Admission Criteria Reflect Applicant Creativity?”; however, I chose to work with Dr. Pretz because the topic of creativity influences ultimately interested me. Traditionally, people view psychology as studying mental illness or therapy, but neglect the many other components of psychology that are just as important. Creativity is not something that was initially interesting to me, but as I began to learn more, I became excited about the possibilities that research in this area could bring. Specifically with this project, results could support the idea of recognizing creativity as a valuable component in academia; consequently, completely changing the way college admissions are done. A specific factor I am passionate about is using creativity testing as a way to decrease bias and increase equality in college admissions.
What is the most interesting aspect of this research?
Bedoya: The most interesting part of this research is the possibilities of application. Research on creativity’s relationship with various life factors is relatively new; however, research is showing that creativity is highly applicable to many areas of life and is related to life satisfaction. It makes me excited to think that the influence of creativity could be applicable to many areas like schooling, college admissions, work performance, well-being, and overall satisfaction. Without researching, I would have never understood the influence of creativity and gained a passion for wanting to explore more.
What are you hoping to accomplish through this research project?
Bedoya: I am hoping to be able to contribute to the current research on college admissions and factors that could improve existing measures of success. The traditional admissions process that bases the possibility of success on standardized testing and traditional criteria could be missing the full picture by not measuring all types of intelligence. Creativity could be a way to equalize the playing field and truly choose the most fit individuals in college admissions processes and even job hiring processes.
Talk about working with your mentor. How have they helped you throughout this experience?
Bedoya: Dr. Pretz has been incredible throughout the SCARP project, and I believe does a great job of giving me support and independence. As a mentor, she has made me confident in my abilities and gives me constructive feedback to improve. She makes me excited to learn and get better in the areas where I may need improvement. I truly value that she has included me at every step of the research process so that I can learn and ask questions when needed.
Hear from the faculty mentor – Dr. Jean Pretz
“Etown’s motto is Educate for Service. In this research project, we are examining factors that are related to a life of purpose and meaning. This research builds on a study I started in 2011, examining how creativity and critical thinking relate to success in college. We hope many of the Etown alumni who participated in the original study will choose to participate in this follow-up study. By surveying alumni from this time period, we hope to better understand how these factors relate to success in life, both at work and in the community.”
