Who is the innovator? How do life-history, demographics, risk-taking propensity, and attention deficit and hyperactivity symptoms correlate with self-perceived innovativeness

Abstract

Outlining the profile of individuals more receptive to novel behaviors or ideas within a social system is crucial for understanding cultural change. In the pursuit of understanding innovativeness as a personality trait, efforts have produced a short self-report scale that yields an innovativeness score composed of two factors: ‘willingness to try new things’ and ‘creativity or originality.’ This study examines how self-reported measures of life-history, demographics, risk-taking propensity and attention deficit and hyperactivity signs/symptoms are associated with self-perceived innovativeness. Our findings indicate that the characteristics defining an innovator profile — that is, those reporting higher levels of self-perceived innovativeness —include age, which positively predicts innovativeness among individuals aged 18 to 50, being female (sex assigned at birth), identifying as non-binary, having fewer siblings and children, and being in a committed relationship (rather than single). Moreover, higher propensity for self-reported social and recreational risk-taking, and a low propensity for ethical risk-taking, is associated to higher self-perceived innovativeness. Lastly, self-reported inattentiveness is negatively associated with self-perceived innovativeness.