Objective: In the current era, which is accompanied by complex challenges, creativity, by becoming a strategic skill, plays an irreplaceable role in solving problems and improving mental health. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the personality factors of the flexible meta-trait (openness to experience and extraversion) and creativity with the mediation of type I thinking styles.

Methods: The present study was conducted using a descriptive-correlation method of path analysis. The statistical population of the study was undergraduate and graduate students of Tabriz Islamic Art University in the academic year 1403-1404, of which 228 people were selected as a statistical sample using a multi-stage cluster random sampling method. Data were collected using the NEO personality questionnaire (McCray and Costa, 1992), thinking styles (Sternberg and Wagner, 1992), and the creativity scale (Abedi, 1993) and analyzed with SPSS-27 and Smart PLS-V3 software.

Results: The results showed that the direct path coefficient of openness to experience to creativity (p<0.001) was significant; however, the effect of extraversion on creativity was not confirmed. The indirect path coefficients of openness to experience through legislative and judgmental styles (p<0.05) and liberalism (p<0.001) were also significant.

Conclusions: The results indicate a positive effect of openness to experience and no effect of extraversion on creativity. legislative, judicial, and liberal thinking styles have a mediating role in the relationship between openness to experience and creativity. Considering that thinking styles can be taught, developing and implementing appropriate educational programs in academic centers can play an effective role in promoting creativity.